Light Labs - Medical

This room is kept immaculately clean and organized, from the polished tile floor to the bright exam lights and walls painted with soothing colors. Several repair and medical beds for robot and human patients line the walls, monitors above them indicating the status of the patient's vital signs. There are no windows here, as this is in the center of the floor and heavily reinforced against possible attack. It is here that the Maverick Hunter medics patch up the wounded.

Repair Chamber

Sliding Door <S> leads to Light Labs - Corridor 3.

Another day in Light Labs Medical creeps by. In a berth closest to the back of the room lies Bowie, still dressed in the shirt and jeans he was wearing the day he shut down. His wallet, battered pocketwatch, and other trinkets kept in his pockets rest in his hat, which sits in a nearby chair. He hasn't moved an inch since Michael brought him in, eyes closed, his hair an unusually unruly mess.

Blues arrives with his usual whistle...but this time, he has a passenger. How surprising! Looking around the nearly empty labs, he frowns a bit when he notices the area where Bowie is currently being kept. "So. Here we are again..."

Ayla Ericson gives a puff of air, blowing her bangs off her forehead. "That is such a cool rush," the teen comments with a grin to her friend. "I'm kinda surprised that you don't have your place totally outfitted for all your needs. 'Course with the new armour, guess you haven't had much of a chance to do so either..."

Blues snorts at the rush comment. "I suppose..." He then nods. "My place can handle the basics...since we've not really finalized or finished Codebreaker, it's a bit up in the air...once we're settled, I'll probably try to make sure I don't need to worry about it."

Ayla Ericson glances around in a vaguely-uncomfortable-but-still-really-darned-curious manner. "It's... really weird to be in here too," she muses as her nature finally gets the better of her. The Swede teen meanders about the facility, visually inspecting everything she lays her eyes on.

Blues shrugs. "I suppose it would be..." Then, he frowns a bit as Ayla nears the closet where Bowie's being kept. "Oh. There's something in that closet....maybe you could take a look at it."

Bowie continues to lie there, like a marionette with its strings cut.

Ayla Ericson cocks her head to one side. "Really?" she asks and changes her wanderings towards the indicated door. "...hey, Blues? Who's taking a rest over here, all scrunched up? Wouldn't one of the medbeds be a lot more comfortable?"

Blues looks over to Ayla. "That's who I was thinking you might look at....he was Kalinka's boyfriend. He shut himself down when she was arrested." Frowning, he walks over and dusts Bowie off a bit. "I think it's about time he got woken up...even if he chooses to shut himself down again later."

Ayla Ericson raises a fine eyebrow at her friend. "So he was put into a closet, or just about?" she asks in utter disbelief. "Geez, nice place you guys run here. So how come he went so drastic to go into a massive hibernation stage? I mean, Kalinka's entire thing isn't exactly the greatest thing to have to contend with... but..."

Blues shrugs. "Love makes people do stupid things, if Shakespeare is to be believed. Wake him up and ask him yourself?" He then smirks. "Besides, I don't run the place. I just show up here and steal food."

"Apparently," the blonde teen comments dryly. Nevermind that she's the average teenager that crushes on anyone meeting her criteria. "Hmm... wonder how to do this. What's his name?"

Blues shrugs. "I'm not sure how he did it to himself...but starting by putting him onto the table's probably not a bad idea." And so he kneels to lift the reploid up onto one of the diagnostic beds. "Oh. And his name is Bowie."

Bowie is not the lightest of reploids, and at present he's so much deadweight. But no doubt Blues will manage.

Ayla Ericson nods, chewing on her bottom lip as she snags the nearby hat. "Anyone try waking him?" she asks, placing the hat on the table as well and lightly tapping the cowboy's shoulder. "Bowie? Hello?"

Blues shrugs. "I haven't been around...I assume they left him be until someone else got to him. So, us."

Bowie is no more responsive to Ayla than he was to the others when they tried to rouse him. Which is to say, no response whatsoever.

Ayla Ericson sighs softly, grumbling about inconsiderate teammates and such. "Well... robots are, in the most basic sense, a form of computer, right? What if I forcibly tried booting his active processes?"

Blues says, "Seems reasonable. On the other hand, you could also try hitting him on the head with a wrench. That seems to be Rigger's usual method."

Ayla Ericson snorts at that remark. "Nice," she remarks sarcastically. "But I'm going to use a little finesse in my attempts. Hmm... now to find the primary access hatch. Good thing I keep my tools in my backpack, huh?"

Blues says, "I'm surprised they're not in your pockets. Maybe I should get you a lab coat."

Bowie rests on the bed, oblivious to the conversation. Perhaps that's just as well.

"Nah, no point," Ayla replies. "'Sides, I usually just can't be bothered. If the clothes get dirty, I'll just toss 'em in the wash. And the case is a bit big to carry in my pockets... you know how fashion is dumb sometimes, not taking into account functionality."

Blues says, "Oh, I don't know. Somehow I manage to always look stylish and take everything I need with me."

"You also have the capability of making stuff appear when you want, since you guys tend to have access to subspace and all that nifty stuff," Ayla remarks as she manages to find what looks to be the seams of the access hatch.

Blues smirks. "That's no excuse. You know as well as I do that Cossack uses subspace, and I'm sure you're smart enough to design a mini-fliptop if you really wanted too."

Bowie's primary I/O port and remote access is hidden behind his left ear. Simple enough to find if you know what it is you're looking for, but out of the way so as not to be obvious.

Ayla Ericson blinks, but keeps her gaze affixed on Bowie as she pokes and prods the hatch into opening. "He does?" she asks, her tone a mix of curiousity and surprise. "'Sides, I think my little assistbot would get jealous."

Blues nods. "He does. Maybe you could ask him to share the gizmo or whatever..." Then, he shrugs. "So build it as an accessory for the little guy. Like a trailer or something."

Ayla Ericson giggles as she tries to picture Black toting a micro trailer around. "Nah. Backpack is efficient enough for me. 'S not like I'm trying to lug around a generator and welding tools with me," she answers, having finally managed to open the hidden panel. "Okay... this is the part where I get nervous."

Blues says, "I'll try not to increase the pressure. But if you kill him, Kalinka will probably come after you."

"...gee thanks. You're a real friend, Blues," the Swede remarks, pulling out a few tools and studying the panel's layout. Deciding on a plan of action, the girl makes a few adjustments and tries again. "Hello, Bowie?"

Blues says, "I try." Then, he settles back, watching, curious if this will actually work. "I wonder if he'll have a headache..."

Bowie doesn't respond right away, at least not consciously. A red indicator light blinks on, then switches to orange. It appears he put himself into a full medical shutdown, the kind usually performed when a reploid is about to undergo major repairs...or has to be placed into storage for some reason. Another light blinks to life, indicating that his power system is coming back online.

"Got something to work right... Hmm. Green is good to go and since it was off, I'm going to guess that one is his internal power generator," Ayla remarks, using her wrist to push her ponytail back over a shoulder. "Red is bad, but moving up to orange is better."

Blues says, "I don't smell anything burning yet, so we'll just assume it's a good sign. But I'll get the extinquisher just in case."

Bowie slowly eases out of his torpor as more lights flicker, then switch to green. The first indicator light hangs at orange for a relatively long period of time, but there could be any number of reasons for that. Unfortunately, no one familar with the Texan's systems is present, so Ayla may simply have to guess. At last, that light switches to green as well.

Ayla Ericson takes a step back as Bowie's panel lights all come on green, even the persnickety orange one. "Hello, Bowie," the teen greets with a smile. "Did you need something for a headache I might've unintentionally caused?"

Blues leans against the wall as Ayla stays back, trying to stay out of Bowie's initial field of vision. After all, Bowie'd probably fall right back over if Protoman was the first thing he saw.

Bowie's optics flutter open at last, then blink once as they adjust to the light. He first focuses on the young lady standing over him, someone that he doesn't recognize. Her words are heard, but he doesn't immediately react to them. His gaze then shifts to the room itself, which he does recognize.

His wandering gaze stops at Protoman. He's been woken up just in time to die. How considerate.

Ayla Ericson quietly slips her tools back into their case. Once that small task is complete, the girl silently picks up the hat and offers it to the Hunter.

Blues stands, mute, and without his armor. And since his arms are crossed, he's probably not going to be shooting, yet. However, he also seems to be watching Bowie's reactions /very/ carefully.

Bowie's attention is fixed on Protoman, barely even noticing that he's being offered his hat. His expression is wary, but there is resignation lurking in his eyes. He pulls himself into a sitting position, hands resting on the edges of the bed. He remains like that for a long moment. It's as if he's waiting for the eldest Light to finish what he started.

"If this was going to be a silent staring contest, I would've recruited a few others to help me judge who'd be the winner," Ayla remarks with a quirk of her mouth.

Blues smirks as Ayla speaks. "I suppose I'm being rude. Bowie, Ayla. Ayla, Bowie. And I don't plan to kill you, so take your damn hat."

He gets to live. It takes Bowie a moment to get his mind around that. He shifts his gaze to Ayla just long enough to nod to her, then take his hat and the possessions therein.

"So, did I do anything wrong with my tweaking?" the teen asks. "I wouldn't want to leave you in any sort of pain since I, ah, kinda woke you up. ...did I hit your voice program?"

Blues looks to Bowie, and nods. Then, he turns to Ayla. "I think he can talk...he's just a bit surprised."

Bowie's gaze rests on Blues once more, rummaging through the contents of his stetson hat by feel alone. His pocketwatch is the first to be found, and he clutches it gently in his hand. "How long?" he asks, voice husky with disuse.

Ayla Ericson also glances towards Blues. "I personally don't know... how long ago did Kalinka run into the public eye?"

Blues considers. "I believe it's been about 2...maybe 3 weeks."

Bowie nods slowly. The trouble with full shutdown is that everything is taken offline, even his internal clock. He couldn't even tell you the correct time unless he looked at his watch first. The gunslinger lapses into silence once more, finally tearing his gaze from Protoman so that he can properly return his wallet and loose change to his pockets.

"I... think I'm going to head out, Proto," Ayla says quietly, slinging her backpack over a shoulder. "Though I don't know how well me just walking out the medbay door is going to be taken. It was nice to meet you, Bowie. Hopefully next time will be under better circumstances."

Blues nods to Ayla. "Just be casual. If anyone asks...you were sent to help Bowie." Then, he looks back to Bowie. "She's been released from prison on bail, and isn't on a suicide watch. As far as I know, you can speak to her freely, if you want to. But I have no idea if you'll like who you meet."

"Thankee, Miss Ayla," Bowie says softly. Talking is not this Hunter's strong point. Never has been, never will be. He sets his hat back on his head, not particularly caring about the dishevled state of his hair. Blue's words are heard, but no verbal response is forthcoming.

Blues watches Bowie collect himself and put the hat back on, and nods. "If you need help...speak to anyone. If nobody listens, speak to me, and I'll make them pay attention." He pauses. "We've both been hurt by this. I can't imagine what you feel, but I know that I'm still not entirely sure what to do about it. I'm afraid I don't have much to suggest, except to keep living."

Bowie quirks a faint, mirthless smile at those words. Keep living. Considering no one's seen fit to finally let him die, he doesn't have much choice, now does he? The smile vanishes again as he rubs the bridge of his nose in an all-too-human gesture.

Blues nods again, his message apparently delivered. "I'll be going, now, unless you absolutely need anything."

Bowie begins to shake his head, then changes his mind. He turns to look at him again. One last word is spoken, this time in simple question. "Why?"

Blues shrugs. "That depends on which Why you want answered."

That particular 'why' could lead to any of the questions floating through Bowie's still addled mind. He settles on the one that Protoman is most likely capable of and willing to answer. "Why bring me back?"

Blues considers the flippant answer. Almost starts to say it...and stops. "Because you didn't deserve to die for her sins." And then, with that answer hanging in the air, he disappears.

Blues goes home.

Blues has left.

Blues enters Blues' Secluded Cabin, not knowing what to see.