Story: Difference between revisions

== Portal 2: Lab Rat ==

The Lab Rat comic bridges the gap between ''Portal'' and ''Portal 2'', which introduces us to [[Doug Rattmann]], a scientist at Aperture Science {{Spoiler|who survived the Neurotoxin after GLaDOS' first activation at the Bring Your Daughter to Work Day, which made her self-aware and initiated a lockdown on the facility, and killed most of the scientists with neurotoxin.}}  

=== Part 1 ===

Soon after discovering Chell, it appears he has not taken his medication for a while, and he takes his two final pills, against the Companion Cube's advice not to take them. A first flashback is shown, with a younger Rattmann overhearing two colleagues saying they put cameras in the cameras, something that an unidentified person is not to suspect. While he runs through the facility and makes another mural, Chell reaches [[Portal Test Chamber 19|Test Chamber 19]], {{Spoiler|and finally GLaDOS' chamber, where she destroys her.}}

=== Single-player ===

{{Spoiler|Following the events of ''[[Portal 2: Lab Rat]]'', Chell is awoken 50 days later in her relaxation chamber, which has the appearance of a motel room, for a 'mandatory physical and mental wellness exercise'. After a brief 'exercise', Chell returns to her sleep. She is awoken an undetermined amount of time later (a pre-recorded message says "[[Media:Announcer openingcourtesy01.wav|Hello, you have been in suspension for - NINE NINE NINE NINE NINE NINE NI-]]"), to the room intercom warning of an imminent core explosion. Her room is in a state of disrepair, and soon, an unfamiliar voice greets her.  Upon opening the door she finds herself face to face with a more modern-looking [[Personality Core]] whose name is later revealed to be [[Wheatley]], the jovial AI in charge of the test subjects storage facility. After warning Chell of the likelihood of her having serious brain damage, Wheatley moves her relaxation chamber through the storage facility, crashing several times and largely destroying the room in the process, all the while ranting about the huge responsibility of taking care of the test subjects. After successfully navigating the room to the main testing facility, Wheatley instructs Chell to go retrieve a "[[Handheld Portal Device|gun that makes holes]]," as it will be needed for their escape from the facility. Upon successfully acquiring the device, Wheatley and Chell make their way to GLaDOS' chamber where Wheatley claims an escape pod to the surface is located. They find the chamber partially destroyed, with overgrown wildlife everywhere, and in the middle of the chamber lies the lifeless body of GLaDOS. After reaching the breaker room under the chamber, Wheatley attempts to find the breaker for the lift. In the process, he inadvertently reboots GLaDOS. Bitter at the cause of her death, she crushes Wheatley and tosses him away before dropping Chell into the [[Emergency Intelligence Incinerator]], into the incinerator room. GLaDOS instructs Chell to retrieve the Dual-Portal Device, before guiding her back into the facility's test chambers by navigating backward through [[Portal Test Chamber 19|Test Chamber 19]]. Fixing the broken down facility while Chell is once again put through testing, GLaDOS, bitter at her murder, informs Chell that her {{W|Flight recorder|black box}} forced her to relive her own murder again and again '''forever'''.}}

==== {{anchor|Chapter 3|Chapter 4}} Chapter 3: ''The Return'' / Chapter 4: ''The Surprise'' ====

{{Spoiler|When GLaDOS isn't watching, Wheatley pops out from behind a test chamber wall and reveals he survived their encounter with GLaDOS.  He asks Chell to play along with the testing until he figures out a way for them to escape. GLaDOS' taunts become more vindictive, at one point pretending to reunite the 'orphan' Chell with her family. It becomes clear that Chell does not have much time left, as GLaDOS insinuates her usefulness is coming to an end. While in a test chamber, the power is cut out and Wheatley reveals himself from behind a wall panel, under the false impression GLaDOS cannot detect him. When she does, he and Chell make a run for it through the inner facility with GLaDOS attempting to halt their progress.}}

==== {{anchor|Chapter 5}} Chapter 5: ''The Escape'' ====

{{Spoiler|Along the way, they pass a 'potato power' exhibition, held on the ill-fated 'Bring Your Daughter to Work Day. While making their way through the [[Turrets|Turret]] production facility, Wheatley reveals he plans to sabotage the Turrets and neurotoxin supply so that when they face GLaDOS she will be unarmed. They successfully carry out their plan by replacing the master Turret template with a [[Defective Turrets|Defective Turret]] and using [[portals]] to redirect a [[Thermal Discouragement Beam]] to cut off the neurotoxin supply lines. Hopeful, they make their way to GLaDOS' chamber once again for a showdown. GLaDOS, once again, attempts to kill Chell but is unsuccessful due to Wheatley's and Chell's sabotage. It is at this point that the [[Announcer]] informs them that the central core, GLaDOS, is 80% corrupt and because Wheatley is present, a core transfer is initialized. This requires both cores' approval, and when GLaDOS objects, a stalemate is reached. The Announcer informs them that a stalemate associate is required to press a stalemate resolution button for the core transfer to occur. GLaDOS desperately attempts to block Chell from doing so but is unsuccessful, and the core transfer occurs. Wheatley is transferred into GLaDOS' body and she is removed from power. In a jubilant mood, Wheatley sends Chell on her way to the surface. He begins laughing, but it becomes unusually powerful for Wheatley. He lowers Chell back down, going on about how he did it. GLaDOS taunts him, telling him that Chell did all the work, and in a fit of rage, he takes her core apart and places her in a potato battery. He tells Chell that he is the boss now and that she can no longer order him around. PotatOS is then shown off; Wheatley's attempt is to humiliate her. It is at this point GLaDOS reveals that Wheatley was designed to be a moron, in order to dampen GLaDOS' brainpower so that she wouldn't attempt to murder everyone in the facility. Angered by this revelation, Wheatley throws her in the lift with Chell and in a fit of rage smashes the lift downwards, where the lift floor collapses, and they fall into the depths of the facility.}}

{{Spoiler|It is revealed that in a misguided move in the 1980s, Cave bought $70 million worth of moon rocks to grind up. The resulting [[gel]] was toxic, and Cave Johnson falls gravely ill. Chell is reunited with the potato GLaDOS, found in a bird's nest, and GLaDOS insists they need to stop the corrupted Wheatley before his actions cause the destruction of the facility. While traveling with Chell, GLaDOS comes across a portrait of Cave Johnson and Caroline, whom she finds vaguely familiar. She then finds herself unwittingly parroting a conversation between Caroline and Cave Johnson. Highly stressed, she manages to overload her battery and shuts it off temporarily. Cave Johnson's voice on the recordings now sounds frail and it is clear his health is quickly deteriorating. In a last-ditch attempt to survive, he instructs his engineers to start research into artificial intelligence, so that his mind can be transferred into a computer. Angry at the state of affairs, he instructs his employees that if he dies before the AI is complete, Caroline is to take charge of the facility, against her wishes. He also informs them that she can take his place in the AI. No more recordings are made, but it becomes clear that Caroline's mind was inserted into the AI, and is now a part of GLaDOS. Learning this, GLaDOS' attitude slowly changes. She begins praising Chell's progress and claims to have turned a new leaf. While making their way back up to the facility, GLaDOS observes a poster about robot paradoxes and comes up with a plan to stop Wheatley when they face him.}}

{{Spoiler|The game ends with a wistful Wheatley floating aimlessly in space, admitting if he was able to go back, he would say he was sorry.}}

=== [[Cooperative Testing Initiative|Co-op]] ===

==== {{anchor|Course 1}} Course 1: ''Team Building'' ====

<!--- Introduction of 2 new cubes, see [[Cube]] --->

==== {{anchor|Course 4}} Course 4: ''Excursion Funnels'' ====

==== {{anchor|Course 5}} Course 5: ''Mobility Gels'' ====

== Trivia ==

* In order to flesh out the story in ''Portal 2'', Valve originally intended to include an exhibition within the Aperture Science facility, one composed of different [[Concept art#Dioramas|dioramas]] showcasing various aspects of the company and its philosophy. The dioramas were ultimately cut before the final release due to pacing issues and the [[Cave Johnson voice lines]] have replaced that level so the player can solve [[Test Chamber]]s while also getting to know more about the old [[Aperture Science]] chambers and trivia.

[[Category:Gameplay]]