Since Cryptor's reprogramming, the android had been grounded to his room for two months. No time with Jackson, no prototype testing, and no leaving the room unless he was told to leave. It was two weeks into the grounding and Cryptor was not happy at all. During those two weeks, Cyrus kept to himself. He continued his investigation, trying to figure out the identity of Gadgetman. He stayed up late every night those two weeks, just watching newscasts and going over any information they had on the vigilante.
His late night stays at the office had begun to take their toll on the inventor. He had dark circles around his eyes and was easily irritated from his lack of sleep. Mindroid, a common visitor to his office, had begun to worry about him. He was worried enough to report Cyrus' condition to Cryptor one day, asking the other android what he should do. When Cryptor had heard of Cyrus' condition from Mindroid, he stormed out if the room, not caring about being grounded. Stomping down the hall with a flashing light, he went to the nearest elevator and stormed into Cyrus' office.
"What do you think you're doing?!" He spat as he immediately saw Cyrus' condition. Cyrus looked up from his work and at Cryptor when the android entered. He sighed and tapped his pen on his desk.
"I'm running an investigation." He answered, sounding pretty tired. "You should not be out of your room."
"I don't care if you are running an investigation or if I should not be out of my room, you shouldn't be at work!" Cryptor snapped at him, storming over to his desk and snatching the pen he had away from him. "You're going to make yourself sick if you don't go home and get some rest!"
"Cryptor, I'm not pulling all nighters." Cyrus stated, reaching for his pen. "I go home and I get two or three hours of sleep."
"Two or Three hours of sleep isn't enough!" He spat back at the inventor, chucking the pen far across the room. "You need more than that." Cyrus sighed and looked up at Cryptor with a slightly irritated expression.
"Cryptor, I can take care of myself." Cyrus stated, trying not to sound angry. "I don't need you yelling at me to sleep whenever I have to stay late."
"No you can't. You have made that quite obvious to me. It's great that you're at least getting some sleep, but you need more than that! Staying up late for one night is okay, but three? Four? Five? How long have you even been doing this to yourself?" Cyrus opened his mouth to retort, stopping himself when he realized he did not know how many days it had been. The inventor thought back briefly and counted the days.
"Almost three weeks I think." He answered once he figured it out. "Didn't rest at all when I was gone..." Cryptor growled at the answer before he started shoving at Cyrus' chair to get him to move.
"You need to go home now."
"Alright... I'll go home early." Cyrus huffed, giving up. "But I can't just leave in the middle of the day. I'll stay and work for a few more hours then I'll go home." Cryptor huffed, grudgingly excepting the answer.
"You better, and a few more hours better not be two in the morning."
"A few more hours means I leave at six." Cyrus grumbled. "Are you going to return to you room now, or are you going watch me all day and make sure I leave?" Cryptor huffed again, crossing his arms.
"How much do you have on Gadgetman anyway?" He asked. Cyrus shook his head and tapped his fingers on the desk.
"I know that he only strikes at night and that he has my lost prototypes." Cyrus answered. "No one really knows what he looks like or how he stole them from the tower. That's all I really know about him."
"Well that's not much to go off of." Cryptor snorted. He then sighed bring a hand up to his face and shaking his head. "Is there any way at all I can help you catch him so you don't keep staying up so late?"
"Well, you can start by telling me if you noticed anyone in the prototype testing room was acting suspicious." Cyrus said, turning to a special stack of papers. "Specifically Jackson. Have you noticed anything strange about his behavior?"
"No not really, he just talks about him a lot. Seems to be a big fan and always seems to know more than anyone else. I try to stay as up to date on the news as him but he always catches more than I do." He answered Cyrus. Cyrus nodded slowly as he listened to Cryptor answer. He picked up a spare pen and jotted down what Cryptor had said on a specific set of notes.
"Don't tell Jackson, but he's a suspect." Cyrus said as he set the papers in front of Cryptor. "The missing prototypes have all been tested by him. Of course there is a chance it could be another tester, but it seems like he's the most suspicious."
"If it is another tester I can't really look saying I'm not allowed in the room right now." Cryptor huffed, looking at Cyrus' papers. Cyrus sighed and looked back down at his papers. He pushed a few sheets away as he searched for a specific page. It was found at the bottom of a stack. Pulling it out, he handed it to Cryptor.
"These are the names of everyone who works in that room." He stated. "They are all suspects. You and Jackson are at the top of the list though, seeing how you both worked with these missing prototypes."
"How am I a suspect?" Cryptor quickly objected, sounding offended. "I'm not even allowed to leave the tower and if I was I'm pretty sure you would know."
"Cryptor, don't take offense." Cyrus said, spinning the pen in his hand. "You are a suspect because you also tested the prototypes. Not to mention you are the hero type. If you were Gadgetman, I'm sure you would have some way out of the tower without me knowing." Cryptor glared at Cyrus, crossing arms.
"I'm not Gadgetman. I don't even like the idiot and his stupid fan base. All the fans are being complete morons completely neglecting the fact he's stole things. Even if that imbecile is doing good, he's doing just about as much bad."
"Don't worry, Cryptor... Jackson is more suspicious than you are." Cyrus stated with a shake of his head. "His fans are just as rabid as the Ninjas'…"
"They all fawn over how hot he is and they don't even know what he looks like." Cryptor snorted. Cyrus chuckled and shook his head.
"I suppose people always find hero's attractive." He said. "But who's to say that Gadgetman is even a man. We've never seen them. Maybe Gadgetman is actually Gadgetwoman." Cryptor laughed.
"I doubt a woman is capable of what he does."
"Cryptor, women are capable of anything men are capable of." Cyrus said, giving Cryptor a bit of a disappointed look. Cryptor suppressed another laugh.
"No, they aren't."
"Wow, I never realized how terrible you are." Cyrus retorted. He was appalled by Cryptor's words. He had not raised Cryptor to be so sexist. "We'll have to have a long discussion about why sexism is bad later. Let's get back to the matter at hand." Cryptor huffed, slightly irritated, before looking back to the list of suspects. After receiving no comment from Cryptor, Cyrus began looked through his notes again. As the inventor looked through the papers, a yawn escaped. "I don't think I could manage another late night." Cyrus admitted to himself, sounding more tired than before.
"You aren't going to pull an all nighter, even if it requires me to reveal myself to the public and carry you home." Cryptor replied, glancing at Cyrus. Cyrus looked up at Cryptor as if he had been startled awake.
"Don't worry, I won't let that happen." He said. "I'm done pulling all nighters and I won't be staying late unless I absolutely have to."
"Good." Cryptor grunted, turning away from Cyrus and heading for the elevator. "I'll be checking up on you later to make sure you do."
Like he promised, Cyrus left work early. Cryptor had badgered him to leave at exactly six, so he had no other choice. The inventor headed straight home and stayed there for a half an hour before deciding to go out. He had some quick errands to run. If he had not returned home early, he would have completely forgotten about them. By the time the inventor was done, night had fallen and the street lights were lit. Halfway home, Cyrus stopped on the sidewalk to shake his arms out. He had taken his wheelchair out to run the errands, so his arms got tired from wheeling himself around so much. He relied too much on his mech-chair. While he stretched his arms, Cyrus was grabbed and pulled into a nearby alleyway. With a hand clasped tightly around his mouth, his screams were muffled. Once in the dark alley, Cyrus was ripped from his chair and dropped to the ground. Before he could call for help, a swift kick to the stomach silenced him.
Cyrus was grabbed by the collar of his shirt and a tight fist met his face. Blood ran from the paraplegic's nose. Another punch to the face knocked his glasses off. The attacker then commanded Cyrus to give him all of his money. With shaking hands, Cyrus reached for his pocket. Cyrus did not move fast enough, so the aggressor punched him again and again. Then Cyrus quickly pulled his wallet out. The mugger took the wallet and dropped Cyrus, kicking him across the face before bolting down the alley.
Then man that fled down the alley skidded to a halt just before making it out, the sound of metal clanging on the concrete. The hooded figure that leapt from the building, quickly knocked the attacker off his feet with a swing of the leg and knocked him to the ground. Quickly having the mugger pinned to the ground, Gadgetman stripped the wallet from their grasp before knocking them unconscious. Tying up the offender to a dumpster in the ally, the cloaked hero walked over to the unconscious Cyrus on the ground. Making a quick analysis of his condition, the shaded figure slipped the wallet back in his pocket picked up the limp body bridal style. Quickly making his way to the rooftops, Gadgetman took off, hopping across buildings in the direction of the hospital. As the mysterious renegade jumped from roof to roof, Cyrus began to wake. He stirred and his eyes fluttered opened. The inventor looked up at the sky, then the man holding him. His vision was blurry, but he could make out a pair of tinted goggles, a red scarf, and a hood. When Cyrus realized what was going on and where he was, he began to panic. Seeing that they were jumping from roof top to roof top, Cyrus clung to his savior.
"Oh my god!" Cyrus gasped, holding the masked vigilante tight. "Don't drop me. Be careful. P-please." Gadgetman looked down at him for a quick moment before looking back up. As the injured inventor pleaded for them to keep him safe, the masked savior only responded with a small shake of the head. Continuing to run towards the hospital, Gadgetman made his way to the ground and began to quickly weave between the small amounts of pedestrians on the sidewalk getting in front of the hospital, the cloaked hero set Cyrus down on the ground carefully before dashing off back to building tops again without a word. Immediately after being left in front of the hospital, people flocked around the injured inventor. He was bombarded with questions about the hero. No one needed to be told that the masked man was Gadgetman. Speechless, Cyrus just watched where the hero had run off. He could have unmasked Gadgetman, but he had not thought about it at the time. Eventually Cyrus received the help he needed. He was lucky and had only a broken nose and a swollen face. He was able to return to work the next day.
Cryptor had heard quickly what had happened to Cyrus during the night and quickly rushed to his office, hoping he'd be there. Unfortunately he wasn't and Cryptor had paced his office while his light flashed. News had spread of Cyrus' encounter and he was crowded by employees at the entrance when he arrived. Many questions were asked as Cyrus made his way inside and to the elevator. Cyrus answered what he could before being taken up to his office where he found Cryptor waiting. Finally hearing the elevator reach the floor, Cryptor whipped his head to look at it, seeing Cyrus get out of it.
"Cyrus!" He exclaimed quickly rushing over to him. "Are you okay? What even happened?" Cyrus sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
"You're the first person to ask me if I'm okay." Cyrus murmured. "I'm fine, just a few bruises and a broken nose. I got mugged again, but Gadgetman helped me..." Cryptor frowned, crossing his arms.
"I think that has been made very obvious." He huffed. "Word spreads like wild fire. I was hoping for a few of the details no one else seems to care about."
"Not much detail to share." Cyrus shrugged. He reached down and raised his shirt enough to show a large bruise on his stomach. Cryptor frowned even more when he saw the bruise, looking up at Cyrus with concern. "The mugger kicked me first and then proceeded to punch me until I gave him my wallet. He knocked me out but apparently Gadgetman got my wallet back."
"You're sure you're okay? You don't need to go home and rest?"
"I did enough resting at the hospital and at home." Cyrus answered, letting his shirt fall back into place. "Everything is okay. You don't have to worry about me." Cryptor sighed, watching Cyrus go over to his desk as he stood beside the elevator before hearing the elevator moving back up, quite a bit of ruckus coming from the insides. Staring wide eyed at it, Cryptor took a couple steps back. Cyrus attention snapped to the elevator doors. He had not been told of anyone coming up to his office, nor did anyone have permission. From the sound of it, there were quite a few people in the elevator. Cyrus doubted that they were employees. Suddenly panicked, Cyrus looked at Cryptor.
"Hide." He urged. Without hesitation, Cryptor bolted to hide. As the elevator doors opened, Cryptor managed to hide himself. A small group of people hurried out of the elevator and rushed over to Cyrus. The five of them seemed to be reporters and journalists. Immediately they began asking about Gadgetman and how he was saved. As Cyrus was bombarded with questions, he hit a silent alarm button under his desk. Answering a few of the questions that he was able to, Cyrus told them he was unconscious during most of his encounter with the hero. Soon enough, security came and escorted the people out of his office. Cyrus sighed with relief once they were gone.
"You can come out now, Cryptor." He called, shaking his head slowly. After Cyrus had given the go there was a loud crash from where he had hidden. Cryptor, having fallen out of a cabinet, growled as he lied on his back, his feet still awkwardly in the cabinet. With a grumble, Cryptor pulled the rest of himself out of the cramped cabinet and stood up, brushing himself off. Glaring at Cyrus across the room, very irritated with what he had to do, Cryptor walked over to the inventor.
"Remind me again why I need to be kept a secret?" Cyrus frowned at Cryptor's question.
"If you are found out and the public isn't okay with you, they will want me to shut you down again." He answered, awkwardly tapping a finger on his desk. "You know that..." Cryptor grumbled.
"My body isn't meant to be stuffed into small cramped places like cabinets."
"Yeah, I know." Cyrus stated, ceasing his tapping. "I'm going to re-enable your stealth mode again... You'll be able to hide yourself if anything like this happens again." Cryptor huffed, crossing his arms.
"Good, because I don't want to have to go in any more cabinets."
"You shouldn't have to any time soon." Cyrus stated. Cyrus' heart nearly stopped when he heard the elevator again. "Oh my god. Cryptor, you have to hide."
"I am not hiding again." Cryptor quickly protested. "I am not getting crammed into any more small spaces."
"Cryptor, please." Cyrus urged as he took Cryptor's arm and pushed him down and under his desk. Cyrus frantically made sure Cryptor was hidden as the doors opened. Much to his surprise, the one in the elevator was Mindroid. "Oops." Cryptor growled under the desk slamming his hand on the desk and pulling himself out from under it. Glaring at Cyrus and then to Mindroid, Cryptor stormed over to the elevator before the doors closed.