My Bad Reputation

[Tereza Rozanov]

"Doctor McCoy, this is Tereza. I'm in Miss Minamida's office. We were talking, then she just stopped mid-sentence and now she's not responding. She doesn't have a pulse or anything. You should probably get up here." She sounded slightly panicked.

[Hank McCoy]

"That's... concerning, but perhaps not in the way you assume. Was there any disruption in electronic devices around you as this happened?"

[Tereza Rozanov]

"Not... that I'm aware of," she says, pulling out her phone and looking at it. "No, my phone seems fine."

[Hank McCoy]

"...odd, she usually gets perfect reception on campus."

"Miss Rozanov, this may be a bit awkward to explain, but that is only Headmistress Minamida's body."

[Tereza Rozanov]

"Okay..." She said, "So where's the rest of her? Seems kind of strange to bug out in the middle of a conversation."

[Hank McCoy]

"The rest of her? Well, Miss Rozanov, you're standing on it."

"All of us are, really."

[Tereza Rozanov]

"I'm not sure I understand, Doctor."

[Hank McCoy]

"In a significant way, she is campus. She's beneath everything. She's even in the walls of some of the older buildings."

"That's why it's damned curious that she's lost contact with her body."

"I'll be over shortly."

[Tereza Rozanov]

"Okay. Good." This is insane. Or maybe I am?

[Hank McCoy]

It's a short bit before the good doctor arrives, with a furry blue armful of diagnostic devices.

"I take it there have been no new developments?"

[Tereza Rozanov]

"None that I've seen." From the scuff of the carpet, Tereza had been pacing.

[Hank McCoy]

"Alright. You may stay, but I'll need some room," he says as he starts separating out the equipment around the headmistress.

"This is unusual, but it's not outside of the realm of possibility."

[Tereza Rozanov]

Tereza moved to lean up against the wall next to the door. "So the Headmistress is some sort of... I don't even know what term you'd use."

[Hank McCoy]

"Person. She's a person, same as you or I," he says as he engages the devices.

"There are many who would deny us personhood, Miss Rozanov. I don't see why our definition would need to be so narrow."

[Tereza Rozanov]

"Apologies, Dr. McCoy. The last stretch of time has been a little stressful."

[Ashlie Minamida]

Beast would pick up baseline energy readings. The device seems to be idling. No data activity is being registered outside the hardwired systems that are keeping it running at minimal capacity.

[Hank McCoy]

"Like a puppet with its strings cut," he mutters, double-checking his work.

[Tereza Rozanov]

"Hm?" Apparently Tereza wasn't listening closely.

[Hank McCoy]

"It would appear, as I'd guessed previously, that the Headmistress simply isn't home."

"What is more curious is that she doesn't appear to be even trying to send a signal to this body."

[Narrator]

His analogy is on the nose but fairly accurate. The guidance signal that, for all Beast knows was and always should be directly linked with the mainframe, has been severed somehow.

[Tereza Rozanov]

"So does she have other bodies or is this the only one?"

[Hank McCoy]

"Just this."

"You'll have to excuse me for showing her to you in such a... vulgar state," he says as he steps behind Ashlie's chair and starts feeling around at the base of her neck.

"Now where was it? Did I have to press both at once? Let's see..."

[Ashlie Minamida]

Ashlie's head produces a faint clicking sound, then hisses as the back of her head opens like a flower, except instead of petals metal panels unfold to reveal the inside.

[Hank McCoy]

"Alright. Now, if I recall correctly, the switch to initiate the signal beacon was right..."

He uses a small metallic probe to overcome the indelicacy of his large hands, pressing a catch inside Ashlie's head.

"...here."

"Calling Headmistress Minamida, eh?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

Some pieces inside her head whir to live and a couple of indicator lights blink on as the robot attempts to resynch with it's guidance signal. Nothing happens for a while, then one of Beast's scanners beeps, indicating that the connection failed to find a guidance signal in the first place.

[Hank McCoy]

"That's certainly... disconcerting," he murmurs as he presses the catches to fold Ashlie's amazing origami head back together.

"The only reason I can think of right now is that there may be physical damage to the source of the signal," he says while reaching his arms to scoop up Ashlie's body.

"Would you mind accompanying me, Miss Rozanov? There may be trouble."

[Tereza Rozanov]

"Of course, Dr. McCoy," she said, pushing off the wall. "Where are we going?"

[Hank McCoy]

"To a place nobody ought to be able to access," he says as he hefts up Ashlie's body.

"Hence why a little backup isn't out of order."

[Tereza Rozanov]

I get to back up Beast!

"Understood, Dr. McCoy."

[Hank McCoy]

"We'll just have to hope nobody asks awkward questions as to why we're carrying the headmistress to the lighthouse, eh?"

He says with a faint smirk as he carries Ashlie out.

[Tereza Rozanov]

"One can hope," she says, her accent creeping back in as she follows him out.

[Hank McCoy]

Doctor McCoy then hurries on to the Point.