Author's Note: thanks for all the nice reviews, it really made this chapter easier to write, knowing someone out there's reading it.
Chapter 2:
Sam's POV:
Carly and I stand there looking at him dumbfounded. I have so many questions.
"How did you pay for all of this?" I ask gesturing around the room.
"I bought it with my third of the Daka money, which I wisely invested." Freddie says coolly, I'm skeptical but let it slide for now. "But, I need an answer." Freddie adds.
"We have more questions." Carly says and I nod in agreement.
"Well, if you pick a normal life, you'll never get your answers." Freddie says and raises an eyebrow. "Yes or no?" I look over at Carly and ask with my eyes. She gives me her answer. "Great, so glad you said yes." Freddie says and moves toward the door.
"But, we didn't answer you yet." Carly says.
"But you thought yes and I knew Sam was in the second she put her fist through that steel." Freddie tells us matter-o-factly. "Now follow me." He leads us out of Carly's apartment and across the hall into his. We follow him right up to his bedroom door and he stops. "Now, what I'm about to show you might blow you're mind, are you ready?" he asks. "Good." He says before we can answer, reading our minds again. He turns the handle and opens the door. I already knew Freddie's room was nerdy; I had been in it before. But he had turned it into a grade 'A' nerd lab that would make Nevel cry. However, what really catches our attention is in the center of the room. In the center of the room is a normal swivel chair, what freaks us out is the fact that another Freddie is sitting in the swivel chair. He is wearing this weird helmet that looks like it came from comic-con. It is round, metallic and covers all of his hair and straps on at the chin.
"Watch your language Carly, goodness, you swear like a sailor in your head, and no Sam I didn't clone myself… okay I sort of did but not that way." The standing Freddie says to us, again reading our thoughts.
"Would you stop?" I ask him annoyed.
"Maybe, now I know you must have questions, and I will answer them, but with my real mouth." I can not be more confused. The Freddie standing up moves to lie down on the bed, then his skin begins to shimmer as if it were a hologram or something. His skin and clothes vanish to reveal a black robot skeleton that looks like it walked of a terminator movie set. Then the Freddie in the chair starts to stir and takes the helmet off. He stands up and faces us. Correction, now I can't be more confused.
Gibby's POV:
"Sweetie, where are you going?" my mom calls.
"I'm just going out for a minute Mom, I'll be back soon." I yell through the house to answer her. I can't be in the house when it happens; it seems to be occurring more and more often. I don't know what to do, what if it becomes permanent? I close the door behind me and I start to jog down the street. I turn the corner and head for the park, it's not too late out, only 7:30 so people might still be there, I don't want to hurt anyone, but I can't control it. I jog into the park; I don't take five steps before I pass a woman and her small daughter, maybe five or six. "Oh god." I whisper as I pass them. I keep control until I reach my spot, a large area completely surrounded by tall thick bushes and low thick branches. No one can see in from the outside, maybe no one will come in, but the noise could draw attention. I look around, no one in sight, I begin to disrobe. I fold my clothes and put them in a notch in a tree with my sneakers. I move over to a large rock completely naked and sit down on it. This is the most humiliating part, sitting here, waiting for it to happen. It'd been happening since the explosion, only twice a week at first, then more and more often, this is the first time it's going to happen before sunset. I sit there thinking, maybe I was wrong, and maybe it isn't going to happen right now. I 'm about to get up and get my clothes when it starts. I drop to the ground and curse under my breath. I'm on my hands and knees, almost doubled over in pain. There's a sharp pain in my chest as it starts to expand. One of my hands grabs it involuntarily; I can feel large quantities of hair sprouting. I look down at my other hand and I see the bones start to move out of place as they grow larger and hair sprouts on the back of my hand and up my fingers, my skin hardens and turns the color of leather. My shoulders dislocate themselves and push up and out to accommodate my expanding chest, soon my collar bone grows as well, still the worst hasn't happened yet. My arms and legs grow in length, soon followed by the growing muscles, if my skin hadn't toughened so much I'd fear they'd split through it. Finally the part I dread most begins, my skull starts to expand, my jaw begins pushing out, forming almost a snout, my canine teeth grow and sharpen to points; my other teeth grow wide and flat. The hair sprouts out as well; I'm so covered in this odd blue fur that all you can see of my skin are my palms, face, bottoms of my feet which look more like hands now, and the upper part of my chest. My spine has elongated with my arms and legs so I now stand at a massive twelve feet tall, my stomach has expanded with my chest, I have to weigh two or three tons. I move over to a small pond in the space and look at my reflection, I have become this monstrous ape thing and I hate it. I loose control to this beast as it lets out an unearthly howl or roar. Now I can only watch as this monster takes over.
Freddie's POV:
"Okay, any questions?" I ask as I stand from the chair. The two stare at me with blank looks. Sam speaks up first.
"Wha-what is that thing?" she asks pointing at the robot.
"That is how I will hang out with you guys when we go out and fight crime or whatever. I can control it from here with this helmet, it wirelessly connects to it. I have to use all of my concentration to control it and make it look like me." I explain to them. It isn't that difficult, I just use the helmet to move my consciousness from my body to the robot.
"How do you make it look like you?" Carly asks.
"Well, there are some theories about making a camouflage suit that takes the characteristics of other people; I just made some adjustments and bonded the suit to the robot skeleton and viola, a robot that takes my shape. Also, it is faster than me so it can keep up with you two and strong enough to fend for itself. It's not as fast as you, Carly, or as strong as you, Sam, but it can do some cool stuff." I explain to them
"How'd you pay for it?" Sam asks.
"I told you with my-" I start to say but she cuts me off.
"Freddie, your third of the Daka money was ten thousand dollars, I don't care how 'wisely invested' it was, that can't have bought you the materials you needed for the robot, camouflage suit, the clothes you had made, these bracelets, and all of this." She says gesturing at all the computers and screens I had set up around the room.
"You're right, but it did get me the computers, the materials for the clothes and half of the necessary materials for the bracelets." I tell her, proud that she figured that out. Yeah I have a hot and smart girlfriend, suck on that David Schwimmer.
"Then what paid for the rest?" Carly asks
"Oh, you know I… uh… you know… hacked some offshore bank accounts." I say quietly hopping they will let it go.
"What!" they yell in unison. Guess they won't let it go.
"Well, come on, it was probably embezzled money anyway, it was stolen from companies, I just took it from thieves." I defend. "Besides, it was kinda fun." I say and see the smirk on Sam's face when I say that. I also hear in her head that she's proud of me and… wow Sam, that was a dirty thought, I'll keep that for later. They let it go, but I can tell Carly's gonna bring it up again later. "Any other questions?" I ask them
"How do the bracelets work?" Carly asks.
"Did you guys feel a pinch when I tightened the bracelets?" I ask them, they both nod in response. "That was actually a small needle made of rare blue diamond. It poked into one of the veins in your wrist and is emitting an electro-magnetic pulse in synch with your heart beats."
"Why is the needle made of blue diamond?" Carly asks me.
"Because it's the only substance I can think of that will pierce Sam's skin and conduct electricity." I explain
"So, the only thing that can break my skin is diamond?" Sam asks.
"Yes, and you would not believe how expensive it is to get it cut so small and so thin."
"Why is the pulse synched with our hearts?" Sam asks.
"So you don't go into cardiac arrest." I explain. "The electro-magnetic pulses neutralize the radioactive substance in our blood which give us our powers." I explain and point at Sam's bracelet. "That little switch on the side turns the pulse on and off so you can turn your powers on and off."
"Wait." Carly says and puts her hands up in front of her. "If we do fight crime or whatever, how will I help, all I can do is run."
"I thought of that, press the red button on the side." I tell her, she does and a small piece of metal pops up from the bracelet, it quickly elongates out past her hand and forms into a long, thin, blade. Both of them look at me shocked and confused. "It's carbon nanotubes, very thin, very light, and very sharp." Carly presses the button again and the blade retracts. "Any more questions?" I ask a last time and they both seem satisfied. "Cool, now we have to get changed into clothes that wont wear out." I say and reach into my closet. I pull out two pairs of sneakers and a set of clothes. I hand the clothes and a pair of shoes to Sam and hand Carly her shoes.
"What about you?" Sam asks after changing in the bathroom.
"I wont be out there, the robot will." I gesture at the robot on the bed.
"How will we know if there's an emergency?" Carly asks. As if on cue, one of the screens starts blaring. We run over and a news report pops up.
"Reports of a giant ape, terrorizing the park have been sent in, so far it seem that efforts to stop the beast have been futile." The reporter says.
"Well I was expecting bank robbery or natural disaster, but giant ape works too." I say and move over to the chair. I put on the helmet and within moments I'm in the machine again.
"Let's go." I tell them in robot form now. Carly and Sam run out the door, I choose to take the window, I jump to the ground and run out front where I meet Carly and Sam just leaving the lobby. They turn off their bracelets and are ready to go. We all turn at once and head for the park ready to face whatever is thrown our way.
So, what do you think? love it? hate it? i dont know so tell me, and yes before you get all crazy, there will be more Seddie in later chapters, i'm focusing on the action for now, but i hope to make it an emotional journey as well, maybe even a good laugh here and there.