Rich's eyes are wide, and he presses back against a wall, bringing his knees up to his chest and trying to make himself as small as possible. He doesn't have it in him to fight right now, can't puff himself up and act like a real man, not when his hair is standing on end from the build up of static.
He presses his hands against his ears, pushing down on his eardrums until eventually, the static in his brain starts to fade. He keeps pushing then, until all he can hear is blood rushing through his body. Right. There it is. He's human. He's a human. Blood pumps through him instead of oil. He thinks and feels and cries and laughs and does everything the SQUIP couldn't.
And then he opens his eyes, hesitantly looking over at the other man as he's starting to let up on the pressure against his eardrums. He was... he was human too, despite the pieces of metal fused onto him. He can hear the worry in his voice, the way he's stumbling over his words and the way his brow knits with concern. Rich takes a slow breath, and another, as he takes his hands away from his ears.
"No... I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to freak out. It's off, still. It just... gets loud, sometimes. Usually if I'm having a bad day. Loves to get under my skin when that happens..."
He swallows a lump of fear, putting his hands in his lap, rather than reaching out for the kitten. "It's, uh, called a Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor. SQUIP, for short. I was kinda an unintentional guinea pig for it, because I was stupid and broke and desperate."
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He presses his hands against his ears, pushing down on his eardrums until eventually, the static in his brain starts to fade. He keeps pushing then, until all he can hear is blood rushing through his body. Right. There it is. He's human. He's a human. Blood pumps through him instead of oil. He thinks and feels and cries and laughs and does everything the SQUIP couldn't.
And then he opens his eyes, hesitantly looking over at the other man as he's starting to let up on the pressure against his eardrums. He was... he was human too, despite the pieces of metal fused onto him. He can hear the worry in his voice, the way he's stumbling over his words and the way his brow knits with concern. Rich takes a slow breath, and another, as he takes his hands away from his ears.
"No... I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to freak out. It's off, still. It just... gets loud, sometimes. Usually if I'm having a bad day. Loves to get under my skin when that happens..."
He swallows a lump of fear, putting his hands in his lap, rather than reaching out for the kitten. "It's, uh, called a Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor. SQUIP, for short. I was kinda an unintentional guinea pig for it, because I was stupid and broke and desperate."