Hiya dear readers! Sorry for not updating for a while. I . . . have no excuses. But I'm going to say some anyway. I was gone all weekend, and I was going to write before I left, but then I got all depressed for no reason and just couldn't bring myself to sit down in front of the computer. I finally did, though! Yay!
So this chapter is a little bit filler, I guess. But it helps lead up to some more of the action. We're getting close to something very, very major in the story that I just can't wait to write! Oh, and by the way, a character returns in this chapter. Who? Read to find out . . .
But first! Thanks to everyone who gave me flashback ideas. I'll definitely be using some of them. The "first day of school" flashback (which was requested a lot) will probably be used in I'm a Human. Thanks again, guys!
Shout out to PhoenixRisingFromtheFire! (Formerly the infamous KickandBelli.) In case you guys didn't know, she's apologized (something I asked her to do a while ago) and as far as I'm concerned, none of that flaming stuff ever happened. We're all good now. :3 Shout out to AllAmericanSlurp as well for help on the flashback for this chapter.
Now, on with the story! Who's ready to learn some secrets Douglas has been keeping for many, many years? Don't worry, you will! Y'all know I don't own Lab Rats, and y'all also know that I hope you enjoy this chapter!
* * * Chapter 13: Plans * * *
Chase woke up feeling very refreshed. The first thing he noticed was how little pain he was experiencing. With a gentle hand, he touched the back of his head. Though he could feel the slightly raised tissue that formed the scar, there was no longer any bleeding. Chase breathed a sigh of relief. His leg didn't hurt nearly as much either; putting weight on it was no longer a problem. Carefully Chase unwrapped the bandage from his arm, hoping the burn had healed just as well. Though there was a clearly visible scar, it was not very bad at all. Everything was healing quickly thanks to the night in his capsule.
Not to mention, Chase felt energized once again. His bionics drained him so quickly. It was an astounding change to be so full of energy once more.
The bionic was still standing in his capsule and, frankly, he didn't want to get out. It was something like the kid who didn't want to get out of bed in the morning. Chase couldn't pull himself to open the door. He just wanted to stand there and fall back asleep. In fact, all he wanted to do was sleep more; maybe he would wake up and find that this adventure was all just a nightmare.
The human brain is a funny thing. No matter how hard Chase tried to fall back asleep – and he really did try – he simply couldn't. His brain wasn't letting him doze off into a state of dreams where he could escape from the nightmare of his life. Instead it was screaming at him to get up and do something. The time for sleeping is over! it said.
"But I want to sleep!" Chase moaned softly to himself. Nonetheless, he knew he had lost the battle. With a sigh, Chase stepped out of his capsule into the cell.
"Not like there's much else to do, anyway," the teen muttered under his breath. He looked around at the bare walls and sighed again.
Then there was that familiar sound. This was even more groan-inducing than not being able to sleep. When the door to the cell swung open, Chase said, "Yeah, yeah, just take me to whatever training you want to do next."
Douglas raised one eyebrow before motioning his youngest son out the door. Chase reluctantly complied; what else was he supposed to do, anyway? So the father and son marched down the halls – the halls that all looked exactly the same.
"You know, this whole 'take-me-out-of-my-cell-for-training' system is getting old," Chase complained.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Douglas said sarcastically. "Would you rather I just forget about the whole training thing and you can create your own schedule?"
Chase just scowled in response. I'd like that very much, he thought bitterly.
As the two continued down the hall, Chase had a sudden epiphany. He wasn't in pain anymore and his bionics were fully recharged and ready to go. How hard would it be to take down Douglas right now?
"If you're thinking about trying something," Douglas said suddenly, "don't. I've got the Triton App up and ready to go at your slightest misstep. Don't even think about it, Chase. It won't work."
It seemed almost as if Douglas could read his mind. Chase just frowned and continued on. He knew his father was right. The Triton App had been the bane of Chase's existence for as long as he could remember. It wasn't going away anytime soon, either. Chase had no way to delete the program this time around.
Another door. Another shove. Another dark room. Chase sighed. He was tired of this routine. The first thing Chase checked for was the projectors. He didn't see any, so he was good. Chase gave a quick glance around to see if he had anyone to do training with. There was a figure standing in a dark corner of the room. Chase strained his eyes to see who it was.
"Marcus?" Chase gasped as he identified the figure.
"Hi Chase," Marcus drawled without looking up.
"Um, are you okay?" Chase asked. The lights came on as he asked that question. Now Chase could see Marcus fully.
The android stood in the corner with his chin resting on his chest. He glanced up at Chase and for a second the bionic was a bit taken aback. Marcus's chocolate-brown eyes had glowing lines of blue that ran through the irises, making his eyes look like a circuit board. It made Marcus looked very strange.
The creepy eyes weren't the only thing off about Marcus. His hair was disheveled and his clothes were crooked and dirty. His skin was pale and he almost seemed to be shaking a bit. The very appearance of the android was actually beginning to play on Chase's sympathies.
"How am I?" Marcus repeated. He stood up straight and turned to face Chase fully. "I . . . feel . . . awful!" Marcus let out a curt, mirthless laugh. "Just awful!"
"Uh, okay?" Chase said hesitantly, raising one eyebrow. "Um, what happened to you?"
"What happened? Oh, Douglas found me." Marcus said the sentence like one would say, "Oh, I went to the store."
"Oh," Chase said, not entirely sure what to say. He was getting slightly concerned. There was something about Marcus that was inexplicably . . . different.
"Yup," Marcus said slowly. He looked up and stared at the high ceiling as if it was the most fascinating thing he had ever seen. "He found me and took me away . . . mostly was experimenting on me and stuff, y'know, to see how you extended my life span and brought me back to life. Most of it's a blur . . . I don't even know how many days I've been here."
"Join the club," Chase mumbled. Then he examined Marcus. The android was still staring into space. His mouth was open slightly and his gaze was unblinking. "Um, should I be concerned about you?" Chase asked.
Marcus lowered his head and stared right at Chase with his brown and blue "circuit board" eyes. "Probably," the android said. A slow smile spread across Marcus's face and Chase became genuinely scared.
"Alright guys, time for training," Douglas's voice announced through the room. Believe it or not, Chase was actually gratefully to hear his father's voice. It gave him an excuse not to focus on his demented-looking brother.
"What do you want now?" Marcus shrieked. His voice cracked and his question came out high-pitched, causing Chase to put a hand to his mouth and try to muffle his laughs. Marcus glared at Chase in return.
"I've got a new invention that I need tested. And what better way to do than use my bionic and android sons?"
"Test something?" Chase asked. "Why do you need us to do that?"
A door on the opposite end of the large room opened up. Through that door walked something very big. It marched closer and closer, its walk menacing. Standing before Chase and Marcus was a very big robot.
"It looks like something from a movie," Marcus commented, cocking his head. "You know, one of those big robots that the military keeps secret from all of humanity . . . I wish I was more like that."
Chase didn't even bother to reply to his brother's random mutterings. Although Marcus was right, the robot did look like something from a movie. It stood about nine feet tall and its sleek body was silver-grey. While it was humanoid, it did not resemble a human the same way Marcus did. The eyes were glowing red they were trained on the two figures before it.
"Oh no," Chase muttered.
A split second later the robot raised its arm and shot a laser at the boys. Marcus and Chase jumped in separate directions. Chase somersaulted and stood up, turning to face the new threat. Marcus was crouching on the ground, his face expressionless.
Chase wondered how in the world he and Marcus would beat this thing. He began to look it over and study it from afar. Lasers from its arms appeared to be the only way it could truly fight. Though if Chase's suspicions were correct, it was also very strong.
"We might actually have to work together to bring this thing down," Chase shouted at Marcus.
"Are you kidding?" the android yelled, frowning.
"I know, I'm not ecstatic about the idea either," Chase said through gritted teeth. Chase quickly super-sped over and stood next to Marcus. "But I think I've got a plan."
"Really, what is it?" Marcus asked with all the enthusiasm of a five-year-old.
Chase raised an eyebrow and gave Marcus a funny look. Then he shook his head and gave his brother a shove. Marcus stumbled forward. The robot looked at him and the red in its eyes grew darker.
"Hey!" Marcus shouted indignantly as he pieced together Chase's plan.
"Sorry Marcus," Chase whispered as he sped to the other side of the room.
Marcus looked up at the robot with fear in his eyes. He stumbled backwards slowly as the robot advanced. Chase watched from across the room, studying the robot's motions very carefully.
The robot suddenly swung his arm out in an attempt to hit Marcus. The android held up his arm and blocked the blow, biting his lip in obvious pain. Then Marcus used a quick push with his molecularkinesis to throw the robot back several feet. It swiveled its head around a few times as if looking around, then began to walk towards Marcus again. The android held up his fists in preparation for a fight, but Marcus's body was shaking.
Without warning the robot reached out and grabbed Marcus's shoulders – a move the android had obviously not been expecting. Marcus tried to push the hands off of his shoulders, but to no avail. His chest was heaving with the strain he was clearly under and his eyes were shut tight. The robot pushed harder and harder. Finally Marcus collapsed under the literal weight on his shoulders. Even from across the room Chase heard the thunk as Marcus's head hit the ground.
With the robot standing poised over Marcus, ready to do the unthinkable to him, Chase knew it was his time to act. The bionic super-sped across the room and shoved the robot away. Marcus stared up at Chase, fear and wonder in his eyes. The robot turned its head this way and that, obviously trying to figure out what was going on. It saw Chase and began to come towards him.
"What are you doing?" Marcus hissed when he saw that Chase wasn't moving a muscle.
"You'll see," Chase whispered. He stood stock-still as the robot charged him.
As the robot got close to Chase, it swung its arm out in an attempt to punch the boy. Quick as a flash, Chase dropped to his hands and knees. The robot seemed surprised for a second, but quickly tried to kick Chase. The sixteen year old just rolled out of the way. Then Chase jumped to his feet, a challenging smile on his face.
"Is that all you got, you hunk of junk?" he taunted.
The robot ran toward Chase and reached his arm out for another strike. Chase was ready. As the arm came closer, Chase turned his body sideways. He grabbed the robot's arm and proceeded to flip him over, adding a bit of super-strength to the flip for good measure. The robot crashed to the ground, landing on its back. A few sparks flew out of its neck and it wiggled around for a bit before lying still. The lights in its eyes faded and Chase grinned at his victory.
"Um, a little help?" a weak voice asked.
Chase turned to see Marcus attempting to prop himself up on the ground. Chase rolled his eyes and walked over, holding out a hand. Marcus accepted it gratefully. Once Marcus was on his feet and not swaying side to side – Chase had to steady him a few times – he walked over and examined the now-dead robot.
"Thanks for being the decoy," Chase said. "It gave me time to study how the robot fought."
"Um, you're welcome, I guess," Marcus said without looking up from the dead piece of machinery in front of him. "How'd you defeat it, anyway?"
"Ever heard of aikido?" Chase asked smugly.
"Oh, yeah!" Marcus said, looking up and grinning. "Smart. Oh, and I think I changed my mind; I don't want to be one of these robots. They're pretty dumb."
"Good to hear," Chase said slowly, still curious about his brother's odd behavior.
The boys both heard a door open. They jumped and spun around, prepared to face another one of those robots. Instead Marcus and Chase were surprised to see Douglas walk into the room. He was clapping slowly as he approached them.
"Impressive," the evil genius stated as he stood over the robot. Douglas put his hands on his hips and looked down at his damaged creation. "I guess I have some work to do. Oh well. You win some, you lose some." Douglas looked up to see the two boys glaring daggers at him. "What?"
"What was the point of that?" Chase asked sharply.
"A training exercise," Douglas said, returning the glare. "That robot was a prototype and it needed testing. You guys needed training. I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone."
"Well you ended up just killing a robot," Marcus muttered. Then his face hardened and he shouted, "And me! That thing almost killed me!"
"Yeah, but it didn't!" Douglas retorted.
"I know something else that's about to be dead," Chase growled, his fists clenched tight.
"Don't even think about it, brainiac," Douglas sneered. He tapped a watch-like device on his right wrist that Chase recognized. "I've still got the Triton App. You still can't do anything; nothing has changed." Douglas motioned to Marcus and added, "Also, this guy is too weak to do anything and he knows it."
"It's true," Marcus said with a shrug and a sigh.
"What happens now?" Chase asked.
"Do you even need to ask?" Douglas said. "More training."
"Why are you having us do so much?" Chase asked. "I don't remember doing such extreme training before!"
"I have a lot of lost time to make up for," Douglas answered. "You're sixteen already."
"What does my age have to do with anything?" Chase questioned, suddenly curious.
Douglas's mouth formed an "o" and his eyebrows flew up. "Uh," the boys' father said, drawing out the word.
"Yeah, what's so important about him being sixteen?" Marcus asked, walking a bit closer to Chase. "Now I wanna know!"
"Fine," Douglas said, throwing his hands up in the air. "I guess you would've learned sooner or later."
"Learned what?" Chase asked. His heart rate sped up and he prayed that it wasn't something bad; though knowing Douglas, it probably was.
"If everything had gone how I planned, your training would've been complete when you turned sixteen," Douglas explained. "That's when I would've introduced you to the world and used you for the purposes I made you for. That's when you would've become an official weapon. We also would've gotten Adam and Bree back when your training was done."
"Wait, what?" Chase yelped. "You were going to get them back?"
"Yes, genius," Douglas said sarcastically. "That was my plan all along. I would send Adam and Bree away, get a little more cash from that, and they would be trained by their new owners. Then when you were sixteen and your training was complete, I would have you go and get them out. You'd be a team again and I'd use you to conquer the world or whatever I wanted."
"So, wait, let me get this straight," Chase said, his head swimming from all the new information, "you were never going to take them away permanently?"
"Nope."
"Then why didn't you just tell me that?"
"Because," Douglas said, folding his arms across his chest, "you worked so much better when you thought your siblings were gone. It was leverage for me."
"Wait," Marcus piped up. The android cocked his head and asked, "If that was your plan for them, then what was your plan for me?"
"Actually, that's the whole reason you could only live to sixteen," Douglas explained. "I didn't need you for any longer than that. You were only a training device."
"Hold up, I'm a what?" Marcus's expression was hard and he was quivering with rage. With an angry yell, Marcus let loose a bionic energy blast, hitting Chase and Douglas with enough force to knock them back but not knock them off their feet.
As Chase looked up after regaining his balance, he saw Marcus with a hand pressed to his head. The android looked ready to topple over at any given moment.
"And you're done," Douglas muttered. He pulled out a small remote and pressed a button. Marcus's eyes turned an odd shade of grey. All of a sudden the android crumpled to the ground, completely unmoving.
"What did you do to him?" Chase asked quietly.
"I just shut him off," Douglas explained. "He glitched and if he does it again he'll probably kill himself. At this point it's safest just to let him be."
"To be honest, he was kinda creeping me out."
"Yeah," Douglas sighed. "I think I might've messed up a bit of his wiring when I was working on him earlier."
"You think?" Chase snorted. Then after a brief pause he said, "So . . . he was really just for training?"
"Yup. I created him to help you. He was disposable."
"You're so caring," Chase muttered ironically. This got him a glare from his father.
For several seconds there was a rather awkward silence filling the room. Douglas had leaned down and was examining his partially-destroyed robot. Chase just stood there, shuffling his feet and wondering what would happen next. Finally he deiced just to ask his father.
"What are you going to do with me now? Take me back to my cell, I assume?"
"No way," Douglas scoffed as he stood up. "You've still got more training to do."
"Oh," Chase muttered sadly.
"Hey, you might actually like the next part of your training."
"Really?" Chase wasn't inclined to believe what Douglas said.
"Well, you get to be with the rest of your family."
It took a second for that to sink in. Chase asked, "Are you serious?"
"Yes, I'm serious," Douglas replied, rolling his eyes. "That door over there is what you need to go through. Your family – and the next part of your training – is on the other side."
Douglas turned and walked through the door he had come through. Before he shut the door he called over his shoulder, "Whenever you're ready, Chase!"
Chase took a deep breath as the door slammed shut. He turned around to face the other door that would supposedly lead him to his family. Was Douglas telling the truth? Only one way to find out.
Before Chase started to head into the next room, he turned and looked down at Marcus. The android was still crumpled up on the ground. Chase felt a pang of sympathy for his brother. But he didn't really know what he could do right now.
"Sorry Marcus," Chase muttered as he walked through the door into the room that would hopefully hold his family.
Chase pulled his arm across his chest and sighed blissfully at the warm feeling shooting through the limb and down his back. Lately he had discovered that stretching was a wonderful way to warm up for training. So while Douglas was off "getting things ready" – whatever that meant – Chase was practicing his stretches. He was just about to practice the splits when the door to the lab opened.
Douglas walked in with a firm grip on the back of Marcus's neck. The android stared straight ahead, his face hard. Chase hopped up from where he was sitting on the floor. "Let me guess, me and Marcus have to duel again, right?" the young boy asked.
"Actually, I have something different in mind," Douglas said as he grabbed glasses for the training simulator. He tossed them to the boys and they both caught them with no problem. "I'm going to run a simulation and you two will have to work together to finish it."
"What?" Chase cried.
"No way!" Marcus shouted.
"Yes way," Douglas growled. "Get in the simulator. Your mission is to capture the president. Simple. But you have to do it together. Got it?"
"Yes, I got it," Chase muttered. Marcus nodded, but he threw a glare at his brother. The two boys stepped up to the simulator and put on their glasses, ready for the mission.
The virtual environment appeared around them. Chase recognized it instantly. This was one of the cities Douglas made Chase train in very often. Even though he had never been here in real life, Chase knew it like the back of his hand.
"So," Chase said, turning to face the android standing beside him, "you think two eight-year-olds will be able to trash the national capital and capture the president?"
"Well I know I can," Marcus replied. He gave a smug grin before super-speeding away.
"Hey!" Chase called furiously. He quickly sped off in the direction of his brother; in the direction of the White House.
Washington D.C. was actually a beautiful city. Chase hated having to destroy it. Luckily he could usually get away with just the whole "kidnapping the president" thing. Not that he enjoyed that, either. The president in these simulations wasn't even a real person; it was just a figure that Douglas had created and given the title of "president" in this virtual world. Still, Chase hated to do this. He wondered if he would ever have to do it in real life and he desperately hoped not.
Chase caught up with his brother at the steps in front of the White House. "You ready, slow poke?" Marcus asked.
"You know, a bit of warning before you speed off would be nice," Chase said with a scowl. Marcus just made a face in return before turning to face the doors before him
"You ready?" the android asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Chase muttered under his breath. The two boys entered the house . . . only to be completely swarmed by government agents. Chase and Marcus clenched their fists, prepared for the fight.
Though Chase could honestly feel bad about taking out so many men who were just doing their job – and doing a very helpful and honest job, unlike Chase – the bionic was distracted. Without either of them realizing it exactly, the fight soon became a show of who could take out the most agents. Marcus and Chase knocked out the men as fast as they could and frequently stole opponents from each other. Once all the agents were knocked out, an argument ensued.
"I took down the most!" Marcus insisted.
"Nuh uh!" Chase cried. "And did you see that big one I took down? He was worth at least ten!"
"Yeah, right!" Marcus scoffed. "Where'd you learn to fight, Miss Nancy's Fancy Dance Academy?"
"Are you kidding me?" Chase screeched. "Okay, that is it! I will not–"
"You two shut up!" Douglas barked through the earpiece. The boys – both of whom had bionic hearing – winced at the loud and sudden noise. "You two are supposed to work together!"
"I don't know if you noticed, but that is not going to happen," Chase replied.
"Yes . . . it . . . is!" Douglas shouted. Both boys winced again. "Hurry up and get to the president. Chase has the GPS location. He's barricaded in one of the rooms. I repeat, hurry up!"
"Down this hall," Chase said through gritted teeth.
"I don't see why you–" Marcus began
"Don't even start!" Chase snapped. To his relief, Marcus didn't say anything else. The two of them headed down the hall and found themselves in front of a large door.
"In there," Chase said. "Now we just have to get in."
"Um, hello!" Marcus said, waving his hand. "We have super-strength! Why can't we just use that?"
"Because," Chase said, rolling his eyes, "we can't just barge in there! If we go in slowly we still have the element of surprise."
"I think it would be pretty surprising if we kicked in the door."
"We're not doing that!" Chase leaned down and inspected the knob on the door. "Besides, I'm the leader, so what I say goes."
"What? Who made you the leader?"
"Um, I did!" Chase said. He didn't look up at Marcus but instead continued to study the lock. "First off, I'm almost three months older than you. I think that counts for something. And secondly, I've always been the leader-type. It's the way Douglas made me."
"What if I want to be the leader?" Marcus asked, folding his arms across his chest.
"Look, I don't need to argue with you right now!" Chase said. "Can you just help me out with this? I'm only one person."
"At least that's all there is," Marcus muttered to himself, but Chase still heard it.
"What do you mean?" Chase grunted as he tried wiggling the handle around a bit.
"I mean that I'm glad Adam and Bree are gone."
Chase stopped what he was doing and stood up abruptly. His older siblings had been ripped away from him only two weeks ago and it was still a fresh wound. He took some deep breaths, knowing he would have to practice discretion and not get too angry. Chase looked Marcus straight in the eye.
"And what do you mean by that, exactly?" Chase asked, biting his tongue to make sure he didn't say the wrong thing.
"When it was all three of you it was awful to deal with," Marcus explained. Marcus met his brother's gaze with a cold, hard stare. "At least now it's just you. I don't have to worry about those two other brats as well."
Something inside of Chase went off. Before he even knew what he was doing, he threw a solid uppercut at Marcus's cheek. The android stumbled back in shock while Chase stared wide-eyed at his outstretched fist. Marcus held a hand to his cheek and the two boys just stood there, unmoving, for several seconds.
"That's it!" Marcus screamed suddenly. He ripped out his earpiece and threw it to the ground. "I will not work with you anymore! I refuse!"
The environment around them disappeared and Marcus's wish was granted. The lab reappeared and the boys took of their glasses, tossing them aside. Douglas stood nearby at the control panel, a sour look on his face.
"I can't believe you two," Douglas said, shaking his head.
"He started it," Chase muttered as he hopped off the platform.
"I do not care who started it!" Douglas roared. "You two completely failed that mission. In fact, I have never seen such an utterly horrible failure in all my life!" The boys hung their heads in silent submission. It was the easy way out. "You're lucky I don't have time to punish you properly," Douglas continued. "But I have a call that I need to be on all afternoon. I don't care what you guys do, so long as you don't kill each other!"
With that said, Douglas marched out of the lab. Marcus and Chase stood there, unsure of what to do next. Marcus made the first move.
"This is why I didn't like the three of you," Marcus said, motioning to his face. His cheek was red and starting to swell a little.
"What do you mean?" Chase asked for the third time that day. He folded his arms across his chest and turned to face his brother.
"I have a hard enough time taking the abuse from Douglas," Marcus said. Chase could see the tears that were right beneath the surface and it shocked him. "Having to take it from you three as well was really hard."
"I don't understand," Chase said with a shake of his head.
"You three were so close!" Marcus blurted out. "And I wasn't. You had this inseparable bond . . . not that I could blame you. But you three are human. I'm just your dumb android brother who has already lived half his life and will never amount to anything."
For a few seconds there was silence. "If you want an apology," Chase said finally, "it's not coming."
"I figured not," Marcus sighed. "You never could bring yourself to admit that you were wrong. But have you ever considered – just for a second – that you might be? I'm not saying that I'm perfect, because I'm not. But you're no angel either."
Marcus turned and began to walk out of the room. Once he reached the doorframe, he looked over his shoulder and added, "Oh, and even if you did apologize, I doubt I could forgive you. You've hurt me a lot more than you know, Chase Davenport. I hate you."
That sentence was said with hardly any emotion behind it. Marcus said it as a solid fact and nothing else. He didn't say it with a burning passion or an angry yell. It was just that, plain and simple. Three little words: I hate you.
The android exited the room and Chase was left alone to his thoughts. He bit his lip and felt guilt run through his veins. Perhaps sometimes he wasn't always great to Marcus. Sure, that was true. The three bionics often left Marcus out of things or took great pleasure in beating him up. Chase wouldn't deny that.
Yet at the same time, Marcus did his fair share to provoke them. The teasing, the tricks, and the chummy relationship with Douglas were just a few things he did to annoy his human siblings. Marcus took great pleasure in Adam, Bree, and Chase's pain, and he made that abundantly clear.
So it went around in circle. One would provoke the other, the other would provoke the one, and so it went. Over and over again with no end in sight. Of course there was the question of who started it in the first place, but no one really knew the answer to that. And so Marcus and Chase were left in a vicious cycle that would never cease.
Would things stop now that Marcus had said all that? Probably not. Though Chase felt bad temporarily, he knew it would most likely blow over the next day when Marcus did something mean right back to him. In fact, he already had. Chase had been this close to finding a way to make up with Marcus, but the last thing the android said quickly changed his mind. Those three little words reignited the anger in his heart and the unceasing desire to show up and beat up his brother at any opportunity. Those three little words crushed any hope for a renewed relationship.
Those three little words.
"I hate you."
So that ending flashback was pretty harsh. I'll be honest, I've been trying to get you readers to feel bad for Marcus since chapter three in I'm a Weapon. But you guys always thought he deserved it. Do you feel bad for him yet?! By the way, Marcus will be back. I'm not sure if he'll be in the next chapter or not, but he will be back.
I made a few references in this chapter. Anyone recognize what "aikido" is from? Also, I threw in a "Shake It Up" reference because . . . I have no idea. So by the way, "Miss Nancy's Fancy Dance Academy" is also owned by Disney. I don't know, it really just seemed like something Marcus would say, even if it's from the wrong universe. XD
Oh, oh, oh! It's that time again! And by the way, thanks to the ever fantastical AllAmericanSlurp, we have a jingle! You guys know the "Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated" jingle from Phineas and Ferb? Well, we're going to say "Dramatic Discussions with Douglas" to the same tune! Got it? Yay! So, it's time for . . . Dramatic Discussions with Do-uglas!
Douglas: Dear Miss AllAmericanSlurp: I really hate you right now. Let's get these replies over with.
To DFTBAAIDLLTWBAP: Bring my cookies back, dang it! And by the way, I do not have a phobia.
Daphrose: *snickers*
Douglas: What?
Daphrose: *cough*needles*cough*
Douglas: Shut up.
ToAusllykickforever21: You can call it porcupine hair, but it is a spiky lion's mane, I assure you. Well you just discovered how Marcus is doing. And come on, being evil is fun! Who doesn't like dramatic entrances, the color black, neat powers/inventions, and awesome lines? Give me a call if any of this sounds interesting to you. And yes, we do have cookies (but the cake is a lie).
To PurpleNicole531: I-
Daphrose: Actually, Dougie, I'm gonna take this one. Thanks PurpleNicole531! I appreciate it. Oh, and yes, please come stalk Douglas for me! If only to keep an eye on him. I can never seem to find him when it's time to answer reviews.
Douglas: That's because I'm hiding from all you crazy people. And now I'm being stalked. Great. Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to find some remote jungle to hide in. Oh, and if you guys don't want me to do this anymore, just say the word. Really. I will gladly stop doing this.
Daphrose: Yeah, good luck with that Douglas. They hate you too much to just let you go like that. We all love seeing you tortured. Anywho, dear readers, there's a poll up on my profile that I would love for you to take! It's just basically asking what stories you want to see from me. If you haven't voted on that yet I would appreciate it if you could. Don't forget to review and tell me what you thought of the story and anything you want to say to Douglas. See you guys at my next update! Bye!