Chasing a Shade

[Shade]

October seemed to have started after all. The last days had been rather warm, but now there was a feelable autumn wind. Not too chilling because the buildings held off quite some of it, but clearly telling that the summer was over.

Shade was walking down the street somewhere near the quieter blocks of Manhattan. The streets were busy, as usual, but not crowded and she was lost in her own thoughts as she walked along, a smile on her lips. The morning had been a good one. She had finally come around to drive down into the city again, leaving the Corvett on a parking lot to take a stroll for some minor shopping and, most important, to see the photographer again. The pictures had turned out better than she would have hoped, the photographer was really skilled. She had spent the last hour picking the ones she liked best and agreed to return in a few days when the card game would be finished. Things would get a little more expensive than she had thought they would but Shade did not care. Quite the contrary, she could not wait for November 7 to see Gambit´s reaction.

She put away her cell phone and slung her arms around her body to keep warm because her jacket was getting a little too light for the season, she walked along the street, her thoughts straying into different directions. Gambit had called her a moment before. Shade was almost certain he had sounded worried and wondered why. He had meant to tell her something but her cell phone batteries had died in mid sentence, after some hellos and when Gambit had just started to say something that had sounded like "be ca..." and then nothing. She had looked at her cell phone for a moment then realised it was dead. Well, she thought, there would be public phone boxes around. She would find one and call him back. She knew his number by heart.

[lang]

The experience of the first test-drive had been taken into account. Lang planned the second trip more carefully. He would no longer accompany the Sentinel into the city, as it had proven to be rather risky, but would monitor its route and behavior throughout the entire trip. The plan concentrated on capturing a mutant again; one or two, for starters, and Lang wanted the robot to do it in a crowd of people to see how the differentiation worked.

The Sentinel crossed the sky above Manhattan and landed in a quieter area with less traffic, similar to the one during the first test-drive. It was noticed by the anti-aircraft but still had some time before the forces would arrive. The worst part of the Project Wideawake was currently its break-off from the Government and the resulting secrecy and opposition to the national security.

[Shade]

Shade was walking the same way she had come earlier and by now it was just a few blocks left to get back to where she had parked her car. With one hand she checked the trousers of her jeans to confirm the keys were still there while her eyes were scanning the street ahead, looking for a phone box. She was walking swiftly, but not in a hurried way. She knew that when Gambit sounded troubled there was usually a reason for it. Well anyways, in a few moments she thought, spotting a phone box some 200 metres ahead, she would know.

[lang]

The machine oriented itself easily in a crowded place, landing without harming anybody by its VTOL jets. There were only two mutants in its sensing field, the decision was made immediately based on which one was closer, and the robot raised its palms, preparing to shoot with electricity to stun the mutant.

[Shade]

Shade was unable to tell what warned her first: people starting to scream and run at the sight of the sentinel and the cars breaking or the shadow that the giant robot cast on the street where she was walking. She raised her eyes and was paralised for a very brief moment, unable to take in what was happening. She could sort in the huge shape, she had seen a Sentinel in the Danger Room but it did not fit into her image of reality, like something that had leapt from a bad dream and looked odd in her world. She was unable to tell how much time passed, but it seemed like an eternerty as she watched the Sentinel raise one metal arm. Then her instincts kicked in and she turned on the spot, almost staggering before she dashed off vanishing immidiately as she did so. Part of her remembered these things did not hesitate, another painfully reminded her that she was vulnerable... and her invisibility almost useless. She started to run down the street, almost knocking over somebody as she ran.

[lang]

The target started to move rather quickly; Lang, who was watching it through the Sentinel's "eyes", could sense that something was bothering him about it. A brief view around the street shed some light onto it: humans froze on the spot, staring at the Sentinel without moving, at least in the first few rather long moments; the mutant ran. It could have been the mutant's good reaction, or the general cowardly disposition towards everything - then again, the mutant could be aware of what the Sentinel was. That was a disturbing thought.

The robot's reaction was as good as could have been expected from a computer. Immediately adjusting to the change in distance, it blasted bolts of electricity to paralyze the mutant's feet.

[Shade]

Her fears were confirmed only too soon; Shade only very narrowly escaped an elictricity bolt that was without any doubt aimed at her doing an instinctive small leap. Did that mean she was the only mutant around? Or did it just mean she was unfortunate enough to have been picked as a random target? Her thoughts were racing at painful speed as she tried to fight down her panic running on and trying to gather yet more speed. There were people around, not as much as there would have been in mid Manhattan but definitely enough to get in her way... or to distract the robot. If they were humans, it might try to avoid them. It would, she told herself, her heart racing.

She reached a corner and did a quick turn around it, before doing another turn running out onto the street instead of following the sidewalk. Knowing that the sentinel could sense her despite her powers, she let them slip for a moment for her own protection. A cab driver hit the breaks hard, avoiding a collision and Shade made another sharp turn, reaching the other end of the street, running left, vanishing again.

[lang]

For a second, the robot lost the trace of the mutant when she turned around the corner; following her there, it encountered a street packed with braking cars and also with humans. The mutant was lost on the visual but remained in the thermovision, and the robot rose in the air again, flying ahead and aiming to corner and intercept the mutant as far as the computer's judgment of direction went.

It landed in front of the mutant again, blocking the mutant's passage but not blocking the street - its senses were telling it that cars carried humans and were therefore an obstacle, since the Sentinel had been programmed against harming humans.

There were humans around; using gas or electricity could result in human casualties, so the robot chose another weapon out of its inventory - it raised a hand and shot out a net.

[Shade]

She breaked apruptly, so hard that she could feel a surging pain going through her ankles. Her eyes wide with fear, especially since she had not known that Sentinels could actually fly. It dramatically limited down her chances of escape and Shade did not even want to imagine what would happen to her if she didn´t. The sentinel was so close she would have been the perfect aim for some lethal ammunition. The fact that this did not happen could only mean two things: either the sentinel did not want to kill in public which seemed strange as the commotion it caused was not held a secret and witnessed by many or - and this option was no less disturbing - it wanted to catch her alife. Being chased like deer told her clearly enough that she would not be treated like a human being if she was getting captured. It increased her fear tenfold.

She hardly had time to avoid the net and from sheer instinct made a leap to the side, still invisible. She felt as if she was trying to hide more than she actually could. Her invisibility was almost pointless with the Sentinel, it could sense her, it knew exactly where she was. It made her feel completely helpless, like some thing serving just as a game.
The net missed her by no more than one or two milimetres, touching her shoulder when she leaped aside. This time, her escape was even closer than before with the shock bolts and Shade lost no time in running off again, giving all she had. The sentinel could easily get hold of her so she became desperate, let her powers slip again and ran right onto the street. More cars were breaking, there was a small crash somewhere, but she remained on the street, avoiding cars, speeding between them. The sentinel would not shoot at a car and she was almost sure, she hoped instantly she was not mistaken, that there was a tube station nearby.
A flickering thought raced through her brain, something Gambit had said. The sentinel would not be able to follow her down there and besides the danger of affecting humans was far too big down there. So she sped on, desperately hoping she was right. If there was a tube station, it would be round the next corner.

[lang]

Taking large steps over the cars along the street, the Sentinel followed the mutant, the length of its stride making any running speed - if unaided by relevant superpowers - completely pointless.

Lang glanced at a computer screen nearby that had lines of Sentinel's log appear at a fast speed: choices the computer made, reasons for making them, new information learned from the situation, adaptation of weapons. The Sentinel wouldn't try the same weapon twice, so it was time for its new choice.

The direction of the mutant's run, judging by where she was headed, would take her to the nearest subway station entrance. The robot weighed the option of crushing the entrance and thus cutting off the mutant's path of escape, but that would have endangered the humans near it. However, there were no humans now on the line between the Sentinel and the mutant. The metallic hand was raised again, sending a gush of sleeping gas that would reach her no matter in which direction she would have turned. After that, it would be only a matter of seconds to pick the body up and leave.

[Shade]

Her sides were starting to ache. Training in the Danger Room was one thing, there it was easier to rationally evaluate how to run, what strategies to chose to safe energy. It was a whole different matter when running was for reals. Turning around the corner, Shade noticed to her immense relief that she had not been mistaken: there was indeed a subway station, but its entrance, although not really far of and within the reach of seconds now seemed as far away as the moon. She had vanished again, just from mere survival instinct even though it was pointless with the robot, as soon as she had left the street and was no longer in acute danger of being hit by a car. The way in front of her was deserted; good, as it allowed her to run unhindered. Bad, as some warning flashlight in the back of her mind told her, as it meant the sentinel would not have to take care for humans in his reach. There were none.

The robot was close enough to make the ground tremble under its steps and Shade started to cough instinctively, realising too late what it was that hit her: gas. Panic overtook her at once. She did not know what sort of gas it was but it was effecting her immidiately, like some heavy blanket covering her senses, trying to slow down her movements. It made her panic, force herself to move her feet, doing another helpless turn in a feeble and senseless attempt to have the sentinel lose track. She knew it wouldn´t work but the alternative would mean to just give in. It was no alternative.
Her heart racing madly, panic engulfing her senses she ran on, feeling to her own despair that her steps were getting less controlled. She kept her gaze fixed on the entrance to the tube station. It´s so close, it raced through her mind. So close, you can reach it, you must. You have to hide.... Hide... The thought nearly drifted from her while her powers acted on her own. She was invisible all the time now but it was not enough to hide from the sentinel. Her desperate attempts of escape however activated something. Something so deeply rooted within her powers that she did not even consciously register what was going on. Flight instincts activating a deeper range of invisibility, vanishing not only her body, but everything about her. Temperature... sound. An unconscious, extremely draining thing to do which hit her senses like some heavy object. Shade thought it to be the effect of the gas wearing her down far too quickly so she stumbled on, helplessly. Reaching for the reiling of the stairs leading down into the tube station like someone drowning, she felt her senses blurr. She did not know what was going on, had no idea that she was now undetectable for the sentinel. She just moved on, down the stairs, more slowly than she could bear, until halfway her feet gave way and she stumbled, falling only half conscious.

[lang]

The Sentinel sent the signal that the target had disappeared. Not just from the visual - from any other possible way of detection that was available to use on a street. There was no sound, no temperature trace, no motion detected. It was as if the mutant had dissipated into the air without a trace.

The Sentinel was already looking for the next target; Lang cancelled the command and ordered the Sentinel to return back to the base. It was enough for that test-drive. There would be more. They would study the experience data the robot had received from the first two outings, and would probably make some adjustments, apart from those that the fast-learning computer brain of the robot had already introduced during the test-drives.

[Somebody?]

People around that were at first either running away or frozen in panic at the sight of the gigantic robot, eventually calmed down after the Sentinel left. A few of them noticed Shade who was lying unconscious not far from where the staircase into the subway ended.

Some woman tried to turn Shade around, putting her into a better position to take a look at her. "Somebody call 911," another woman said, as they all tried to figure out what had happened to Shade. They vaguely remembered her stumbling into the subway but couldn't connect her lying there to the Sentinel's appearance - at least not beyond her running from the robot and falling down the stairs.

[Shade]

Shade had more fallen than stumbled down the last few stairs, the unusual intensity of the use of her powers draining her quickly, still upheld by her most primal instincts of survival. The gas had had an effect on her but luckily she had not gotten much of that. Still, when she had reached the bottom of the stairs and stumbled for a few more uncoordinated steps, gas and exhaution had taken their toll and she had fainted on the ground. Her powers had slipped, leavng her defenseless and visible on the ground.

She did not stay unconscious for long though. When she opened her eyes again, her vision slightly blurred, she noticed she was not alone. Memory of the last few moments rushed back in an instant and since she was suspecting more following her, if not robots then humans aiding it, as the sentinel could not follow her down here, her flight instincts kicked in. She tried to vanish but it didn´t work as she was too panicked and too drained to work them. She barely registered that fact, noticing only that there was someone touching here and for a moment she could not sort the situation in. Shade tried to stagger away, being exhausted to an extent that did not allow much movement yet, which made her panic even more.

[Somebody?]

They leaned above her. "Ma'am, are you alright?" one of the women asked. "Do you need an ambulance?"