Marlene took a deep breath, vapors coming out of her mouth, as though she was cooling down a big, hot volcano inside of her. 

Seeing that these fools decided to run and flee, helped that a lot. There was no reason to unleash whatever destructive power was stored deep inside of her. Or so she thought. Until the floor broke. And a big demon-thing appeared in front of her. Looming over them, being intimidating. Pointing at her. Targeting her. Talking about how they were going to be sacrifices. It made Marlene feel scared. And then ... it made her feel angry. The furnace inside of her wanted to fight. Her mouth started to glow again. The stranger, Farrin, did his best to divert the scythe from her and Zenkai, getting hurt in the process.

'He's hurting your friend. DO IT. FIRE!

She did. A beam of crimson red energy striking across the room, aimed at the monster's face. Marlene tried to keep a hold of it, but it was much harder this time. The blast was at least four times stronger. It blew everything in the room up, and maybe even knocked down some of the nonsupporting walls. Dust, debris, and fire flooding Marlene's vision. She too was flung across the room and slammed against the wall. Good thing this new body of hers was every bit as durable, if not more. But she felt something going down one of her nostrils. Blood. Her blood. Such a curious thing.

Coughing a bit from all the smoke and dust, she got up, and called into the rubble. 

"Zen? Farrin?"

She sounded worried.

Events were forced forward, as their surroundings were warped to force the trio inside of the police station.

With two more foes to face. They wanted to rip the energy out of their bodies, somehow. They wanted to fight. 'These ones are violent. BAD. CAN WE TEAR THEIR LIMBS OFF?!' - Marlene felt the ringing inside of its head, the entity inside practically taking over for a brief moment, making her make a step forward and take a deep breath. An unfamiliar heat at the bottom of her stomach. She forced it back, regaining control.

Marlene did not fear her foes, for in her times as a robot, she never learned to fear physical harm. Her mother was safe back home to fear for her. And Zenkai was, in his form, very well-protected. Especially against what was coming towards him. An electric whip. It would have threatened any robot. But ... he was no robot. An automaton, like she used to be. Cogs, wheels, and quirk energy. And not a single wire or conductor to fry. 

"Beat her up, Zenkai. She cannot do much against you." - Marlene said, before turning to her opponent, who summoned a purple fist to slam against her from above. As a machine, Marlene never learned to dodge. So she just crossed her arms above herself in a block, and took the blow head-on. She was fortunate that Zenkai's quirk gave her comparable endurance. The concrete cracked underneath her and formed a small crater. The goo might have splattered all around. But she remained standing straight. But there was something she experienced that was not there before.

Pain.

And that pain fed whatever it was inside of her. Made it angrier. She felt the heat at the back of her throat. All she needed to do was release it.

And so... Marlene did. A very thin beam of red light. Like that of a laser pointer. Only... it was melting hot. And when pointed to Violet ... it would erupt. The place where the beam touched her would erupt in an explosion. Catching a good quarter of the room ablaze. Marlene's eyes widened, as she covered her own mouth with her hands. It was just a smidget of ... whatever was it glowing hotter inside of her. 

______________________

TLDR: Marlene recommends Zenkai to go punch the electric sword lady in the faaaaace, then blocks the Fist of the Goo Star to the best of her ability. Feeling pain upsets her, so she shoots a small tiny beam of energy stored inside her, which works as a mini-nuke and blows up her target and a quarter of the room with it. 

"Guess that concludes negotiations."

Marlene watched Farrin attack the fellow with the balloon, pummeling him into submission, and possibly popping the containment the bodies were held in. As soon as that happened, bodies started falling down. Someone might get hurt, from the fall, if nothing is done. The girl moved to catch at least some of the people, and instructed Zenkai to do the same. He was much bigger than her, so he'd probably have an easier time. But both of them were strong enough to not get phased by bodies falling. 

The girl would then help place them on the ground. They were not safe here, in the middle of the street. But they were safer than inside of that police station, she'd wager. If Paars was defeated by then, she'd approach Farrin. If not, she'd help pummeling him into submission. Either way, they had to go inside the station, to rescue the others. 

"You don't look well..." - Marlene said, her voice ringing with quiet empathy. Something she never felt before. Only heard echoes of it. It was a new and exciting feeling, if only not felt in the direst of times. She tugged Farrin on the sleeve to get his attention. 

"You could watch over the hostages... Me and Zenkai could take it from here. We're not as tired."

Her fist clenched, without her knowing. She didn't notice it. But whatever this angry being that was inside of her was ... it was surely eager for violence. And, in a way, so was Marlene. It was strange, subversive even. Violence in the name of a righteous cause... She could buy into that, yes. 

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TLDR: Marlene (and maybe Zenkai) would help catch the people falling down after balloon pops. She suggests for Farrin to stay behind with hostages, while volunteering herself and Zen to go into the police station and pulverize the badguys inside.

Fear, violence, fighting...

Tokyo was set ablaze. The past three days were like in a daze. Especially for someone just born anew. An opportunity to learn humanity... at the worst of times. Marlene was at the Dream Festival when it happened. She was participating in a contest, ran by an actor she liked a lot. Suddenly, there was a pulse, a beam of color. Everything went black. And when the girl got back to it, everything was different.

The certainty of steel was gone. She ... had a pulse, somehow. Purpose and built-in reasons to exist were gone. Replaced by emotion. Things she never experienced, before. There were many of them. The predominant one, nestled somewhere deep inside, almost feral, was ... anger. A desire to destroy all, for some reason. But ... strong as it may have been, its call alluring whenever danger came up, the voice was not omnipotent. For the first time in her life, Marlene was given a choice. She chose ... to resist it. At least for now.

On her way home, she ran into someone. A friend, maybe more than friend. A face she knew. A hand she'd hold, and help guide, if she could. Zenkai was someone Marlene met when she was an automaton. He was kind to her. He even had feelings for her, so he said. They went on a few dates together. Then he vanished. Only to reappear. His flesh was gone, replaced by metal. And he inherited the commandments she used to follow, somehow. To be loyal, to be a hero. Marlene was no longer shackled to those notions. But the echoes of feelings for this tall young man, they were hers alone. They were not lost. And, having transformed, the former automaton felt them ... stronger. 

"It must be cold and quiet in that shell. I do not know how long how long this will last... But for all its worth... I will not forsake you." 

The first two days they spent at her home, with doors blocked. Her mother, a small, glasses-wearing redheaded woman, was sleeping on the couch, amid the empty beer cans. For the first day, Marlene did not worry. But by the end of the second day it was obvious that the woman too, was under the strange spell that tore Tokyo apart. On the third day, she and Zen went out to do something about it. 

Places were wrecked, burned and looted. Her 7/11 store was ransacked. As much as the girl wanted to enjoy humanity, her first taste of it was amidst the fires of war. They were just approaching a police station, in hopes of maybe finding officers there, when they became witnesses to a scene. A hero, Myling, blooded and battered, appeared before them, and relayed the news. Sleeping people being preyed on, hurt, sacrificed. The news made Marlene feel ... strange. Like a fire inside her chest, getting all the way up to the throat. It seemed familiar, somehow. Like something she felt even before the transformation happened. Was it... anger? 

The outlet for that anger showed up soon enough. Thugs with violent faces. She knew their kind. They tried to mug her on her way to the shop, some time before. The girl knelt down before the injured hero. "Can you take care of yourself?" - she asked. If not, she'd have to take care of the man's wounds. The criminals though would have none of it. They struck first, but another stood in their way. At least in the way of the bullets. Another stranger, putting themselves in harm's way. Marlene did not know his name, but ... he was a hero. 

"Zenkai, we need to help them."

'Or help ourselves...'

One of them ran up and swung a pipe to Marlene's shoulder. It landed, with a loud "thonk!", but the fragile-looking girl in a black and white maid-like dress did not move an inch. The pipe bent from the force it was struck with.

'He tried to hurt us. He is bad. He deserves it.'

"Yes... yes he does."

The voice behind her feelings made sense. Fortunately, her new form was as strong and sturdy as her metallic shell, if not more. Marlene's eyes blinked red, for a second. She threw a punch at the Purple fellow, square in his chest. And if landed... he'd be sent flying right back, as if hit by a truck. Oh yes, this new form was strong... Almost too strong.

A world where heroes, villains, and everyone in between could live in harmony.

'Such a strange idea...' - Marlene thought to herself, as she wandered through the crowds of people wearing colorful dresses, enjoying festivities and foods. There were many couples, some of them with children, even. The automaton girl looked almost dour among them, alone, in that black and white dress of hers. It was not by choice that she came alone. But the person she used to 'date' disappeared for some time, thus unable to come with her. Her mother refused, as well, saying that it was some kind of a ploy either for villains or by villains, and that she does not want to be around for it.

But Marlene did not have an option not to go.

After all, her favorite actor invited her here, in person. Not showing up would be ... impolite. And the automaton girl was anything but that. Clutching the entrance ticket in her hands, she followed to where the man she met before said he would be. The magical immersive theater, with a large stage. There were many people around, curious about the performance, even if some were both surprised and weary from the vanishing shadows and silhouettes. Then, she saw him. She recognized the voice. And the suit. Mr. Pierrot was looking for a volunteer. Marlene's heart would have skipped a beat, if she had one. She did not. But ... she wanted to volunteer. 

So, when he called out, the automaton girl stepped forward. She was not alone - there were plenty of girls who wanted to get closer to the handsome masked man. They were all much livelier than her. Like real flowers compared to a plastic replica. Still, this replica stood firm, unblinking glass eyes seeking contact.

"I would like to volunteer, mr. Pierrot, if you would have me."

Marlene liked theater.

She visited often, even got a discount card. Most people visited to get themselves acquainted with cultural heritages, or to spend time as couples. The automaton girl always came alone. Hers was a different purpose than leisure. It was ... closer to academic interest. She was on a mission, after all. A task she was built for, yet which she had seen nothing but failure with. Not that it would stop her from trying. But this place was given insights. It was full of humans that pretended to be other people, and pretended to experience emotions they were meant to experience according to the script. 

And now, her favorite human of this sort was on the scene. 

He was a master of his craft, truly. Despite being barely a few years older than herself. This performance, she felt, must have been especially difficult to pull off. To pretend to be a human with not just one, but two personalities... Two sets of emotions to express, all at once, within such a short time frame... Marlene could not fathom even attempting such a thing! She could barely manage one face... Much less others. To have so many... and to change them so easily, each time there is a new script and new performance... 'How does he do it...'

The machine did not know. Another mystery kept from her by the virtue or sin of her creation. The spectacle was over soon, and she stood up from the chair, and clapped. One face among the crowd. Her unblinking, glass eyes focused on the actor she felt was above and beyond the rest. Most lifelike. Most human, somehow. Their glances crossed, but Marlene made nothing of it. She did not think of herself as anything noteworthy, especially not when there were so many real people here.

Still, when all performers assembled on the stage, to receive accolades, the automaton girl approached, among many others. Her strict black and white dress did make her stand out a bit, among all the whites, reds, and yellows of other women, young and old. In her hands was a bouquet of amaryllis flowers. The nice lady at the flower shop told her it was just the thing to give to an artist. So she bought them. The machine patiently waited for everyone to go first. Mostly because if she were to force herself through the crowd, there would be harm. And besides... she did not like the onrush. Gifting things was supposed to be special. And, it seemed, that her patience was rewarded. The actor she was interested in the most lingered, and noticed her. The girl knew his name, Alexander Pierrot. He was about to know hers. She made a step forward, the wooden floor creaking lightly under her surprisingly heavy step. Her head tilted up, a small mechanic whir in her neck. She blinked, because she was supposed to blink. When offered a hand, the automaton looked at it, and took it, for a handshake. She tried to be gentle, but one could feel the rigidity of metal through her silicon skin.

"Good evening. My name is Marlene Lovechild. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, mr. Pierrot." - the automaton spoke in a neutral tone, though a small, metallic reverb at the back of her voice betrayed excitement. She then offered him the bouquet she bought for him. "These are for you. You are my favorite actor. Your performances are very believable. It is like you are many people at once. How do you do it?"

Marlene took the duct-tape. Cutting two bits of it, she placed one patch over the front of her palm, and the other one on its back. Its blue color contrasting against her pale skin. When offered a ride, or the ability to come over tomorrow to see someone who wanted to speak to her, Marlene nodded to both. A bit of a smile appeared on her face, and she did not even noticed. The policeperson was praising her performance. Praise was nice. Machines liked being praised.

"I would appreciate it if you gave me a ride back to my shop. My shift is not yet finished, and there might be customers waiting for me. I need to complete my duties."

Having finished her tea, Marlene would stand up, and allow herself to come with the policeperson, and to the car. On the right back, she would remain quiet, answering questions when needed. Though, before arriving at her destination, she would say something, in regards to the villain she just encountered:

"I hope that Mummy remains contained for the duration of her sentence. From what she said, it appears that she will be making a return visit as soon as she is out. I would rather she did come to my shop as a non-lawabiding villain."