#dr. chiren

[imhotepii]

Dr. Chiren - Alita: Battle Angel (19)

[morganhopesmith1996]

I am only 51 pages in and this book is amazing @drabblesfromthegraniteinn @watchingbehindtheeyes

[scifi-smashorpass]

Dr. Chiren (Allita: Battle Angel)

[maskofmilves]

Tears In The Rain

Chapter 1: Interlinked

Characters: Chiren, Alita, Joi (Blade Runner 2049)

Fandom(s): Alita Battle Angel x Blade Runner 2049 crossover/Alita sequel (Robert please get on this)

Summary: After the events of Alita: Battle Angel, Chiren wakes up with some memories of what had previously happened to her. A friend from the past helps her become human again. She's greeted with a new companion. Joi. Things happen from there...

Warnings: lots of angst, Joi and Chiren being flirty, Alita being a boss, robot/cyborg stuff, and fluff if you squint.

A/n: I don't know how I came up with this concept but I love both Blade runner films and Alita (& the fandom) so much.

Chapter 1: Interlinked

First feeling: None. Second feeling: Feeling, yes. Within cells interlinked. Within cells interlinked, Within cells interlinked.

Chiren felt everything come together in her body, her new one, within her cells interlinked, within her cells interlinked, within her cells interlinked.

She woke up on a bed of sorts, in an empty room, a bright light above her head blasting into her eyes. Struggling to tilt her head to her left side there’s a large window that covered the whole wall from floor to ceiling. What is that? Making out blurry images becoming clear now. It was a gray sky, raining out, pouring, sad for her thought. Successfully she got up, as she noticed she wasn’t wearing any clothing feeling weary. This wasn’t any place, this was her home. Her bed, her window, her kitchen, yada yada yada.

There was a chair next to the bed with some lower-class clothes; a sweater, boots, cargo pants, and a fleece-lined trench coat. Far from what she’s used to normally wearing. As she finished putting them on a small folded-up piece of paper slowly fell to the floor from within the coat. Chiren undid the paper, written inside was lettering;

“It’s what I could find. If you want, Joi will tell you a lot, she will go where you please. I’m sorry, for everything…”  -A

Chiren knew who this was who wrote it. ‘Joi?’ the former doctor thought the woman hadn’t seemed to notice that she was thinking out loud. A hologram of a woman appeared standing in front of her, smiling. 

“Can I help you Dr. Chiren?” If this was Joi she was definitely kind and polite toward her. 

“You’re Joi?” Chiren questioned.

“Yes.”

“Joi. Do you know who wrote this?” Chiren pointed out the slip she held.

“I only assume you know” Joi’s grin became sublime

“It was Alita, wasn’t it? Why am I here? How am I here? I feel different. The last thing I remember was being locked in a box with just my eyes and brain for days” Chiren’s face grew in longing, this was the first time in a while that she felt grief.

“Yes, it was Alita. She went searching for you for a bit, she felt bad about leaving you and retrieved you from Nova. This is your new body, although you still look the same your insides are all synthetic, including your programming. You’re the first human hybrid that I know, and that’s a good thing” Joi stated in a favorable tone.

Chiren raised for her forehead, where the mark of Zalem used to be, was gone, nothing there. She was dismayed and not at the same time. A face of remorse and regret came upon her, with memories of what had been done coming into view.

Visions now made her soon realize that Alita is just who her daughter was before she passed and that she may be Chiren’s only reason to become whole again.

Joi spoke up to break the silence “Dr. Chiren…with your mark removed you’re finally able to feel what most want to feel, like a real human being. Now that you’re back together with your new human hybrid body your lifespan is infinite, you have all the time in the world, so what will you do?”

Chiren thought for a good minute and soon answered; “First thing; Just call me Chiren, second; I’m going to find Alita and I know you know where she is…what year is it?”

Joi was weirdly confused by the last part but smiled for her anyway “Of course, I can do that. Chiren it is then…Chiren…it’s 2584, I’m sorry. I guess I should’ve told you sooner”

“Oh god…I- it's been so long- I have to find her, otherwise I don’t know why I’m supposed to be here…do you know anything else?” Chiren asked.

“Yes actually. Your next sign is in the kitchen.”

“Alright, leaving me hints eh?” She went into her kitchen and saw a letter on top of the microwave, she opened it, seeing what was in there was a piece of paper written with “Joi is quite nice, isn’t she? I hope you’ll bond a relationship with her, as she will follow you anywhere, I programmed her to be accessible outside anywhere too. I hope that is helpful. Meet me at the bar or whatever you usually go to, I promise I’ll be there.” -A

“Hmmm, well I guess let’s get there then”

“Get where?” Joi asked.

“The bar.” That was all she said. Joi decided to go ahead and follow Chiren to the rooftop, they both got into her abandoned Peugeot spinner, it was practically not starting but they eventually got it started in the cold dense rain. “Alita said she’ll be there. And I trust her. How'd you get my car?- Nevermind”

Joi nodded, looking out the window she traced her finger where the raindrops were running across the window, the look on her face was curious, almost acting as if she’d never seen rain before. The corner of Chiren’s eye caught this, it just being a little moment, it’s the little things that matter to her as she remembered. Chiren turned her head to her, setting the car on autopilot as they made their way to the place.

“What are you doing?” Eyeing the innocent one. “Have you not experienced rain before?”

Joi turned and smiled back at her. “I know about rain. It’s programmed in my system, I just haven’t seen or touched it before. I am only a couple of days old too..”

Chiren nodded and let out a grunt in response. “Hmm” Turning her eyes back to the outside weather. Joi’s gaze lowered, about to speak but hesitant at first.

“What was it like…being in there for so long”

Chiren quickly got emotional inside about the question. She started playing with her hands, then rubbed her eyes. “It was horrible. You couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, couldn’t feel…anything, all you could do was blink and watch time pass by. Made me want to just get killed already but I knew it was my punishment, then the rest of my body was sent to the yard. Then everything went black, I don’t know what happened after that”

Joi felt bad about it, and even though she had nothing to do with her punishment, she has sympathy for her nevertheless. “I can’t imagine what that must’ve been like…”

The former doctor met her gaze with the android and let out a sigh, trying to ignore her demons and instead wondering about what she can do. “Thank you…do you feel anything physically?” She asked.

“Physically no. I can only feel things through my database”

Chiren placed her rather attractive hand on the armrest. Keeping eye contact with Joi. “Try feeling this” Saying that as she indicated her hand to Joi “Try. Try as hard as you can to feel touch” Again Joi gave the raven-haired woman innocent eyes along with her fading confusion, proceeding to do the task. Joi was mesmerized by her, she knew she may not be able to physically feel things, but she does have feelings for others, as she was programmed to. She finally moved her hand, right onto hers, Joi focused as much as she could, but unfortunately, it went right through.

“I can’t do it…I know it's leather and plastic but I cannot feel it as what people call it.”

“Hey, that’s okay, I can work something out for you alright? Did the shops around here stay the same?"

***

The two arrived at their destination. The building was a part of a large warehouse complex that seemed to stay the same, just more filthy and worn, the walls covered in dirt and grim. Definitely shady. It used to be at least a bit cleaner than this. Everything changed now, including her own appearance, going from looking like a rich snob to the lower class even though her good-sized penthouse is high up there. Again, just appearance. Chiren reached into her coat to scratch herself. Hey, she felt that. It felt good. While doing so, she looked at the note again. 'This better be true' she thought to herself, folding the paper away.

Chiren motioned for Joi to follow her. Joi faded from the inside of the vehicle, reappearing outside the car and standing up. The slightly taller woman looked up into the sky, letting the water hit her face. Knowing she could feel again, relieved her. Looking back at Joi she saw her doing the same. Instead, the water droplets fell through her hologram. The recovering woman saw this and sadness swooned upon her again, knowing she was a real person, neither was she really. Did it all not matter? No. She had a real mind and heart, she is a real human being. Yeah. Real to her anyway.

"Come on, let's go inside."

And so they did, finally realizing they were getting soaked. Running inside now remembering oh hey it's pouring out.

Opening the door inside they are greeted with the smell of sweat and smoke and with the sight of dirty gray walls and a table to sit at.

"Well, this place went to shit."

Chiren raised one eyebrow with a fuzzy feeling still clouding her mind. She looked over the several booths, her eyes locking on jet-black hair, walking in that direction and her conscience is revealed. Playing with her hands and staring in awe Alita stood up from her seat. Both had stunned almost blank expressions on their faces looking at each other. Alita didn't know what to do other than break the silence.

"Chiren…..I-"

"How am I here?" She almost said it like a statement. Confused. Almost blessed with rage and tranquility at the same time.

"I searched for your box for days tracking you, I fought them because I left you there and Ido- I found you after losing your location before, I eventually found you…after so long, I brought you to Ido's and replicated your old body luckily he taught me how to do that at least, transferred you to your place, and set up Joi for you. I couldn't meet you there because there's a gang after me. I'm sorry I didn't want to leave you there all alone I had to stop-"

"What about Ido? I take it I missed the funeral. Ya know I actually loved him and my….. daughter… I was kept in that box forever waiting for something or anything to happen, I was in a jar for years! Thank zalem I went into hibernation 2 days in luckily but still. I have no one. Before too. Now anyone remotely close is dead except for you. You're the closest thing to me ever having a daughter again…"

Chiren let herself down, everyone in the bar wouldn't stop looking. She eventually sat down and let out a quiet sigh. Alita across from her did the same. Joi looked at the both of them reading their faces, noticing the disdain in Chiren’s voice when she mentioned her dead daughter she lost so long ago. Alita knows she has every right to despise Ido for it, still made her angry about what happened so long ago. Ido has been gone forever. Chiren will never get to tell him how sorry she is, how she regretted causing everything to fall apart after her child’s passing, She could’ve done more when she had the time. Why didn’t she? Gosh, she was a wreck through and through but no she wants to do what’s right. To both of them. Joi sat next to the grieving woman.

“You say people are after you? How’d this happen?”

Alita’s big eyes widened. “Yes…long story short I stole Joi here, from them…”

“How much was she?

“A lot. I’m also struggling to get back an adapter for her. It would make her a solid and not just a hologram.”

Joi gave a look on her face that shined with hope and desire. Wanting to be able to live as the closest to being something real. The program went to put her hand on the much older woman’s thigh. When they both looked down at the same time Chiren felt sullen for her, only a hologram's touch. Knowing Joi just wanted some reassurance for herself, Chiren gave her a slight nod before rubbing her thumb on the translucent humanoid even though neither of their nerves had a trigger in their systems or brains if you will. Showing her some compassion as well. Loving care. Was this a sign of love? Compassion? It was the first time neither of them have felt warmness, for Chiren that was a long time.

Alita tried to not think of it that much even though it was pretty obvious that was a kind move on Chiren’s part.

“If we somehow get the adapter from them, Joi can do a lot more than set appliances to make dinner and schedule appointments for you.”

Chiren thought for a good second or so. “What’s your living situation?” She asked. Thinking up a plan for all of this.

“I’m still living at Ido’s place. Although it has been rotting, literally, water damage and hail damage were caused by the big storm we had a few years back.

The woman across from her raised an eyebrow again. “I’m not an expert but I sure know it’s very unsafe to live in a place with mold that bad. The air. Is it affecting you?”

The super android fidgeted with their hands. Chiren didn’t know that anxiety happened in andriods like this. She knew that they could have anxiety but not till a level where physical stumulation happened. “I’m only doing some light coughing. But other than that I am fine.”

“That’s not good for you. I know you’re different but it can still mess up your internals. I want you to move in with me. If you’re fine with it that is but you’re not living in a suitable environment and I would prefer if you…do that.”

“Okay, when do we start?”

“Joi turn off so we can make room for Alita here in the car.”

***

Chiren had the spinner do an auto-pilot landing on the street. “I take it you’ll probably have a few items you want to bring with right?”

“Yeah I do. I’ll be a few.”

[ramblingandpie]

The most specific rant that a small handful of people will appreciate:

In the live-action Alita movie, if Dr Chiren is from Zalem, whyyyy does she have a brain? Like. We saw it! We saw the brain!

[drabblesfromthegraniteinn]

She migth replace Ido or Lou as the "brain in the box" mcguffin.

Problem is, I don't think it would work as good. Alita was willing to do anything to get back Ido or Lou since she already had a strong relationship with both of them. Ido was like a father to Alita for 3 years. He rescued her from the dump and gave her a new life. Lou was the second (after Fogia) positive relationship Alita had in 10 years. She was starved for affection and would naturally get attached to anyone she would meet around that time. Lou had also commited treason against Zalem just to save Alita's life.

Those are important people in her life who she has a reason to care about greatly. And Chiren? She saved Hugo, sure. But apart from that she hasn't had any moments with Alita that would bring the two togather. Alita also had other people in her life at the time, so loosing one ally hurt less than it would if it was her only ally.

It would come out of nowhere if Alita was suddenly risking everything for Chiren of all people.

On the way they'd also have to explain why Chiren had a you-know-what to begin with.

Spoilers and improvised speculation below.

The sequel has to decide on the Alita Cinematic Universe's (ACU) approach to the secret of Zalem. It's possible and I would say probable the brain in the box we saw was a fake and the chip was inside it. The fake brain would show up on skans, weigh as much as a brain with no chip should, and if some freak accident left someones head open, it wouldn't look empty. Plus, it would be extra protection of the chip.

Problem is, how do you expose that?

I could imagine Nova cutting his head open and it being empty, but what then? Some other Zalemite opens theirs and finds the fake brain. Everyone would assume Nova was the only one with no brain. Here's where I see Chirens role.

We see she's awake and with her brain exposed. Nova removes the fake brain and she's still awake, aware and responsive.

Why Chiren and not any random Zalemite? This Alita wants to destroy Zalem. She won't care about some random Zalemite. She does care about Chiren enough to hear Nova out on what happened to her. That would be his chance to drop the big reveal.

Now that I think about it, Nova only shows Alita he didn't have a brain after she insisted on knowing what drove Ido mad. Would movie Alita have a reason to ask the question? Would Nova open his head even when not asked?

Chiren’s fate

Who would love to know what happens to Chiren after the events of the movie? What will be her role in the sequel? Or will she just be forgotten?

Anybody has ideas? 

[perfumedhotels]

So like... is dr. Ido considered a DILF?

[battleangelmovie]

Power is the name of the game in Iron City, and these are the players. The battle begins February 14.

[the-spectacular-spider-bi]

The full Alita Battle Angel anime, for those of us new to the fandom and wanting to check out the source materials.

SPOILER ALERT AHEAD

Couple interesting differences from the movie:

The dog's death is so much worse in this version. gore warning.

There's a bit more backstory to Yugo here, and it pays off in an even sadder ending where he does, in a way, make it to Zalem.

If anyone was wondering if Vector and Dr. Chiren were boppity beep boopiting, yes. yes they were.

a lot.

*hentai noises*

Apperently the live action movie somewhat skipped ahead and had subplots (the flashbacks, motorball, Nova) from much later in the story and crammed it into the early part of the story (they did a good job tbh)

For some reason? her name isnt Alita?? they all call her "Gally"???

Seriously I'm not kidding about the boppity boopity that doctor lady has #Curves

[connor-draws]

New day, new drawing. 

This time I decided to work with Alita. I am pretty happy with the result overall. :) 

[vumomovies]

Alita: Battle Angel is a worldbuilding triumph and a storytelling failure

Genre films face a chronic problem: they have to introduce viewers to new worlds quickly and efficiently. There’s often so much lingo and history to lay out that writers have to choose between clumsy information dumps, or leaving their setting unexplained for long stretches, so they can get to the action. By the time a film’s original science fiction or fantasy setting starts feeling familiar, it’s about time for the credits to roll. That’s one of the many reasons studios find it so irresistible to turn these titles into franchises. By the second outing, the groundwork has already been laid, and the writers can hit the ground running. The challenge is producing a first film that’s worthy of a sequel.

Alita: Battle Angel, based on Yukito Kishiro’s 1990s manga series Battle Angel Alita, is a triumph of worldbuilding and a failure of storytelling. The film is set in a distant future following a devastating war that leveled all but one of Earth’s great floating cities. That last survivor, Zalem, is fueled by the factories of Iron City, and the humans and cyborgs who live in Zalem’s shadow literally feed off its scraps while dreaming of a better life above. Scrounging for spare parts amid the trash Zalem dumps down to Earth, the kindly cybernetics genius Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz) discovers a cyborg girl who’s still alive, and repairs and adopts her.

vumoo

The amnesiac Alita (Rosa Salazar) progresses from wonderstruck child to moody teenager over the course of days, rebelling from Ido’s fatherly protectiveness to spend time with her generic “criminal with a heart of gold” boyfriend Hugo (Keean Johnson). Alita has a particularly good reason for thrill-seeking, as a battle against the cyborg equivalent of Jack the Ripper triggers some memories of her past life, and convinces her that more violent conflict might reveal more information. Like a video game hero, Alita progresses through the film, earning gear upgrades and memories of extremely lethal martial arts that allow her to take on increasingly more powerful threats.

The cliché game plot isn’t helped by the film’s cartoonishly evil villains. Jennifer Connelly plays Chiren, Ido’s haughty, morally compromised ex and fellow cybersurgeon. She stands out from the grittier denizens of Iron City, with her fine clothes and a forehead gem which looks distractingly like a BIM mark from the trash classic The Apple. Grewishka (Jackie Earle Haley), the hulking murderous cyborg hunting Alita for much of the film, at one point literally kills a dog just to show how irredeemably evil he is. Moonlight’s Mahershala Ali fares a bit better, by virtue of a plot quirk that has him alternately playing sports mogul Vector, and Zalem’s maniacal ruler Nova. But his acting talents are largely wasted on the clunky script, written by James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis.

Photo: 20th Century Fox Too much of the film is devoted to Alita and Hugo’s YA romance and to “motorball,” a sport that provides the same action setpieces and irrelevant narrative filler as Harry Potter’s Quidditch or The Legend of Korra’s pro-bending. The only clear way to make it from Iron City to Zalem is to become motorball’s champion, making it an obsession of scrappy teens like Hugo, who play it with little more than motorized rollerblades, skateboard ramps, and a ball. But practiced professionally, it’s more like the eponymous event in Death Race, a sport for athletes who have traded most of their bodies for cybernetics, and are ready to creatively eviscerate each other for control of the ball. The fact that they can survive nearly anything, since they’re only losing metal bits, lets Alita deliver some pretty brutal fights while maintaining its PG-13 rating.

[imhotepii]

Dr. Chiren - Alita: Battle Angel (19)

[morganhopesmith1996]

Alita Battle Angel Bluray 3D + 4K Ultra HD + Bluray & Bluray + DVD 📀 💕

[ryanmeft]

Movie Review: Alita: Battle Angel

The people behind this film are clearly as fascinated with the technology that went into making Alita as Alita is. The girl, who has regular human brain and a decidedly inhuman body, wakes up one morning after she has been reconstructed and marvels at her jointed, mannequin limbs in the sunlight. It’s a beautiful shot using incredibly effective technology, and at once highlights both how much the film has to offer and yet how much more it could given us.

Alita, embodied by Rose Salazar, is found junked in a scrap pile by Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz), whose specialty is operating on cyborgs. It has been 300 years since a war called The Fall devastated earth, and most of humanity lives in the shadow of a giant floating city called Zalem that is home to the haves. The have nots don’t even technically have a city; the earth is Zalem’s scrapyard, and the down-and-outs have basically cobbled their metalwork city together our of refuse. Unsurprisingly, the people who live in such a place aren’t big on social graces. These include Ido’s estranged ex-wife Dr. Chiren (Jennifer Connelly), who resents him for the loss of their daughter and who is in league with the slimy Vector (Mahershala Ali), a lapdog slum lord who sells anything and anyone to his masters up in Zalem. Most everyone dreams of getting to Zalem, but there’s only one way up there: win at a violent cyborg game called Motorball. The competitors are hardcore, often gradually replacing almost their entire bodies with robotic parts to win. Alita, reconstructed and searching for memories of what she used to be, runs into Hugo (Keean Johnson), who wants to bypass all that by earning enough money for Vector to be sent up, and is immediately smitten; she wants to get them both up to Zalem.

All of this world-building comes from a popular manga by Yukito Kishiro, and it feels very crammed to fit into the film’s run time, but I nevertheless found bits I was interested in. These mostly revolve around the identity of Alita, who is linked to the ancient war, because of course she is. Some of the stuff involving the world approaches the kind of beauty and wonder that science fiction exists for, such as when Alita and Hugo’s crew leave the city and discover a downed spaceship with a powerful secret inside. Other virtuoso sequences include a balletic fight scene in a bar during which, improbably, slow-motion is actually used well---I despise slow-motion, so that means something coming from me---, and a Motorball sequence that is actually exciting instead of just busy. Yet the best, fleeting moments of the film in terms of visual beauty are just the sequences in which Alita explores her rundown world and marvels at it, moments which are more frequent than other such films and also too few.

There can, and will, and should be debates about digitizing the movies, and with what little voice I have I will always oppose the idea that you can replace flesh-and-blood actors with computer-generated ghouls and get the same effect. Fortunately, that is not what has been done here. Like Gollum, whose embodiment by Andy Serkis and the then-fresh motion capture technology ushered in the modern era, Alita is a creature of undeniable beauty. Her movements and fight scenes feel as real as modern sci-fi blockbusters ever do, but it is her face and her body language that sell her. Salazar has clearly gotten to bring a real actor’s touch to the character, and wasn’t just called on to where white balls on a skin tight suit. Her joy feels like joy and her sadness like sadness, and aside from her huge anime eyes, she mostly overcomes the Uncanny Valley problem---or, well, she does so as much as it ever can be done. Director Robert Rodriguez and his army of SFX people pull her off well, even if other effects in the movie aren’t quite up to that level.

The script doesn’t come close to matching the film’s high points. With all due respect to his visual and technological accomplishments, it is a mystery as to why James Cameron is still allowed to write dialogue; his tin ear has been well-established in everything from Titanic to Avatar, movies that succeeded on spectacle by overcoming lines that sounded straight out of summer stock. Since he’s working with existing material and with Shutter Island screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis, things aren’t as horrific as they could have been, but enjoying the film’s beauty and finesse still requires enduring things like endless exposition, lifeless one-liners and overwrought Action 101 cliches. Villains played by Ed Skrein and Jackie Earle Haley also feel phoned in, though the actors give it their best college try.

Then there’s the central problem that the film was clearly made expecting a sequel, which you just can’t rely on in an age where any action blockbuster without the superhero stamp struggles to break even. Getting to Zalem, exactly what Alita is, what the nature of that old war was---the film never gets around to these things, saving them for next time. It’s a good strategy if there is a sequel, and frustrating if there isn’t one. I suppose you could always just go read the manga---you know, if you do that kind of thing. Verdict: Average

Note: I don’t use stars, but here are my possible verdicts.

Must-See

Highly Recommended

Recommended

Average

Not Recommended

Avoid like the Plague

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 All images are property of the people what own the movie.

[fumobom]

Sarada (Alita: Battle Angel)! AU

Sarada as Alita, Kakashi as Dr. Ido and Sarada's adoptive father, Sakura as Chiren (though in the manga she's actually Dr. Ido's partnerㅡnot romantically involved, but in the movie she's Dr. Ido's ex-wife). Also Boruto as Hugo(??) idk he died rly fast

So I just saw this movie and found out it is based on Japanese manga with the same title; and the movie was great overall (for me personally). Not sure if you guys have seen the movie but it was really interesting so I came up with this AU idea after watching it. This is just rough doodles I drew because I was sick: can barely shallow foods, and couldn't sit to draw properly because my head got super dizzy😷.

[movieexpert1978]

Upgrade Pt. 6

Pt 6: Elisa comes homes 

Alita Battle Angel and it’s characters are not mine. 

Ido is the first to wake up the next morning. Elisa looked so calm and peaceful, with no evidence of the fact that she was nearly bleeding to death the night before. She really was incredible. He caresses her face and tucks a few random strands of hair behind her ears. He stays in bed for a little while longer, just not wanting to do anything but hold her all day. He really does care for her. Unfortunately, she does shift a bit and wake up. Her eyes flutter open and she stares at the ceiling for a moment. She’s processing where she is again. She turns and sees Ido and she smiles at him.

“Hi.”

“Good morning.” He nods, leaning in close to her again. “How are you feeling?” He asks.

“I’m alright.” She nods. He starts to rub her shoulder gently as he presses his forehead against her own.

“I’m so sorry Elisa. Please forgive me.” He whispers in shame. When she doesn’t answer he continues. “I was so wrong to kick you out like that…to call you a monster…all of it. You didn’t deserve any of it. As much as Alita and I want you to stay, you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’m not going to force you into anything.” He says as sincerely as he can.

“But I thought you wanted me here?” She says confused as she sits up.

“We do…I do, but you’re your own person and you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.” He explains.

“But I…I want to stay here…is that ok?”

“Of course it is. You are always welcome here.” He smiles.

“Thank you…for your apology. No one has done that for me in a long time.” She says as her fingers graze over his hand. He takes her hand and kisses her palm. The tender gesture makes her blush a bit. “Did you get the money I left here?” She asks after a moment.

“So that really was you.”

“I didn’t really know what to do with all that money. I knew you could use it more than I could have.” She shrugs.

“Yes, I did get the money and thank you for your help. Thanks to you the clinic is in good shape for a bit.” He says proudly. “Come on.” He says taking her hand. They go downstairs and he starts to make breakfast.

“Elisa!” Alita shouts with joy when she sees her friend and bolts over to her. She nearly tackles Elisa to the floor with the big hug she gives her.

“Ooofff…thanks…hi Alita.” Elisa grunts out.

“I’m so glad you’re back.” She says smiling from ear to ear. “So she’s back now?” Alita says to Ido.

“Yes she is.” He answers. “You need to take her out shopping. She needs some new clothes, not to mention her other things are at the church and so is my hammer.” He adds.

“Oh great lets…”

“But after breakfast.” He interrupts.

“Ok.” She sighs. Ido chuckles every now and then as Alita is practically hugging Elisa the whole time they are eating. She compliments her a lot on her hair as well, trying to help her be more confident in her appearance. The dishes are barely put into the sink when Alita takes her hand and nearly bolts out the door, but Ido catches them and gives them his case before they leave and he’s left to work on the patients for the day as Nurse Gerhad comes in.

Xxxxxxxxx

Chiren looks over Elisa’s files in the empty lab. She’s looked over the notes several times, but there are a few videos she hasn’t watched yet. Some are clips of her training and others are of her physical, but one stands out to her. It’s the final video of Elisa. At this stage, according to the notes and Nova, a few pieces of Elisa’s DNA had been altered to give her more of a beast like quality, as Chiren put it. This new serum was going to mutate more than a few pieces but basically half of her DNA strand would be altered. She watched the screen as they injected her and she barely flinches as the scientists pull away and watch her on the table.

There is no sound, thankfully, but Chiren doesn’t need to be a genius to know that the serum makes Elisa scream in pain. She withers and screams on the table, curling up into a ball as the others watch. The moment is over quickly when she kneels on the table. Her eyes are completely black and her teeth are a mouth full of fangs as she roars at them. They panic and run for the exit but it is too late as she leaps in front of the scientist who injected her. She literally rips his throat out as her hands are shaking…no…shifting. Her fingers are growing longer and sharper…and was that metal? Elisa lets out another scream of pain, bending over and vomiting something before she goes after the other men. She doesn’t want to watch, but she needs to study Elisa, who rips the men to shreds, eating their flesh and drinking their blood, before she vomits it all back up and collapses in a corner of the room. In the notes, after the video was taken, it shows that, yes her DNA did change, but not as much as they thought it would and it just made her completely unstable. Her DNA was unstable permanently. Chiren understood now. She was damaged goods and she had to go.

Just like….no! She wasn’t going to think about that.

“Been looking over those files again?” Vector asks as he comes up to her. Just as she looks up at him, he stills and his eyes change color.

“You’re planning something?” Nova says to her curiously.

“I saw from the videos that her DNA is now permanently unstable. What if I could fix that?” She says.

“My scientists already tried what they could to fix it, but they couldn’t get it re-stabilized.” He says.

“I could try and go at it.” She suggests.

“Give it to Chase.”

“You can’t be serious!?” She gasps.

“If you want to get back to Zalem you can’t be getting hurt down here can you?” He says darkly making her tense up. “Besides, he’s been on the out for a while a now. If he does something to make her go wild again, she’ll kill him and that’s that.” He shrugs. “You can help him, guide him along, but I wouldn’t recommend being there when he starts poking around in her. It will get messy…and I like seeing you work down here. You come up with so many fascinating players.” He smirks. She doesn’t know if she should be flattered or insulted, but she keeps the thought to herself. “I have a few more files I will send to you. Give copies to Chase and when it’s done make sure his copies are destroyed.” He orders. She nods and Vector falls over, holding his head.

“Now what?” He mumbles.

“I need you to get Chase here.”

“But he’s a washout?!” Vector says confused.

“I have an assignment I need to give him.” She says.

“Whatever. I don’t see what the point of this girl is. She’s not in the games and she’s not making me money.” He grumbles as he walks away. He’s not a scientist, but Chiren understands what Elisa could be in terms of epic breakthrough in the study of DNA, but she also knows that if she does this, then it’s one less favor she has to do once she’s on Zalem.

Chase arrived a few hours later.

“You wanted to see me Dr. Chiren?” He asks in an almost annoyed tone. She frowned as she looked up at him. He was wearing a ragged green jacket with black pants and boots on with safety glasses that adjusted to the light. He was an older man, tall, with messy brown hair.  

“I have a project for you.” She says giving him a flashdrive.

“For me?” He says much more surprised this time.

“A woman was exiled from Zalem. She’s here in Iron City. Apparently, Nova wants you to take a look at her.” She says.

“Why me?”

“I’m busy with the motorball games and besides it might get you back into a proper lab again.” She says to entice him.

“I’ll look over the files and contact you.” He says before he leaves.  

Xxxxxxxxx

Chase looks over the files during the next few hours. Apparently the girl’s DNA was permanently unstable. This could be his chance, his big breakthrough to make the perfect weapon for Nova. Rumor was he was experimenting with nanotechnology now. Chase wished he could get his hands on it. He had his own experiments in his own run down shack of a lab, trying to work with a machine in creative ways. It had been a while since he got his hands on anything organic. Once he was done taking notes he contacted Chiren.

“I take it you know where she is?” He asks.

“She’s with Ido.” She answered.

“Figures, he always looks out for the runts.” Chase smirks.

“She’s a registered hunter warrior. You could try and lure her away from them with a mark or something.” She shrugs.

“What does Nova want with her exactly?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe if you tried to stabilize her DNA that might help for starters.”

“Why would I want to do that? It’s because her DNA is unstable that she’s able to have these abilities.” He argues.

“I don’t know, just figure something out. I’m sure Nova will contact you somehow.” She mutters and hangs up. Chase frowns at her tone. He had an idea all right. Apparently, a little less than half of her DNA had been altered. If he could alter all of it then who knows what could happen?! He could put in different codes of DNA so that she could absorb it and use the right properties to adapt and become stronger. She could turn into metal or anything she wanted to. The possibilities were endless.

“Already getting ahead of yourself I see.” A voice said through the computer. Chase jumped as the screen flickered and a familiar face appeared…or rather eyes as the figure was mostly covered in darkness.

“Nova…” Chase gasped.

“Hello Chase. Dr. Chiren has given you the details on project ten E.” He says and Chase only nods. “Good, you see Elisa is a personal favorite of mine and I need you to take good care of my pet.” He smirks.

“You want me to stabilize her?” Chase asked confused.

“Oh no, stabilization is pointless. I want you to improve her, make her stronger.” Nova grins. “I’ll be sending you some things that will arrive in a day or two. I’m sure you will greatly enjoy them.” He says with a small chuckle.

“Why did you drop her to Iron city when you could do it yourself?”

“I have my reasons Chase and it’s costly to know them, so watch your tongue.” Nova growls making Chase squirm a bit. “When you have the materials I will contact you again.” He finishes before the screen cuts out. He waits for a few moments worried his screen might explode or something, but thankfully nothing happens. He looks around the lab and decides to get it in order, since he’ll be having a ‘guest’ here soon enough.

Xxxxxxxxx

She wakes up in a familiar dark room. Equipment beeping away as it works endlessly. She feels puzzled though…as if she really shouldn’t be here. She slowly gets up and looks around. Something is off…something is wrong. She walks over to a door and is surprised that it opens for her. She walks down a white hallway before she goes into another room and screams. There are body parts everywhere. Some are moving as if they’re alive. Others are covered in blood. Some experiments somewhat resemble humans but others look more machine than man. They moan and reach out to her as if she is their savior.

“Elisa!”

She yelps and turns around.

“Nova…Nova!” She gasps in fear, confusion, and relief.

“You stupid girl. You’re not supposed to be in here.” He snaps as he grabs and takes her out.

“I’m sorry Nova…I ..I…I didn’t mean to.” She pleads as he keeps a firm grip on her wrist. He takes her into another room she recognizes as his main office. Once inside he turns around and slaps her making her yelp.

“You know better than to go looking around.” He snaps. His expression is more frightening thanks to those special goggles he always wears. For a long time she thought they were part of him, until one day he approached her with them off. She didn’t recognized him and it made him laugh.

“Nova I’m sorry. Please…I’ll make it up to you.” She begs. He chuckles darkly as he takes her to a lab table and shoves her on it.

“I know you will.” He rasps, leaning in way too close. He’s scaring her. She knows when he’s angry and right now he’s not. He’s doing something else. “You want to be good for me don’t you?” He says as his hands start to trace over her body.

“Y-yes Nova.” She says.

“Good girl.” He says so darkly that it nearly makes her whimper. His hand traces over her face, running through her hair. “Hmmm…you’ve grown so much.” He says as he looks over her. She doesn’t notice his other hand take something out. “I should never have let you go.” He whispers.

“What did I do? I’ll do better. I promise Nova.” She pleads.

“That’s my girl, my favorite ten E.” He says almost proudly. She looks up at him with hopeful eyes when the door opens. They both look and it’s Ido…but he’s in his hunter warrior gear and is holding his hammer.

“Get away from her!” He shouts.

“Doctor?” Elisa whispers confused. Nova suddenly slams a scalpel into her heart and she screams in pain.

“Did you really think I would bring you back?” He snarls at her. His goggles glow a deep red that makes her shake. She cries out as he twists the blade and she coughs up blood. “You’re nothing to me! You’re nothing but a failure!” He shouts in her face.

“Elisa!”

She screams as someone calls out her name and she wakes up.

“Elisa, it’s alright. It was just a nightmare.” Ido says. She manages to focus and sees that it is indeed Ido and not Nova hoovering over her.

“Doctor…” She whispers touching his arm.

“You don’t have to call me that.” He chuckles as it’s now like an inside joke to them. She smiles weakly before her hand starts to shake. “It’s alright. You’re safe.” Ido says as he takes her into his arms.

“Hey, you guys ok? I thought I heard screaming.” Alita says rushing in.

“Elisa had a nightmare.” Ido says as she crawls up on the bed.

“What happened?” Alita asks her.

“Nova…I was dreaming about Nova.” She whispers tiredly. The other two remain quiet knowing it’s a touchy subject for her. “He was trying to kill me…but…but Ido! You were there too and you were trying to save me.” She says as she looks up at him. Alita smiles, maybe things are turning around. “Thanks for waking me up too.” Elisa says as she gets out of bed.

“You’re welcome.” He nods. “Breakfast is almost ready.” He announces. Alita heads downstairs as he looks over Elisa. “Are you sure you’re ok?”

“Yeah, I think so. I’m sorry about that. I thought I was doing better.” She says sadly.

“You don’t have to be sorry. Nightmares happen. Adjusting to a new life is a slow, but stead process. You don’t have to rush yourself.” He says kindly. She nods and he leaves so that she can get changed. It isn’t long after breakfast that Alita dashes off to hang out with Hugo and Ido gets to work. Elisa stays around and helps when she can.

“Can you teach me?” Elisa asks Ido during a quiet moment.

“Teach you what?” He asks.

“I don’t know…anything…what it means to be human.” She says.

“You can’t teach someone to be human. That’s just part of life.” He chuckles. “I can teach you other things like history, anatomy, science…” He says trailing off.

“History…what’s that?”

“Stuff that happened long before you and I were born, before the fall or the war.” He explains. There aren’t too many patients today so he decides to take Elisa out.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see.” He chuckles. When they arrive the building is old and inside is mostly quiet with not many people around. “This is called a library my dear.” He says showing her around in a low voice. “You have to be quiet though because people like to read here.” He explains. They go to a section called History and Ido takes out a few datapads. He checks them out before they head back to the clinic. “Read these, they talk about the past. It’s another way you can learn.” He smiles kindly to her.

“Thank you Ido.” She smiles back. She’s quiet the rest of the day as she reads, trying to learn everything she can. She talks all about it, excitedly at dinner. They all have good fun with it. Over the next few days, when his insomnia hits, Ido reads with Elisa instead of going hunting. It calms him down and he can’t get enough of Elisa’s bright smile. He’s so glad to see that she is finally accepting her emotions and trying to adapt to life in Iron City. When she’s done reading she goes back to the library and returns the datapads. She thinks about getting more when she sees a flyer on the front desk. It shows a new hunter warrior bounty of fifty thousand credits has been listed. That could last the clinic for a little while, so she grabs the flyer and returns home.

“Fifty thousand credits huh?” Ido says as he looks over the sheet.

“That could help the clinic for a bit right?” She says eagerly.

“I take it you want to go hunting tonight.” He says, trying to hide his disappointment.

“Well of course.” She nods.

“Very well, just don’t show Alita. I don’t want her joining in on this. The higher the bounty the more dangerous the mark is.” Ido says as he tucks the paper away.

“Of course.”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thankfully, Alita didn’t know about the bounty so Elisa and Ido were able to go off quickly once she went to bed. They start a search in previous spots but so far no luck.

“Do you think we should split up to cover more ground?” Elisa suggests.

“No, that’s a horrible idea.” Ido says firmly. She nods as they look around. Two cans are thrown at them out of nowhere and they both dive out of the way in separate directions as the cans burst into flame.

“Ido! Ido are you alright!?” Elisa calls out, looking for him with her advance eyesight.

“I’m fine.” He waves as he coughs, trying to get out the mouthful of smoke he took in. More cans are thrown and the fire spreads. The glare from the fire hurts Elisa’s eyes as she reverts back to normal.

“Ido! Ido, I can’t see you!” She shouts frantically. She tries to find a way to him, but the flames are blocking her completely. She walks back a few feet and her eyes change color again as she plans on gaining some speed to leap over the fire. Just as she’s about to run someone grabs her and she feels the familiar pinch of a needle in her neck. “Hey!” She snarls turning around, only to promptly pass out.

Xxxxxxxxx

Elisa moans as she wakes up. She hasn’t forgotten the feeling of being drugged. She never liked waking up from it because she always felt like she slept for way too long.

“Ido…Dyson…Dyson…” She mumbles as she remembers the fire and Ido.

“Relax, you precious Doctor Ido is fine.” An unfamiliar voice says sarcastically. She turns in the direction of the voice and she sees an unfamiliar man in a green jacket and work goggles staring at her.

“Who are you?” She says.

“My name is Doctor Jeffery Chase.” He answers.

“And you are my test subject.”