i am a cage in search of a bird

[crocodiline]

[ The figure inside the frosted glass snaps her fingers, and the glass falls away, sliding into grooves in the ground below. Inside, behind additional bulletproof glass, sits a woman, legs up on a transparent glass desk, absentmindedly petting a... whatever this thing is.

Say hello to your mastermind, everyone! ]

Hey there, everyone. Nice to talk to you in person - my name is Cipher, welcome to my city. Sorry I took so long to show up in person. No need to get up on my account - how about we talk business?

[ Let's drive. ]

Comments

[crocodiline]

[ Eventually, Cipher claps her hands. ]

Not to rush you, but your friends hiding out inside my supercomputer would probably like to see you and get this thing settled, so now that we're done going over my sad backstory or whatever...

I'm fine with anything you choose to do from here, but you should probably figure out what happens to me and what you all want to do from here.

[visiblepattern]

...I would like to suggest that this place should be destroyed. Not the Lutece machine, if there's any choice to preserve that, but otherwise nothing good has come of this place.

[He turns to Cipher, then.]

As for what happens to you... I decided a long time ago that I wasn't going to be the one to decide that. But please, please let me cut your hair before anything is actually done to you one way or the other.

[honeyedtea]

...

I could do it. As punishment for the terrible inconveniences we've been put through.

[specialyellthing]

Hah! Curls, you aren’t gonna feel much better about her hair if we leave it to Goldie—-

[visiblepattern]

Don't worry, I intend to take care of it.

[...]

Sorry, Mielle.

[crocodiline]

You can do your worst, sure.

[visiblepattern]

Even if everyone else decides to kill you, I don't have it in me to let you die ugly. So don't worry too much.

[howveryglib]

[okay this is a better thing to focus on than a personal crisis of faith.]

I am in favor of this plan of action as well. I believe there are a few things that ought to be salvaged, but for the most part it really should just be destroyed.

[sastruga]

We need to get the animals out of the aquarium...

[specialyellthing]

… I’ll leave that to you guys.

[onemillion]

I agree with destroying this place. I have no preference on what we decide to do with her, so long as she doesn't come anywhere near my world.

[Just. You know. In case she decides to run more murdergames.]

[crocodiline]

Done and done. New Rapture has a self-destruct protocol built in, but I can customize it to make sure it doesn't hit everything.

[specialyellthing]

… You promise to help the girls?

[crocodiline]

Honestly? I'll help any of you, sure.

[specialyellthing]

Then… I’m willing to let you go.

But if you ever, so much as harm a hair on their heads—— I will find you, and I will destroy you.

[crocodiline]

Sure. ... If I am allowed to be a free agent, am I allowed to fight the supervillains where you're from? They seem like decent challenges.

[ sometimes enrichment in ur enclosure is finally being able to know if you could take the joker in a fight and win!!!! ]

[visiblepattern]

...If you were serious about strategy regarding the war, I still personally don't want it. But I feel like you should probably talk to my father. And my uncles. About that.

I don't know if I'm going back to the war right away. I have something to discuss with a few people first.

[inaclearing]

[Brett looks anxious, running his hands over each other.]

I don't - it's you guys' call. I don't think I should be involved in this.

[sastruga]

...Can I ask for something... kind of random?

[crocodiline]

Sure.

[sastruga]

...Can I have your computer?

Your audio software is better than mine...

[listen were her priorities ever gonna be normal during this]

[capreelcious]

--Huh? Oh. Is it the fun violence part yet? Also can I get my magic and my other form back?

[ He's absolutely been zoned out for most of this conversation. ]

[crocodiline]

Right, powers. Those should reactivate when you leave the city. Fontaine activated a quantum field when he started our game and didn't have a chance to shut it off before I shut him off.

[capreelcious]

Quantum field? ...No wait nevermind, that sounds like too much sciencey stuff for me. But nice!

[howveryglib]

…how did he choose what precisely it works on, I have been trying to adjust to one of my senses only half working for two months…