Who: Priya, Victor and Finn used with permission What: Dollhouse Technology being used for good instead of evil When: Yesterday Where: The Dollhouse in Seattle Warnings: No Notes: I know this is confusing as hell for anyone not familiar with Dollhouse. Anthony/Tony, Topher = Victor and Janine/Dr. Gawas, Sierra = Priya
The nice thing about Topher Brink was that he was never nervous about his work. About everything else? His neuroses knew no bounds but he was arrogant in his own brilliance and he knew that he had the skills to make miracles happen.
Priya wished she possessed one iota of his self confidence. She knew that at any time she could shift into Sierra mode and she would be filled with confidence. Sierra wasn't afraid because Sierra had dozens of imprints to shift through depending on what the situation called for. But save for Victor and Echo, Sierra didn't always consider the well being of others. She had so many imprints and not all of them were mentally sound. Some of them were quite cruel and vicious. Priya hung onto herself for the entire trip to the Dollhouse because she wanted to be reminded of Finn's humanity and the enormous undertaking that she and Anthony had agreed to.
Finn was not a beta test. They had used volunteers from the projects for those. They wanted to be absolutely sure that they had the process down before they attempted it on any of the prison members. Now that they knew they could do it with Tony using Topher's imprint and Priya using Janine's, it seemed a perfect time to test it on a member of the prison population. The threats to Everett's security would not cease and that meant that they had an obligation to use the tech for the good of humanity. Finn turned out to be the perfect candidate. He was young and strong and willing and although he too was nervous, he had a lopsided optimism to him that was infectious. Priya didn't worry about the upgrade going poorly with Finn. He was a genuinely good person.
It took a few hours to map his brain properly and as Priya had promised, the process was painful. She monitored his pain and made certain that his body didn't go into shock as Topher worked on the mapping. Unfortunately, she couldn't give him any kind of medication to help with the pain lest it interfere with the mapping process. Once he was finished however, Finn was not reduced to the typical childlike doll state that The Dollhouse had kept their actives as. Finn was Finn. He wasn't getting an imprint, he wouldn't become someone different. If they did their jobs right, Finn wouldn't become an entirely brand new person the way that she and Victor could. He would still be Finn with a few simple upgrades to his hand to hand combat knowledge and a complete repertoire of martial arts skills.
Even Dr. Gawas was nervous. She had spent so long as the doctor of the infirmary at the prison that while dealing with aches and pains and more serious injuries, she had come to love the members of her community. If this worked properly on Finn it could mean huge things for the prison. The humans would no longer have to be confined to the kitchens and the laundry room. They would stand a fighting chance against the supernaturals that threatened them and be equals to the supernaturals that they fought along side.
Finn looked nervous and Janine squeezed his hand as he sat down in the chair. Priya used to hate that chair but now it may mean the difference between the survival of humanity and extinction. She gave him a reassuring smile as the chair tilted back. She let go of his hand as the bright light flashed and Topher monitored the machinery. Janine kept her eyes on Finn's vital signs. The actual upgrade only took mere seconds before Finn was sitting upright again.
"How do you feel?" she asked him.
Finn grinned and ran a hand through his cropped dark hair. "I feel... okay. Did it work?"
"There's only one way to find out."
The next step was a bit more fun. Victor and Sierra lead Finn down to the main floor of The Dollhouse, all hardwood surfaces that had once been so shiny you could see your reflection in them. Now they were covered in a thin film of dust but it would still work as a makeshift gym. Sierra stood back and let Victor have the first round with Finn. She didn't know exactly which upgrade/imprint he was using but Victor had several of them and many of them were martial arts experts. It was amazing for her to watch Finn instantly snap from the goofy overgrown boyman to a lethal weapon within the matter of a second.
Sierra slipped into an imprint that was very familiar with combat and launched an attack from behind Finn's back and he didn't miss a beat. He easily turned and fended her off as if it was second nature to him, thoroughly ingrained. Victor and Sierra played cat and mouse with Finn for awhile, eventually making full use of many of The Dollhouse rooms as the fight sprawled out. After they had run a thorough quality assurance test on Finn, Sierra slipped back in Janine Gawas's imprint and gave Finn a full checkup. He was in perfect health.
High from their success, the three of them returned to the prison in Everett, exhausted from the long trip but thrilled with the results. As they walked inside, Finn peeled away to go find his girlfriend. Priya reached over and took Tony's hand.
"I think we did a really amazing thing today," she said.
"I told you the tech could be used for good. It doesn't have to be a bad thing."
Priya nodded. She had already admitted he was right there. Her experiences had colored The Dollhouse negatively for Priya but today she had turned those feelings around.