Layla wrapped her arms around herself as she continued on her way down the busy street, it was just past nine in the morning and most of the people were heading to work; the busy crowds moving in an organised mess. Doing her best to doge the various people who carelessly barged into others as they fought their way down the street she looked up searching for the sign that would take her to the building she was heading towards, despite her god father working there she had never visited it herself and if anything was very unsure about wither she wanted to or not; but she had agreed to hear the professor out. Finding the sign attached to the side of a junction she slid her way past the people, silently thankful she was fairly small at only 5'4; she was an athletic build thanks to years of being in several of her former schools sports clubs. She had always been lucky with her weight as she didn't gain easily or lose too quickly and despite not being stick think as some models were she loved her body, her curves complemented her look and her breasts were not huge which was a plus in her eyes; she had friends with larger chests when she was younger and all of them now even before getting middle aged suffered with their backs. Walking the road Layla looked around noting the road becoming greener as tree's and grass became more common, setting it into a more peaceful place than the city like environment she had just travelled through; breathing through her nose at last she noted the crisp smell of greenery and it instantly put her mind at ease. Looking ahead a large set of gates was in sight leading up to what looked almost like an old university made form a grand building, but amongst the older build it was clear that newer more sleek buildings and renovations had been added; making it all in all a large and calm looking place. With the nature around it the building didn't seem to be as daunting as she had pictured and Layla was only slightly nervous as one of the guards at the gate looked at her through the window in the small gate house, the middle age man looked her up and down clearly unsure of what to make of her old jeans and worn brown boots that she wore with a black off shoulder sweater; blushing in embarrassment she suddenly wished she had picked something more fashionable but this morning she had rushed having over slept and wanted warmth not style on her side.

"Can I help you miss?" Looking up to see the man now offering her a calm smile she returned it, she had no reason not to after all as she came closer to speak. "I was asked to come meet Professor Crane for nine thirty. Sorry but I didn't ask where I was suppose to go to meet him" He looked down into a book in front of him before frowning lightly asking her to wait a moment as he turned going into a room behind out of sight, straining to hear what he was doing Layla realised he had called someone and listened only making out a few words that made no sense; giving up she began rubbing her hands down her arms in an attempt to warm them. For autumn it was colder than usual and she had no coat yet, her old one had worn through in the beginning of spring and so far she hadn't been able to justify putting the money aside to buy a new one; planning to do so just before winter hit. Coming back to attention when the man reappeared she waited expecting to be told she was in the wrong place only to be passed a plastic id card on a clip, looking to it and back she found a smiled greeting her. "I just spoke with Professor Crane he is going to come and collect you and guide you to his office himself, that visitors card will give you access to all communal areas and let you inside the gates. Follow the main path till you reach the courtyard with the fountain and the professor will meet you there" Standing still in mild shock for a moment Layla finally snapped out of her stupor and murmured a thank you heading to the small side gate and held the card as she looked for where she was suppose to use it, after a few moments she noticed a black touch pad and touched the card to it making the gate slowly open; walking in she kept going down the path looking back as she heard the gate close itself behind her. Swallowing down her nervousness Layla kept going taking in the tree's and building she passed seeing people working with black boards and computers alike, as well as a few people coming and going all wither in a security uniform or in some kind of lab wear. Seeing a courtyard ahead a grand white fountain at its centre she swallowing looking around searching for the professor she was suppose to meet, a young man in a lab coat started towards her and Layla held onto her card ready to explain she was allowed inside. "Ah! Miss Drake thank you for coming, it's a pleasure to meet you"

Stilling in shock at the man in front of her Layla robotically put her hand into his outstretched one shaking it, her mind finally linking that this was who she was suppose to be meeting. He was young in his late twenties at most with short black hair and chocolate brown eyes, his voice was gentler than it had been the night before but it was definitely the same. Finally coming back to her senses fully she put a smile in place and responded, trying to sound polite as possible. "Thank you professor Crane, and its pleasure to meet you as well. But you'll have to forgive me but I am still unsure why I am here exactly, you clearly have enough funding to have more... suitable people working and testing your completed work" Layla watched as his eyes flashed with what she almost thought was sympathy but was gone as quickly as it came as a calm smile returned. "I promise I will explain everything to you to the best of my ability Miss Drake. Please come, the lab is this way" Following as he gestured towards one of the more newer looking parts of the building Layla stayed a step behind so she was next to the man but not directly so, she was still unsure of his and didn't quite understand what he wanted from her; her gut telling her he wasn't telling her something. As they came inside she almost winced at how sterile the place was, everything neat and the air smelling almost like a hospital from whatever chemicals were used to keep the area clean. Finally coming into an office Layla took a seat gesture to her, thankful the room was slightly less sterile with the smell of the few plants in the room clearing the air and putting her at ease. When the man opposite her finally sat down he sighed before leaning on his elbows to look at her, the silence was broken as his voice replaced it; calm and focused as he slowly explained. "I will be direct Miss Drake. Our project is very much need to know currently as this kind of technology as you will most likely know is not accessible to the public, and will not be for some time. You were selected by the A.I we are asking you to test for us as I explained to you last night, it or rather he is a state of the art machine and is fully capable of following whatever you request of it" Frowning gently Layla intervened and leant forward slightly as she readjusted herself in her chair. "So it is a secret project and you want me to just test it out in public? I'm sorry but surely that is against the point of it being a classified project"

The professor smiled his face showing clear pride as he spoke; if anything he lent more forwards as he spoke making himself all the more intimidating to her. "That is the beauty of the A.I we have created, he looks sounds and can act completely human. He is clarified as subject Zero however you are to address him as Zero as this will be his name during the time he is in your care, you will not have to stray from your normal life style at all and as I mentioned you will be compensated. If you agree the A.I will come and with you for a period of two months, you will be paid a weekly for your assistance and while you are working the A.I will shut down or perform any tasks you set it; we ask you to take the A.I with you for any and all outings and of course we will give you a weekly allowance to accommodate travel and any other expenses" Layla's frown didn't leave her face but confusion was easily seen as her brows descended, becoming more and more uncertain about the situation as he explained. Licking her lips she opened her mouth to ask more questions but the man in front of her held up his hand and stood motioning for her to follow him as he went to the door opening it. "Please before anything else I would like you to meet subject Zero yourself" Swallowing lightly Layla looked at the open doorway and the professor as he continued to watch her patiently, his eyes however seemed to pleading her to follow as if needed her to for some unknown reason. Losing the battle in her head she decided to follow and at least see the so called A.I herself, and moved to enter the hallway waiting for the man to guide her to their destination. Following him down the hallways she noted the rooms became more silent and only their steps seemed to echo in the space, they passed through several doors all of which either had a guard or a pad for a access card; finality however they came to a hall with no windows and no doors except for one at the end. The door itself put Layla on edge as it was clearly made of heavy metal and was set with only a slide lock window like she had seen on a prison documentary; it also had a access card pad as well as a key pad and black screen in the wall. Despite feeling on edge Layla stood straighter tapping into her inner fire as she watched the man press in a code, tap his badge and then press his hand to the screen; realising quickly it was scanning his hand print. The door opening with a hiss like click as it pushed itself open, the professor turned standing to the side leaving the door ways clear as he inclined his head into the lit room; looking to him Layla made sure to show none of her concern or apprehension over its content. "Well Miss Drake? Please, come and introduce yourself to subject Zero. He has been rather... egger to meet you" Shaking off the odd tone of his voice Layla stood straighter and walked into the room looking around the space, until finally her eyes landing on the figure who watched her with piercing green eyes.

.................................................................................................................

Zero stood by the end of his bed with his eyes closed as he accessed the surveillance system, he was watching the footage feed of the two people heading to his room; more specifically the female of the two humans. He had researched her the moment he read her name on the document that had been given to him to read, expecting her to be someone else but found a young women of little importance to the human world; but one who peeked his interest immediately. His programming had long since surpassed in intelligence to what his creators believed would be possible and he also now could understand and even express emotions as the humans called them, and he found this human female peeked his interest and he was constantly returning his thoughts to her. She was not what humans classified as beautiful but she was striking to him, all of the details and records he had found on her indicated she was hard working and strong willed; working hard to pay for her belongings and did not strike out in public media online profiles as many other humans did. When he told the scientists and professors who monitored him he wanted her to be the tester for his field testing they had been ready to refuse, however when he made them aware that he could shut himself down and delete all of the information they had made him store they quickly agreed and contacted the woman he asked to be his tester. Watching the surveillance he noted the door of his room would soon be opened and shut off the feed opening his eyes once more, wanting to see her himself rather than through the camera feeds. As the door released from its intricate locks he stayed still watching the space waiting for her to enter knowing the professor would not, he had made it clear he wished to speak with his tester himself; telling them he wanted to evaluate her accurately without the interference of others that may make his findings on her character faulty. That however was a lie, he simply for reasons he had yet to identify wished to have her alone, with no other human especially male ones present. It took little to convince the humans to do his bidding, he was by design a learning intelligence so manipulation was simple to learn and execute; and with his adaptive technology that would grow to accommodate and evaluate human behaviour he would seem what the humans would call sincere when he lied making it undetectable even to other A.I's should it be required.

When she finally entered the room he felt himself begin processing everything about her, his eye sight changing to scan her both externally and internal to ensure she was well and unharmed; finding her heart beat elevated and breathing slightly faster than average he deemed her well. Switching his vision back to what humans would consider normal as he watched her stop at the sight of him, her pale grey eyes clashing with his green ones; which he logged in his memory held small shards of blue inside them. An unusual colour in humans from what human records stated, though her hair was red and not unheard of in humans the deep shade that she owned was unique as it was a colour far more vibrant that most natural shades. Stepping forward Zero stilled in his advance as he picked up her heart rate increasing and saw her form tighten in what he was familiar as a defensive reaction in humans, though he kept his face calm and placid he felt what he believed was called confusion; he had done nothing to threaten her in any way yet her body was becoming defensive in response to his approach. "Do I frighten you?" The question wasn't answered straight away as the woman under his gaze blink a few times as if she was only just registering her own actions, were all humans unable to detect all their body's instinctive responses? Zero's focus remained steady wanting not to cause her any alarm with more movement until he was sure she would not become distressed, if such a thing happened she may refuse to be his tester and that would make being close to study her difficult for many reasons. "I'm not scared of you" Tilting his head slightly at her calm voice, finding himself suddenly ready to record it for a reason he could not name; evaluating her Zero noted she was not lying as none of her vitals had changed or notable changes appear in her movements to indicate guilt. "I am however unsure how to react to you, I didn't expect you to look like you do" Zero stilled and watched her considering her answer, noting how her eyes would only look directly at him for a few moments before looking away. He was dressed in a pair of medical scrub trousers, the colour a light blue with white trim at the bottom; his feet were bare as was his chest the lack of clothing not bothering him in any way due to his body not being affected easily by environmental factors such as temperature or rough terrain.

Finding nothing in his appearance that should make a human female upset or adverse to his presence he frowned openly hoping it would share his confusion more clearly, he wanted to understand why she reacted to him in such a way and avoid it in the future. "I do not understand. Is my appearance unsatisfactory in some way or my form flawed?" Watching the woman in front of him Zero noted her cheeks flushed with blood making her skin tinge more red as she blushed, her demeaned moving from unsure to embarrassment; puzzling him all the more. "No, it's the opposite actually... I was not expecting you to look human; if no one had told me you were not one I would have thought you were just a normal man. And um-well your half dressed, its making me uncomfortable" Zero remained still for a moment before evaluating what she said, taking a minute more trying to connect her answer with his knowledge but continued to find no match. "Can you clarify why my form being visible to you unsettles you? From data I received many women enjoys viewing the male form, are you a woman who desires others of her own gender instead of the opposite?" Zero watched as her face became redder; quickly rechecking her vitals to ensure she was not unwell only to find her heart rate increased simply implying she was embarrassed; her voice quickly coming out in a rush taking his focus once more. "No, no I just don't feel comfortable looking at undressed men I either don't know or am not in a relationship with" Tilting his head once more Zero took in how the woman in front of him avoided his eye contact once more, nodding when he noted her gaze on him once more he moved to the folded blue medical scrub t shirt folded on the end of the bed that he had disguarded when given clothing that morning. Pulling it on in a fluid motion he turned back to face his visitor, finding himself satisfied when he found her holding her gaze on him more no longer darting her eyes away like she had previously. Finding her heart rate lowering and her cheeks paling as the blood flow decreased telling Zero she had calmed. Finding her calm in his presence was pleasing to Zero and he found that he wished to keep his new tester in this state, keep her content and happy; shifting his primary function to ensure she became his priority for as long as he remained with her. A odd flash within his systems like a painful virus growing at the brief idea at the period that he would be with her was so short, and quickly began developing a proposal to make the move to her care permanent or to have her involved in the projects with himself and other A.I's after that time passed. Putting the idea back into his data banks to return to later Zero once more focused on the woman in front of him, first he must convince her to agree to the offer to become his tester; finding his thoughts processed and every possible response to convince or even persuade it would be beneficial to her. Placing a calm smile on his face and allowing his green eyes to clash with her natural grey ones Zero set to his task, and he would take nothing but agreement from her and any other human on the subject.