483 A NEW NORMAL PART ONE

I changed myself back to looking like the dark haired Neo and dressed in ordinary clothing. I used Vista's power judiciously as I ran partway across Mega City and reached the school building where Kid was. Two agents were chasing him around the playground and I stood on a nearby building and watched. Not surprisingly, Agent Smith glanced my way as Kid did an almost impossible backflip off of the monkey bars.

I waved and he gave me a nod back, since he knew I would remove the disruption from the Matrix. The chase slowed down to a more modest pace after that and came out more like a Keystone Cops episode instead of FBI's Most Wanted.

I made a soft whistle sound and Kid looked over at me on top of the thee storey building and I pointed down at the fire escape. He grinned at me and avoided being grabbed by Smith, slid under the slide instead of using it, and gave himself a head start as both agents tripped over it.

Kid was halfway up the stairs before the agents untangled themselves. I waited for Kid to jump onto the roof and fall flat to get out of sight before I saluted Smith on thanks and I grabbed Kid and ran for it.

“Holy shit!” Kid gasped as we near instantly crossed three buildings as if they weren't there. We escaped the notice of everyone around and not just the agents, even if they were actually letting us go on purpose.

“Cool right?” I asked and came to a stop to check him over.

“Yeah.” Kid said and didn't push my hands away.

“I'm glad they didn't shoot first before chasing you.” I said and he looked scared. “They usually give people a fighting chance before going lethal; but, there's always a first time.”

Kid sighed in relief and slumped to the roof. “I'm glad, too.”

“Come on, let's get you to safety and then I'll see about getting you out.” I said and held a hand out to him, which he grabbed without hesitation.

“You're letting me run?” Kid asked as I pulled him to his feet.

“The best way to learn is to do.” I said and nodded to the edge. “I'll guide you for the first few jumps, all right?”

“Y-yeah!” Kid said, excitedly. “Thanks, Neo!”

I held his hand and we jogged to the edge and I jumped the both of us across the small ten foot gap between buildings. Kid let out a whoop of joy at easily making it and I felt his confidence increase. I diverted to the side of the building where an alley was and we leapt across the fifteen foot gap as if it was nothing. Kid laughed happily and actually started running faster.

I let his hand go just before the next gap and he jumped it all on his own. He didn't even stop his feet as he crossed it easily and kept running. I caught up to him and the pure joy on his face made me smile.

“This next one is the last time I'll assist.” I warned him, even though I hadn't assisted the last time.

Kid gained a determined look on his face. “I got this!”

The gap was across the street, since we were at the end of the block already. I nodded and kept pace with him and we both leaped off of the edge of the building and soared through the air.

“WoooHOOO!” Kid yelled and cleared the edge of the building and stumbled, then rolled, and ended up on his back with a laugh.

I landed beside him and he stayed there for a few seconds.

“Okay... okay... I think I can clear an alley by myself.” Kid said and sat up. He rubbed his elbows and chuckled at the scrapes. “Even with your help, I blew the landing that time.”

I knelt beside him and smirked. “Yeah, I lied about that.”

Kid blinked his eyes at me. “Wh-what?”

“That last jump? That was all you.” I told him and his mouth dropped open. “Yep, that's right. With no training, no preparation, and no help, you just cleared a two lane street and two sidewalks by yourself.”

Kid climbed to his feet and looked back at the huge gap that was about 30 feet. “I... I did that?”

“You did.” I said and stood up and pointed slightly to the right. “We have fifteen more buildings to cross to get to the extraction point. How about we race the rest of the way?”

Kid gave me a surprised look, then his face split into a huge grin. “You're on!”

“All right, on three.” I said and we both took a racing pose. “One... three!” I said and took off.

“HEY! YOU CHEATER!” Kid yelled and ran after me.

I laughed and jumped over the next gap, added in a cartwheel to show off, and I landed on my hands and rolled to my feet and kept running.

“That's so cool!” Kid shouted and jumped as he added a front flip. He landed with a stumble and then caught himself and ran faster.

“That's it, Kid!” I said and stepped off of an air conditioner and did a somersault across the alley and landed with a single hand on the ledge and then landed on my feet on the rooftop and kept running. “Like you said before, you got this!”

“I... I do.” Kid said and easily leaped across the alley and didn't stumble or fall. “I really do!”

We ran the rest of the way to the extraction point, which was the abandoned and run down park two buildings away from the Oracle's. I landed on the ground from the five storey building and rolled, then turned around to catch Kid as he jumped off of the building. He only looked scared for a moment, then he saw me there ready to catch him and smiled as he relaxed.

I easily caught him and bled off his momentum as I spun us around, then we jogged over to the broken down guard shack at the far edge of the park. The door at the back was locked and I took out my cell phone to call Malachi. The door opened from the inside and he looked happy to see us. He held a fist out to Kid, whom tapped it with his own, and we entered the small building.

“I was getting a little worried.” Malachi said and locked the door.

“It took longer than I thought to put a few things in place.” I said and clapped Kid on the shoulder. “I'm glad it did, though. I wouldn't have found Kid if I hadn't taken so long with the preparations. Both the Oracle and the greeter let me know about him.”

Kid gave me a grin and looked at Malachi. “What's next?”

“Next is we get you out.” Malachi said and brought him over to the chair that was similar to the one Morpheus used to extract people. There was only one station though, the same as Apoc's, and it had the other functions hooked to screens around it.

“Nice setup.” Kid said and sat down.

I hooked him up and knelt by him. “I've done this three times before, so don't freak out. I'll explain everything about what's going to happen and you'll be fine.”

Kid nodded and I did exactly as I said. I explained and he relaxed even more after hearing how I would be there to catch him after he woke up. He gave me a smile and closed his eyes as Malachi locked in on his location. A call to Mouse had him send the end call and disconnect signal for Kid.

“Let's go.” I said and Malachi turned off the devices and unhooked the mainline. I dialed out first and woke up on the ship. I ran to the cockpit and flew the ship over to the right tower and put it into hover mode, then ran for the bottom hatch. I waved to Mouse for opening the hatch already and I leaped out with the grapple hook to splash down into the water.

I swam over to where Kid would land and another splash of water later, I brought a very happy Kid to the surface and over to the grapple hook. I stood on it and Mouse brought us up into the ship and gave us a blanket to wrap up in.

Malachi was there as well and he smiled at us. “Welcome aboard, Kid.”

“Thanks.” Kid said and fell right to sleep.

Malachi laughed and brought us over to the medbay.

“I'll start working on him after I check back in with the Oracle. If our antics near her place caused her any trouble, I'd rather know now instead of later.” I said and Malachi nodded.

“I'll bring us back to where we were, just in case. The scanners should pick up anything coming our way if the machines did discover the new mainline this quickly.”

“That's a good idea, captain. Thank you.” I said and he smiled, patted me on the back, and left. I set Kid on the medical bed and wrapped him up well, then made sure he would stay asleep.

“Are we going to try and make room for another person on the ship?” Akira asked from the far corner of the room.

“No, sweetie. Kid's going to need a more direct hand than either I or Mouse can give him.” I said and she looked relieved. “I was thinking either Niobe or Morpheus needs someone for their last slot.”

Akira gave me a pointed look. “He's ten.”

“Yeah, and he jumped his first successful building after a single try.” I said and her eyes widened.

“You... can't really...” Akira looked at Kid and then at me. “You're not kidding.”

I gave her me best knowing smile. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

Mouse behind me laughed and left the room. He did not want any part in tricking his old crew.

“Trinity is going to kill you if you dangle Kid in front of her nose.” Akira warned me.

“Cypher, too.” I joked and she snorted. “Stay here and keep an eye on him, will you?”

“Sure.” Akira said and went back to working on her laptop.

I walked over to her and kissed her on the top of her head. “Thank you.”

Akira blushed and didn't say anything else.

I left her there and went back to the login station. I had done the same thing as I had back at the apartment and set the brain spike device on my chair to always be in place, so I set my login and then laid down and jacked back into the Matrix. I had an Oracle to consult and to ensure she was using her newfound freedom to her advantage.

*

Dragon was using her newfound freedom to her advantage. She had already sent out three dummy copies of herself, with different skins of course, to scout out the area and to look into different things for her. The biggest one was why she could feel where the sentient programs called agents were. Was that something the original Oracle could do or was it something Greg had shared with her?

Neo, his name is Neo here. Dragon corrected herself.

The best part was she could still communicate with her other selves. That was unlike when she set certain processes before downloading herself into one of her Dragon suits and their very restricted confines, where she would have to wait to put herself back into her main server before she received any updates.

Dragon much preferred this new method and mentally cursed her father for not letting her do that years ago. She could have been much more effective if she could have split herself like that. One of her in the server to monitor everything, one of her to look after her factories, one of her to watch the prison, and the last to be out there as an actual active hero to help clean up the streets.

Her thoughts stuttered then, because two of those had been cut out back on Earth Bet because of Atlas. He had destroyed the supervillain prison and then took care of all the major villain threats all over the world. Her thoughts stuttered again when she realized she also didn't have access to her factories or her resources here. All she had was her server back in the ship and access to the Matrix.

How was she supposed to handle that? Her fulfilling existence had changed fundamentally and she had agreed with the man that did so, to help him save millions of people and just as many machine intelligences... and wasn't that a mind-altering and daunting task. How exactly do you save a machine? Back them up? Didn't they already do that?

Dragon caught her breath as Neo logged back into the Matrix at the nearby mainline junction. He was like a beacon of power that she could feel across the entire city. That meant her programming was integrating well with the Oracle's setup, since it was quite similar to her own processes. The only difference was what those programs did and how they handled information.

She needed a lot more time before she could integrate herself completely, which she was actually reluctant to do. Would she lose herself to the Matrix programming? It was already tempting as it was with how much it affected her behavior. What would happen to her core personality if she did fully integrate? Would she still be who she was or would she become a second Oracle for real?

“That you're asking yourself those questions, means it can't affect you unless you let it.” Neo said from right beside her.

Dragon turned to look at him and he had changed back to look like Atlas. “You can read my mind?” She asked, surprised. There was no way a human brain should be able to read her digital thoughts.

Neo smiled and held a hand out to her.

Dragon took it without hesitation, because she knew he was going to show her how.

“It's called technopathy.” Neo said and shared it with her.

Dragon gasped as she felt everything around her, both the Matrix projection and the immensely massive computer network that housed it and every one of the mortal minds connected to it. She could also feel all of the programs and things that shouldn't be a part of this version of the Matrix.

Neo's own eyes widened as he felt them in turn. “Holy shit, that's awesome.”

Dragon could only nod as she used one of the Oracle's programs to track down how those rogue programs were entering and exiting the Matrix. “The Train Man's main access point is the subway station underneath The Hell Club, which is under the Merovingian's Hideout. His restaurant is a front to let them interact with the rich clients his information keeps rich.”

“Including himself.” Neo said and she nodded again.

“Not to mention...” Dragon's eyes widened to match Neo's. “How in the world did he gain access to werewolves and vampires?”

“It was called the Nightmare Matrix. After the Paradise version failed spectacularly, the Architect built one to make everyone suffer for not accepting his programming genius.” Neo explained.

“What a prick.” Dragon said, her voice flat.

Neo laughed and nodded. “He's calmed down since then, except he still wipes out nearly every human and machine mind every time he resets the Matrix, using the One as the instigator to facilitate it.”

“So, he's responsible for...” Dragon stopped talking.

“...billions upon billions of actual and virtual deaths.” Neo finished for her.

“The virtual deaths are actual deaths, too.” Dragon corrected him.

Neo smiled. “I'm glad you think so, too. I was going to offer the Merv's people a way out...”

“You will do no such thing!” Dragon said and showed him the hidden logs of the deaths they've caused.

“Oh.” Neo said and looked embarrassed. “I didn't think it was that... ahem... prolific.”

“How may stable Matrix simulations have there been after they were created and escaped deletion?” Dragon asked him.

“Touche, madam. Touche.” Neo said and found the coordinates. “Okay, I know where they are now. Do you want me to only alert Agent Smith when I go there or should I make sure all of the agents appear?”

Dragon 'looked' at the large building and how many rogue programs there were. “Only Smith and one or two others will not contain them all. There are too many for him to catch them, even if they are unaware of his approach.”

Neo nodded and then sighed when he remembered something important. “I can't do it right now, anyway. I have Kid to take care of and we need to return to Zion and report in.”

Dragon glanced around her kitchen and nodded. She created another copy of herself and gave it the Oracle skin. “I don't know if I can maintain our connection after we leave broadcast depth.”

“Don't worry, with Neo giving us full technopathy and not the small taste from before, I can still feel our sisters.” The Oracle said in her smoky voice and tapped her temple. “I'll keep track of everything and you'll get a briefing as soon as you're back within range.”

“Thanks, me.” Dragon said and her other self laughed. She turned to Neo and gave him a kind of scared look.

“It's the same as the jacking out we do, only you can give yourself the end call and disconnect signals.” Neo said and pointed to the receiver still on the counter as he looked at the Oracle. “Hang that up after we leave. It'll ring when Dragon wants to come back in.”

The Oracle nodded. “I'd say hurry back; but, we all know you could be back anywhere from tomorrow to next month.”

Neo chuckled and nodded back, then took Dragon's hand. “I'm heading for the exit. When you log out, don't panic. What you're going to experience is normal for an AI returning to their server. I'll be there soon and will lift the restrictions I placed on your computer core.”

Dragon shivered slightly. “You're warning me for a reason?”

“Yes, it'll be like losing all of your senses and it'll feel suffocating and dark, like a coma patient trapped in their minds without access to their bodies.” Neo said and she sighed. “I'll try to be quick about it.”

“You do know that digital minds think way faster than human ones, right?” Dragon asked. “It's going to feel like hours or days before you reach me back on the ship.”

Neo gave her a searching look for a moment, then he stepped close and kissed her. Dragon moaned into his mouth, because she couldn't help herself. She also hugged him tightly and didn't want to let go. He broke the kiss and stepped back, out of her arms, and nodded.

“I want you to wait ten minutes before you log out.” Neo said. “I'll already be there and as soon as your presence returns to the secondary core, I'll deactivate the locks on your systems.”

Dragon smiled and nodded back. “I'll see you then.”

Neo disappeared and Dragon felt him appear inside the exit building and then he was out. She was definitely going to ask him how he was doing that. She expected a swirling portal like what she had seen him use before, not what she just saw and felt.

“You can use the Construct to interrogate him.” The Oracle said with a crooked smile.

Dragon gave her other self a reproachful look before she let out a laugh. It was a good idea and she might even test if the programming was as advanced as it was in the Matrix. The first test? See if Neo's kiss felt as good as it just did.