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[ True to his word, Viktor arrives exactly fifteen minutes later, the crutch in his hand. He is walking better now that he's been able to synthesize some of the compounds he'd been missing, but there's still a hint of a limp.

Without any ceremony, he approaches, holding out the crutch. ]

Now that we can speak freely, I would be interested in studying that alloy.

[Accelerator takes a second to look Viktor up and down.]

Wow, you weren't kidding about augmentations.

[He could fit right in back at Academy City, given the amount of cyborgs, androids and robotics in general. It gives new light to just how difficult it must have been for Viktor to be stuck in a low technology place like Auriel.

Accelerator climbs to his feet, leaning on the cane to do so, though he's quick to grab his crutch and get that back onto his forearm.]

Yeah, that's fine. The alloy isn't anything special for my city. It was just the most convenient combination of tough and lightweight.

[Of course, it isn't a material easily found outside of Academy City, having been developed there and thus proprietary to the city.]

Edited 2025-12-16 18:37 (UTC)

No. I was not.

[ There's the faintest note of amusement in his tone, just barely there. ]

I might have under-exaggerated them.

[ Most aren't visible with his armor in place, his mask covering his face, but with his systems still in a pattern of recovery, some are more obvious. Like the heat vents that pour steam as his core works to mitigate the overworked augments as they come back online. ]

Do you have a sample of it? Or the process through which it was made. I can manage the rest.

[There are a dozen questions in Accelerator's head right now, and more flooding in by the second as he glances down at his crutch.]

I don't want to take apart my crutch, but I can ask Aurora for that and the metallurgical engineering notes. [He doubts either would take many points, and he has tons to spare so he doesn't mind.] Just keep in mind this shit is proprietary to my city. I'm the Board Chairman so I can hand the data over, but don't go around sharing it.

[There is a mild threat in that statement, and he inclines his head.]

Why do you want it? Planning on making some upgrades?

[He's half-serious, okay. Given this Viktor's... everything... it seems like it's a valid question.]

I would not ask that of you. And if I had, I would have simply taken a piece of it while it was in my possession. As you can clearly see, I did not.

[ Viktor hums at the threat. ]

I am more than familiar with the pain of having one's work stolen. [ There's a hint, just barely, of that pain in his voice, a wound that even a decade or so hasn't been able to heal. ] I assure you, the specifications would not leave my possession.

[ At that question, Viktor tips his head slightly and mulls over how truthful he wants to be. ] Considering I am asking you for proprietary information, I suppose that is worth, eh, a little honesty.

Yes. I suspect this alloy to be useful for reinforcing my spinal column.

Edited 2025-12-16 20:32 (UTC)

[He's trying to be responsible when it comes to having unfettered access to the city's research and development. Locking it all away entirely doesn't help anyone, but sharing too much could result in it being used to hurt people, so it's a delicate balancing act. Accelerator does note the subtle shift in Viktor's tone, and based on that information he's fairly sure he's being sincere when he agrees to that stipulation.

Thankfully, Viktor's explanation for wanting to examine the alloy is reasonable enough, if more than a little weird. Accelerator stares for a moment, processing the mental image of doing such major surgery (is it surgery? How mechanical is his body??) in Etraya.]

... Do you even have the equipment here to do something that serious?

I have worked with less. My first augments were with a mismatched set of instruments in the back room of an Augmentation Parlor. I have perfected the procedure in the years since.

[ Viktor remembers that surgery quite well enough that his jaw clenches briefly, that phantom pain flaring as the memory flickers through his mind. ]

The pain inhibitor does help quite a bit too.

[ Spoken as if that is the most common thing in the world. ]

[This is the first time he's ever heard of an 'Augmentation Parlor,' but it can't be anything like a proper surgical theatre. Even if it was, Accelerator has seen enough nightmarish surgeries go on in theatres that it wouldn't mean much....

He frowns, not convinced thanks to his own experiences. That Viktor apparently needs a pain inhibitor doesn't help, either.]

You must've found Talis and the other Viktor in Auriel, right? They might have shit you can use.

I did.

[ His tone is dry. ]

I doubt that they would. Neither of them have any experience with augmentations that I can see and I could just as easily replicate any instruments they might have myself.

All I need is the space. The rest I can manage on my own.

[He is looking increasingly unimpressed.]

You're gonna do major spinal surgery on yourself, with no help?

[He hasn't known the other Viktor to be reckless. That's more Jayce's style, and even this seems like it would be beyond him.]

I have three hands.

[ Viktor holds out both of his and waves with the Hexclaw. His sense of humor is terrible. ]

I have done it before. It will be easier this time, considering the framework is already there.

[ It's reckless to some, but this is the way he's lived for the last two decades and regular maintenance and replacement or upgrades to parts are common tasks for him. ]

Why do you ask? Are you offering to assist?

[His gaze briefly moves up to the Hexclaw, and between that thing waggling and the bad joke Accelerator's expression is shifting to peak teenage exasperation.]

I guess I am, since you're so intent on being fucking irresponsible.

[It's the nice thing to do, so he's obviously ranckled, but he also doesn't want to see someone who helped him out end up dying unnecessarily.]

[ Viktor finds his joke funny. ]

There is still some testing to be done, and I am lacking the space to work, but if you insist.

[ It is clear, from the slight surprise and hesitance, that Viktor isn't accustomed to offers of help. ]

I am fully capable of managing on my own however.

[Viktor isn't used to being offered help and Accelerator isn't used to offering it, so they're both in an awkward situation. Clearly, the best thing to do is act nonchalant about it, so he shrugs like whatever.]

Just because you are doesn't mean you should be, especially when you're talking about dangerous shit. [Don't make this more uncomfortable than it needs to be, Viktor, geez.] If you need some time to get everything set up that's fine, that gives me time to do some reading.

[Reading on... spines.]

It is less dangerous now than it used to be. [ Viktor shrugs himself and make a noncommittal noise that is modulated strangely through the mask. ] There are fewer arteries to cut.

[ That is spoken like a joke, but it is true. There is a lot less of... everything, really. Except: ]

The wires are more of a problem now. I have been meaning to organize them.

[ Once again said as if he is talking about a particularly interesting insect (because Viktor does not comment on the weather). ]

I have a few books I can recommend.

[It's a good thing Accelerator is desensitized when it comes to graphic medical (scientific, really) business. He doesn't flinch at that explanation, and he's pretty sure the mention of arteries and wires would turn a normal person green.]

Text me the titles and authors.

[Sorry Viktor, you're going to have to text again. Better get used to it. And Accelerator is still curious, so he asks another question:]

Why the hell is your body like this, anyways?

[ This barely registers as something other than mundane to Viktor at this point and he talks about it, with those he trusts, as such. That said, he is used to the looks of abject horror or revulsion, and he is curious as to why this young man has little reaction. ]

I can. You should have the volumes here, assuming the collections are similar between the cities. If not, I will find new ones.

[ Viktor isn't adverse to texting, but his texts will be dry for the foreseeable future. ]

There were no other options left. If I was going to live, sacrifices needed to be made. [ That says nothing about the additional augments he had made that were vain, nor the ones that stripped him of— ] My humanity was a weakness, and so I removed the offensive parts.

[More reading material is always going to be welcome, even if the subject is going to be on medicine and surgery. Reading is Accelerator's only real hobby, so he doesn't mind.

Besides, his attention is more focused on Viktor's explanation for all the robotics. His humanity was a weakness? Normally that would be concerning to hear, though he's aware from the other Viktor that he has some kind of physiological issues. Even this version still seems to have something of a limp, though it's subtle.

There were kids back home who underwent surgeries to replace parts of their body with technology, and in the case of the Rensas everything except the hypothalamus, but they were children whose circumstances forced it. The only people he knows who willingly threw their humanity away were monsters, and in the case of the Magic Gods huge jerks. That's why he looks a little unsure.]

Most people wouldn't consider their humanity a weakness. I guess it can be, if you're only talking about it in physical terms.

[ Viktor, unbothered, is currently texting a list of twelve books, having long since memorized all of the titles and authors. There are a few on medicine and surgical procedures, but the vast majority are advanced robotics and techmaturgy. He ends the long message with:

To start.

And then he focuses his attention back on Accelerator, the task having taken only a minute or two. He notices the uncertainty. That is a look he is more familiar with. ]

I am not most people. [ There are days he doesn't even consider himself a person. ] My physical body was weak, yes, but I corrected more than that.

[He'll review the list later, and probably ask Aurora for some additional books since it's doubtful a modern New York public library would have everything.

Right now he keeps on eyeing Viktor.]

... What do you mean?

I possess a number of inhibitors.

[ All of which are, to varying degrees, functional again, though the emotional dampening is... less effective than he would like. The pain inhibitor is working at it's intended capacity though, which is more than enough. ]

Let me ask you a question. [ Viktor doesn't wait for permission, however. ] You seem familiar with augmentation. What are your concerns?

[ He assumes there must be some, judging by Accelerator's line of questioning and the reactions to Viktor's answers. ]

[Inhibitors? There was the pain inhibitor he mentioned, but otherwise that sounds so vague.

He sighs a little.]

I'm from a city whose main reason for existence is to research and develop psychic kids. A lot of shady experimentation goes on, including this 'augmentation' kind of shit you've done to yourself. Everyone I've met or read about who's gone through it, and in every single one of those cases it involved a kid being manipulated or forced into it for the benefit of some fucking researchers. It was never to help the kid.

[So he's a little wary.]

My augmentations and the extent to which I have performed them, I have only done to myself. Augmentation as a practice in Zaun has only ever been done to those willing to pay.

[ Viktor might have become misguided in desire to embrace what he believes is humanity's next step in evolution, but following the disagreement that had led to his exile and subsequent descent into near madness, Viktor has held one simple goal: ]

I only help the willing, and only what they ask me for. I have not augmented a single thing other than lungs to breathe and legs to walk. My work is and always will be, to help those who need it, adult and child alike. And I do not ask for payment for it.

Believe what you will. That is all I will say on the matter.

Edited 2025-12-20 02:17 (UTC)

[This is one of those subjects that hits close to home in a bad way, though Accelerator recognizes not every universe is like Academy City. If Viktor is saying things are different for him, then he can at least him the benefit of the doubt for now.

............. And if Viktor ends up doing horrific science here in Etraya, well, Accelerator will just deal with it.]

... Fine. I'll still help you with the surgery, since you shouldn't be doing that kind of shit by yourself.

[ Any horrific science Viktor might experiment with in Etraya will be wholly focused inward. While he still extols the merits of parts of his glorious evolution, his time in Pollux and then Auriel tempered the obsession that had clouded his vision in Runeterra. ]

I have for over ten years.

[ Trust, especially in this, is something Viktor doesn't offer readily, not after everything he's been through, to the point that he'd rather suffer alone than attempt to seek help. He had tried to, years ago, and it earned him nothing but pain. Never again. ]

And it is only a spine. I cannot make it worse than the one I was born with.

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