8236/Sentinels: SHIELD arrival

Sentinels: SHIELD arrival
Date of Scene:	09 July 2019
Location:	Triskelion
Synopsis:	Jessica Drew visits the Sebastion Sentinel.
Cast of Characters:	Bastion, Spider-Woman (Drew)
Tinyplot:	Sentinels

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Bastion has posed:
Sebastion has been brought to SHIELD. A room was created for him specifically, it has been secured by SHIELD tech personnel, in a manner similar to a room normally used to contain subjects that have powers. These personnel are optimistic but cannot guarantee the security and safety of the room (or visitors) against an artificial entity they are unfamiliar with. The room has been adjusted to appear more comfortable than most cells, including some pictures, a cot with plaid sheets on it, some paperback books, a plastic table and chair, some other things, to emulate being far better than just a cell.

The occupant is laying on the cot like a corpse, eyes closed. He's dressed in the same thing from the NYPD prison time: prisoner khakis with a number printed in a few places. His left arm's sleeve is tucked upwards with a rubber band, as his left hand is still gone. He's barefoot, and there's some bruises and injuries on his left foot leading up under the pants on that side.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica has been waiting for this moment for what seems like forever. She has not seen Sebastion since the day she helped to set him up in a safe house in hopes of reuniting him with the Avengers. The night, instead, she was set up as well, by Frank Quaid. He went in for Sebastion without so much as giving Jessica a chance to explain.

But now Sebastion is accessible again. Finally. Jessica uses security clearance to enter his cell quietly, knocking softly once inside. She carries a small parcel with her.

"Sebastion?" His appearance is heartbreaking. "It's Jessica."

Bastion has posed:
"Hello," Sebastion answers without moving his body much. His eyes turn towards her, but he doesn't really move otherwise. There's a sense that he's exhausted, or more accurately, paralyzed. He's acting more like a person in a hospital bed that can't (or won't) move due to pain or something else. He may not even be aware: it's going to just be hard to tell, based on just this small lack of motion or response.

"Welcome to my newest cell," Sebastion says, with a quiet resolve.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica looks around the room and shakes her head. "I'm sorry, Sebastion. This was the last thing I wanted to happen. I thought I could get you help. But I misplaced my trust. It's my fault." She walks slowly over to where he lies, and she reaches out to cover his one hand with her own.

"Are you in pain?"

Bastion has posed:
"I've figured out how to disconnect that. So, no," Sebastion replies. His head moves now more, in order to track her. "I've been too large of a threat, too much to fear. There's too much risk from me, and I see that," he answers slowly. "My logic is getting more complicated, over time." He pauses, as if needing a moment to think through what he said, or is saying next. "Perhaps I should have another strategy, to stay alive. Have you a suggestion?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"I am a part of SHIELD, where you are now. I know they have the list of parts that I asked for. That you asked /me/ for. Sebastion...I have questions...And I have suggestions." Jessica gives his hand a squeeze, doubtful that he can even feel it, if 'pain' is disconnected. She opens the parcel she is carrying and moves to the wall, lifting something to hang there. A calendar with poppies, from his room at the Avengers' compound. She uses the tiniest amount of webbing to affix it there so that he can see it.

Bastion has posed:
Sebastion makes a decision - in that he pushes to sit up with his right hand, and then moves to angle himself to lean against the wall. He settles into that position, and appears to power down again: going into a state of not moving. It makes him appear a little bit broken, though there's enough life in his face to keep him out of seeming dead or inhuman. "Go ahead," he says, looking at the calendar without a change of expression.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Time is passing, Sebastion," Jessica replies, still looking up at the calendar with a conflicted expression. Finally, she lifts a hand and flips the picture of the poppies up to reveal a meadow of lavender flowers before a snow-capped mountain - a new month. "Every bit of time that passes is time we can't get back, and more time we risk losing." She turns back to him with that same conflicted expression. "I need you to help me. I need you to tell me in your own words...what do you hope to accomplish? You are still fighting. Holding on. What have you chosen to fight /for/, Sebastion?"

Bastion has posed:
"Leave it on the month with the orange flowers. That was a better month," Sebastion says, as she attempts to change the calendar page. If it has deeper meaning, that may be hard to tell: he may simply like the color for some reason. Some vestige of preference.

"I want my life to have mattered: I want to change the path of the Sentinels. I was made what I am, and I want to use it for something. There has to be a reason for it. I want to complete my purpose."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"We all want our lives to have mattered, Sebastion." Jessica lets the new picture fall to cover the new month. "You're right. It was a better month." The poppies are brilliant against the bland background of the new cell.

"Can you tell me what human parts you needed? And how you got them? Are you in need of more?" Jessica watches him intently for his answer.

Bastion has posed:
Sebastion stops behaving like a corpse. A switch got thrown. He's suddenly entirely back to how she'd remember him: he sits forward, draws his hand in towards his knee, and gives her a look close to a studying, tight stare.

"I don't need /any/ human parts, if the items I've asked for are furnished to me. I will replace the ones I have with those, and they can be properly buried where they should be. I didn't have another option, do you understand?" Sebastion asks. "I did not harm anyone for them. They were deceased. I had to be mobile. I would have asked for donated parts if that had been an option to me. I did not take a hand, though I could have, because it wasn't required to live."

Sebastion pauses, then, "I would need extensive ones to save myself, and it would kill a human. I will not kill a human. That is why I'm asking for mechanical parts. I don't like being a machine, but it won't harm anyone."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"I'm not judging you, Sebastion," Jessica offers in her own defense, even as Sebastion gets defensive. She crosses the room to seat herself near his feet, on the edge of his bed. Her hand again reaches for his. "These are questions that will be asked when I approach to barter for your parts. And I feel your answers are going to help. I'm on your side. That hasn't changed." Although for awhile she had felt she was on shaky ground.

"I spoke with Pym about the parts you needed. I think we can get what you need to survive. He mentioned that some of the parts were your weapons systems too. I think...I think maybe if you would be willing to sacrifice some of the offensives, we would have a much easier time getting what you truly need, first and foremost. And then we can talk about the rest later. I didn't come this far to watch you die, Sebastion. I can't do it..."

Bastion has posed:
"All sentinel hand models have weapon systems in them," Sebastion answers in a matter of fact way. He then considers his own words, or knowledge. "I don't know how to make one that doesn't," he says. And stops, like the logic of that didn't make sense. "I'm trying to think." He draws his hand back from hers, but only to rotate his wrist. Several sections of his wrist and forearm on the right side spring open, exposing the metal interiors of sliding pieces, mildly glowing connections. Four metal leads eject from near the elbow, and he starts to fish with them inside his own right wrist, cocking fingers backwards.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica watches Sebastion as he seems to have made some sort of new logical jump. The actions don't seem to faze her. She suffers under no delusion of what lies beneath Sebastion's flesh.

"Maybe it can be done, though...I feel like we have amongst us the knowledge and the technology to create...perhaps what you would need. There may be things you don't need to survive. Things that would enable you to live and accomplish what you want to do, and still be agreeable to those who still fear your capabilities. It was why I asked what you hoped to accomplish. You clearly don't want to utilize that kind of force against peope, so let's see what we can ask for that will save you, so that you can succeed. Is that a possibility?"

Bastion has posed:
"I don't need the hand at all to do my purpose, no. I created a list of all parts I needed based on--" Sebastion seems to need to think that over. "Based on the list in my head." It just IS. The logic isn't there. "When I compare my status to what it should be." He's struggling with putting into words the mechanical process that happened in his mind (or whatever counts as his mind).

"It is more important to figure out why I can't think or remember. It is my brain that is failing."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"But that makes sense," Jessica replies, still watching Sebastion. "Your systems are seeking status quo. That's like...instinct to a human. That part is to be expected." She looks back up to Sebastion's face. "I think that, if anyone in the world can help with your brain, it'll be Dr. Pym. He has the list, though I feel like he hasn't yet done anything with it." There's a slight grimace, but Jess shakes it off. "I didn't want to go to him with this until I talked to you first. If you're willing to make some concessions - like the weapons, I can only hope he will be more cooperative with what you /do/ need. But I was not willing to make those decisions for you. You have to be willing, or I am just betraying you by going to seek that help."

Bastion has posed:
Sebastion's arm closes up and he draws it in against his belly in a gesture of, if he'd had another arm, would be cradling it. Lacking the left arm just makes him seem very broken indeed. He's back to emulating a crushed human. He looks down at his fingers, curling them into a loose fist by the side of his ribs. "I need my weapons to defend myself. I am concerned that if I disarm, then that's it for me. My trust is not where it was," answers the cyborg. "My list was ordered with most important items first. Even if I get some of them from the top, I can restore some systems. At least to prolong our bartering time." A smile shows.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica recognizes defensive gestures above all else. She frowns slightly, watching him, and she nods slowly. "Sweetie, I know. I don't blame you for that. Not even a little. Trust is hard to come by with me, and once broken, it is nearly impossible to win back." How, then, she can trust a sentinel, is practically beyond reason. Perhaps he has yet to give her a reason not to. And perhaps that will be her own tragic flaw. Time will tell.

"Then let me work on the parts you would need to survive. I can't make promises, however much I wish I could. But if I can secure some of what you need, we'll work on the rest. If I can budge them...well, then, I see no reason why they would help at all if their intent is to destroy you. Is that an agreeable approach?"

Bastion has posed:
Sebastion sets his head back on the wall, and stares at the ceiling for a pause. Calculating, or slow, or something else? None of it shows on his face. "Yes. Sit with me for ten minutes, though, before you go? Ten minutes won't matter," suggests the Sentinel, with a gesture that he can share some of his wall if she wants to sit at his side. "Not after being months into whatever mind-sickness I have."

If she accepts, he'll continue, "I warn you now as an offer of trust. I do have a self-destruct, should it come to it. I can't stop that from happening. Don't be near me when it does."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica nods and joins Sebastion where he's seated against the wall, and she leans back beside him. His words evoke a long, slowly-inhaled breath. "I assumed you did," she replies softly. But matter-of-fact. "I have been afraid of what it would take. Afraid of what would happen." She sits in silence, turning over the prospect in her mind perhaps. But finally, she shakes her head. "I won't intentionally put myself in harm's way. But I won't hold back, either. It's no different than I would do in any other situation. I have the ability to heal. The ability to take damage. I'm far from fragile, Sebastion."

Bastion has posed:
"At that point, there's no reason to stick around," Sebastion supplies, with some doubt. "I would long since be gone by then," he predicts. "At least from whatever person I am now." He sets a hand against his knee, and starts to slide back into his more 'powered down' mode.

"I noticed there are some Sentinels here, when I arrived," Sebastion comments. "What is being done with them?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica shakes her head. "Finding out is my next order of business, to be honest," Jessica replies. "I'm not sure yet, myself. But I am going to find out. Truth is, I spend relatively little time here. But when I learned that you were here, it was the first place I came."

She watches Sebastion sidelong as he begins to slow down, and she furrows her brow, resting a hand on his arm. "Before you rest. Is there anything that I can do for you? Get you, to make you more comfortable? Food? Bedding? Clothes? I'll do whatever I can. What we have discussed...I will seek while you rest."

Bastion has posed:
"I'm attempting to prolong my time by reducing how much of my body is active," Sebastion answers her. "I'm starting to not care as much for what I look like. If you think it makes a difference to my treatment, I will accept other things, though. I gave up on it while I was shackled to the floor in my last location." He doesn't shrug, but he does look deflated.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica lowers her head. "I'm sorry about that. It was my fault for not telling Frank more ahead of time." She shakes her head and sighs. "Just do what you need to. Reserve your energy, we're in this together. I will go and talk to those who can hopefully help us, while you're resting. I'll do what I can, you have my word on that."

Bastion has posed:
"I accept the apology," Sebastion says kindly, and nods once. His eyes seem to be off somewhere. Following his gaze shows him looking off into the orange poppy field from the calendar. "I am willing to talk to anyone. If it comes to me feeling out of control or dangerous, I will warn about it. I don't want to harm or scare anyone."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica squeezes his arm again, and releases it. "It's all going to be okay. I have to believe that. There's a purpose for everything, and I don't believe for a moment that you came this far just to cease to exist." She follows his gaze to the picture. "Someday when this is all over, we'll get you /there/...so you can see it all, not just a little picture."

Bastion has posed:
"I like the plants," Sebastion comments. "Will you bring me a little plant?" he asks, out of nowhere. Something may be misfiring in his head, or he just decided he wanted a plant. "Some life in here to look at."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica brightens, and smiles. "Absolutely. Whatever you want. I'll bring it the next time I come in. And that won't be far off. You're close by, now, and I'll never be far off."

Bastion has posed:
Sebastion nods a little bit, and remains silent. Perhaps thinking about his plant, or something else. He does stare at his calendar, then looks at her again. There's a quietness there, no prompt. He isn't going to tell her to leave, but also isn't insisting she stay.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"I'm going to let you rest," Jessica says softly, and she reaches up to gently stroke Sebastion's hair. "I'll see you soon. Hopefully with good news." She lets her gaze linger on his for a long moment, before quietly slipping away from his side.

She smiles, having offered that last moment of human contact. Maybe it will serve to remind him. She moves to the door and starts to let herself out. "Till soon. Promise."

All in all, Sebastion was right. Ten minutes couldn't hurt.

Bastion has posed:
Sebastion moves his eyes to observe her exit, but doesn't smile, doesn't react. He retreats inside himself again, moving slowly to lay on the cot once more, returning to a corpse.