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[He's just staring at the arm. Not at her. Because clearly the offensive thing here is the metal limb. When he does look up at her again, it's with an effort to school his expression, real fingers still gripping the metal wrist.]

Did you... did you move it?

[Please tell me you did goes unsaid. But it's there, in his tone. Please tell him it was her, and not... some weird space voodoo defense program.]

[Angel looked from the man to his arm, studied the panic with a growing sense of guilt, and then nodded. There was clearly a lot she didn't know or understand about Shiro and his arm, perhaps to a degree that a normal person wouldn't have blamed themselves. But Angel was nothing if not the master of self-blame.]

I'm sorry. I needed to test if I could integrate with the system properly. I figured it better to test movement rather than tamper with critical functions and get us locked out. [She took a breath and started to reach out with her own hands, before hesitating. Maybe contact from a stranger wasn't the best right now.]

I'm sorry.

[For a moment or two, he's just looking at her. Startled. But the more she speaks, the more his expression relaxes. The more his shoulders start to sag in relief. He lets the death grip on his wrist go, opting to push his hand through his hair instead.]

Okay.

[A short, sharp nod, before he meets her eye.] It's fine, I was... I was just worried it was something else.

Some kind of failsafe they put in. In case I tried to do this. [But hey, there's no blame, or judgment here. Not for her, anyway.] I'm sorry too. The last time it did something on its own wasn't exactly a great memory.

From what I could tell, there wasn't anything like that immediately present. [But then, she figured that most of these things would be buried. Maybe it was best not to get his hopes up.]

Are you ready to continue? I may move things around more, but I'll try to let you know in advance if it becomes necessary.

[She took his hand, the metallic one, into her own, rather gingerly. Already her mind was opening back up, feeling the thrum that she was already becoming familiar with. She could do this, she was certain of it.]

That's... well that's good to know. For future reference.

[He'll take literally any good news about the stupid thing, at this point. Anything to say it wasn't a total loss.]

Yeah. Yeah, I'm good.

[Now that he knows it's her doing it, that makes accepting it a lot easier. He hesitates, for a second, before he lets her take it -- if only because it's The Arm. He's always been a bit hesitant on that count.]

[But he's ready.]

[Angel nodded, but said nothing more for the moment. Her mind was already melding itself to Shiro's arm. She wriggled his fingers once, a quick wave a the man just to assure herself that integration was complete, before quickly traveling up the network.]

[For a few minutes, that was all Angel did. In this period, exploration was less about finding answers, and more getting a feel for what was stored and how data and input flowed. It was a foreign system, not entirely like the clunky, Hyperion brand cybernetics she had seen before.]

Shiro? [Her voice was soft and slightly unfocused.] I need you to tell me what you're looking for, if you have any idea. It could be a word or a phrase, I just need something to help my focus.

[He wants to answer that he doesn't know. If only because that puts more distance between himself and... this. And everything else. But it's not true. It's not true, and it won't help his team. It won't save them.]

[That's what this is about, after all. It's not about him. If he can't avoid what Lance told him is coming, then... he has to help. In any way he can. It takes him a few moments to answer, a slow inhale, steadying breath before he speaks.]

A code. A passcode. It... could be a data packet, somewhere.

That's all I know. I'm sorry.

It helps. [She nodded, more to herself than anything else. Numbers were easy enough to track, even if languages themselves changed. Math was, after all, a universal language. Or it was where she came from -- there was always the possibility that Shiro came from a lawless place without numbers or mathematical sense.]

[She doubted it though.]

[Once more, she went quiet. For a long period time, a duration that Angel couldn't put an exact number on, she simply ceased to be. Her body continued on, controlled by her bodies most basic of functions. Her consciousness, on the other hand, melded entirely with the ebb and flow of data, chasing each impulse up and down as she mapped and made sense of the arm.]

[If she were capable of her own thoughts, she might have wondered if this was how spies worked -- simply blending in and allowing targets to reveal their information on their own time. The arm seemed fairly self-maintaining, which meant somehow, at some point, the arm's motor functions would eventually have to communicate with all parts of itself, making sure it was in working order.]

[Finally, she felt it, the faint pull of an inquisitive shock, the system checking its data banks. That was where the siren dove, following the faint and steadily fading thread.]

[Where her thoughts had, for a period, existed in a state of nothingness, the second she breached the barrier between neural networks and physical files and data, her mind began to swim. It took her a moment to compose herself enough to reach out once more, this time tapping the familiar sensation of her TAB.]

[In the land of the living, the screen flickered. Data transfer initiated.]

Okay.

[Good to know. At least he's giving her something useful to go off of.]

[And he can wait. He'll wait as long as she needs it. This is a favor she's doing for him, after all. He has no right, nor room, to rush her at all. Besides, if he does anything, it could throw her off. And what if that hurt her...?]

[So he stays still.]

[Pidge mentioned the arm was integrated with his nervous system, so part of him wonders if that's what she's seeing now. If it meant she could control other parts, too. Or just the arm. He's trusting her with a lot, here. But the others are somewhere in the house. If this somehow went south for either of them, help was just a shout away.]

[When her screen flickers, he almost jumps, eyes widening a fraction to take it in. And trying not to get his hopes up too high.]

[Withdrawing from the network took just as much time as integrating seemed to. Angel had to pull her consciousness back together, had to convince it to think for itself, rather than following each and every pulse and impulse.]

[In the interim, the data upload ticked by, reaching fifty percent by the time Angel willed herself to open her eyes. She gulped in a massive breath, her mind struggling to reintegrate itself with its proper body. The lights and sounds from the house, the city assailed her, far too complicated compared to the simplicity her mind had adjusted to.]

[A hand flew out, gripping Shiro's flesh one, anchoring herself to the land of reality. It had been far too long since she'd allowed herself to phaseshift for an extended period of time. The side-effects were unexpected, to put it mildly.]

[And before them, Angel's TAB lit up. The data sync was completed.]

[Admittedly, he jumps, when she grabs his hand. But his fingers curl around hers, regardless. Automatically. If she's looking for support, who is he to tell her no? Or turn her down? If it helps at all, he'll do it.]

[His metal hand stays... well. As under her control as she'll let it. Or want it. He isn't trying to move it, in other words.]

Easy. Take it easy -- it's okay.

[After a moment, he adds, quietly, and steadily, just in case:]

You're in my house. In the kitchen. There's water if you need it.

[The sound of a voice, as opposed to a collection of electrical hums and data feedback helped. She focused on his words, the description of it all, finding it to be mostly helpful. Her gaze swept wildly around the room, taking in each thing he described as if she somehow doubted him.]

[As rational thought finally crept back into her mind, Angel extended her other trembling hand. She took the glass of water into it, and brought it up to her lips. Once more her eyes closed, opening only once she had downed the contents of the glass and set it back down.]

Sorry it's... been awhile since I fully integrated with something.

You're here because I needed help. No one else is in the room. Just me. Front door is unlocked, if you need to get out. Or there's a broom closet to duck into.

[That last part is meant to be funny. In that awful, dry sense of humor Shiro always has when trying to cope with things -- keeping his tone level and assuring. Squeezing her fingers gently with his human hand.]

[Only moving to try and help her wrap her fingers around the glass.]

It's okay. Don't worry about it.

Are you going to be all right?

[A tiny breath escaped the woman, in a pitch just high enough to be considered a laugh. At this point though, the last thing she wanted to be in was a tight, closed in space. Even the kitchen felt oppressive, constricting even.]

[But the feeling was ebbing. Human contact, human warmth -- that was exactly what she needed right now.]

I'm... I'll be fine. It's passing. [She moved her hands away from the man, instead reaching out to run her fingers over the surface of her TAB. The display flickered to life, and quickly brought up the collection of files she had managed to pull from the man's arm.]

I got something. I don't know if it's what you're going to need, but you were right about there being data in there.

Okay. Just. Let me know if there's anything I can do.

[Because he really doubts there's actually anything -- but he's got to ask. It wouldn't be right not to. Not just because she just did him a favor. She's a person. You're supposed to help people.]

[That's how this works.]

[He doesn't try to hold onto her as she pulls back. Staying on his side of the table and trying not to move too suddenly or sharply. Just in case.]

Can you tell how much there was?

[She nodded, but knew just as well as Shiro did there was nothing that really could be done. It was just a matter of reintegrating, of rubbing the pads of her thumb and fingers over his. Tactile sensation was not something that existed in that strange electrical world that she drifted into. That meant this was real.]

[She was real.]

[It took her longer than it should have to process his question, and longer still to figure out just how to convey her answer.]

It should say on my device. It was hard to tell while I was in there. [If she were in her prime, she could have had the answer immediately, and could have been in and out without a problem.]

[Hey, he's got nowhere to be -- and sure won't be sleeping any time soon. She can take as long as she needs. Part of him wonders if he should squeeze her fingers in return, but he holds back.]

[Worrying he might set her off, like certain things did for him.]

Got it. We can check whenever you're ready to.

[By now, she had at least calmed down enough to need a distraction from her racing thoughts. She'd taken in all she could, waited as long as she could make herself. The rest of the "damage" could only be mended with time.]

[Her fingers brushed over her TAB, awakening it once more. She tapped a few things on her screen, before leaning back and expanding the projected display enough for them both to see. None of the files or names made sense to the siren, but she held them out to Shiro, hoping that there was something in there that he had been searching for.]

I can send it all to you if you open your own connection, but for now, you are welcome to peruse.

[Leaving the device beside him, Angel stood up. She didn't go far, instead paced the length of the kitchen as she reminded herself that she was a being with limbs that could move, rather than an endlessly drifting consciousness.]

[Part of him is, distantly, fascinated by what she just did. If Pidge heard about it, she'd be star-struck, probably. But that's not his call to make. Telling others is Angel's thing. Not his.]

[He doesn't move for a few moments, watching her pace. It seems like a weird thing to do, to look at someone else's TAB without them actually being there. Like going through someone's phone.]

[So instead, he'll go to open up his own TAB. Attempting to fiddle with the settings to get it open.]

I'll wait until it's here. And... thank you. For doing this. It means a lot.

[Angel would have a field day with Pidge, and she certainly needed to have more female friends. Given the opportunity, she would be grateful to meet a like-minded fellow. But all of that would have to come later, perhaps when she wasn't visiting on business.]

[She turned to him when he spoke, and then moved back over to him. Once his device ticked online, she activated the connection and began moving the data over to him. It would have been easier to use her own abilities for it -- she wouldn't have even had to think about doing that much. Given her heightened emotional state, however, she thought it wise not to.]

I'm happy to help. It's... nice to be able to use this kind of thing for good, again.

[Grabbing her cup, she shuffled away once more and moved to refill it.]

Thanks.

[A quiet acknowledgement of her assisting with the device. Before he starts idly scrolling through the available information. None of it looks like something he can really read. It's familiar, but not legible. Which means it's probably...]

[Metal fingers flex. He needs to get this to Pidge.]

You know... if you want, one of my teammates here is really good with tech. She'd kill for a chance to talk to you.

[A beat, before he adds:] Not literally kill. She'd just be very, very excited.

[Caught up in herself as she was, Angel didn't notice the twitch on Shiro's part. Had she, the girl might have inquired after his well-being, or perhaps after what he had found therein.]

[As it was, however, Angel simply turned to the man and offered him a smile. She had understood what he was getting at, but appreciated his clarification all the same. It meant a great deal to her, when those around her seemed so attentive to her well-being.]

[Such a strange thing it was, having good friends.]

Perhaps I shall come back another day, then. When it's not so late and the circumstances not so business-like. I'd love to meet her.

[Ordinarily, someone being so curious about her powers would have put her on edge. But whoever this person was, she seemed to have Shiro's trust. It meant that Angel, in turn, could trust her.]

[Or at least, she hoped she could.]

Her name is Pidge. [The name she goes by here, anyway. If she wants to tell Angel her name is really Katie, that's up to her, not him.] She's our tech and computer expert.

... if you'd like to meet more of the team, Hunk's our engineer. They're pretty incredible, together.

[This is easier to talk about than the data. Than the long strings of Galra info crossing the screen. Some of which put his back up, even if he can't really read them. Even if their meanings are totally unknown.]

[Deep breaths.]

Thank you, again, for doing this.

[If one of her best friends could go by Zer0, then clearly there was no problem with a stranger going by Pidge. Really, it didn't sound all that odd. Better than Flanksteak or Nine-Toes.]

I'd love to meet them. I... could use more friends around my age. [She was assuming they were close to her age, at least. Shiro seemed to be, and unless he was like her -- hanging out with those far older than her, she could at least assume that his friends were near his age.]

I know it.... likely seemed like it was difficult, but I assure you it wasn't. And it was worth it, to help a friend.

Stick around here long enough, they'll turn up.

[He says it with the slightest of fond smiles. Because it's impossible not to be fond of his team. Every one of them. Even the ones he has to raise his voice at sometimes.]

[They need more human friends, too.]

... but friends need to thank each other for favors, too. So. Thanks.

audio;

THEY SHOULD HAVE TALKED A BIT MORE MAYBE OOPS

CONSENT IS IMPORTANT, KIDS

ALWAYS TALK BEFORE YOU GO BRAIN DIVING INTO PEOPLES' LIMBS

new meaning to the phrase "dumpster diving."

WHOOPS

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