Sloth: Sorry for the delay. This chapter went through a few different drafts. It's actually composed to two different chapters. It would have been three different chapters, but the ending scene of this chapter felt a lot more right to leave where it ended rather than continue it. This chapter actually has a scene based on a fight scene from Steven Universe. This chapter is also an allusion to Bionic Showdown, because this is technically the Bionic Showdown of this universe. But yeah, here's the penultimate chapter. One more to go! I hope you all enjoyed the ride and I hope you all check up the reboot once I publish it.
ps: someone asked if I named Douglas's boys in this universe after Mateus, who plays marcus. Yes, yes I did because at the time I wasn't creative xD. That and I didn't know which son was going to be Marcus. Its definitely a plot point im planning to fix in the reboot. Anyways, enjoy.
pss: I have not slept in the past 24 hours because of personal stuff so my bad if some text from the previous drafts were missed.
Stand
They say your life flashes before your eyes as you die. But what happens when your world falls apart. Or when you come back from the brink of death? Your life doesn't exactly flash before your eyes in that instance. In reality, it's like the jumbled pieces of a Rubik's cube shuffling around at a rapid pace as your mind puts itself back together.
A bolt of lightning as bright as the sun. Someone stepping in the way and a last second attempt to put up a wall. A horrible explosion that rocked their home down to its very foundation. He could hear someone screaming. Not out of pain but out of horror as glass shattered and a body was ejected from the building. Everyone was tossed into the air as a force of nature ripped through the living room. As his body hit the stairs, Chase woke with the gasp.
The final pieces of his memories fell into the place as he stayed on the floor. He sat up, gasping in pain from the sudden movement. But he ignored it in favor of trying to focus his thoughts. He could see the blurry images clearer. He saw Leo before thrown across the room, his small body landing under Davenport's living room desk. The piece of furniture protected him as the ceiling collapsed. But his blood ran cold as he recalled another detailed.
"GET DOWN!"
Bile rose up his throat as he couldn't help but picture a brunt corpse flying out of the window. He didn't want to believe it. But his photographic memory detailed every second of the event. Leo was safe on the opposite side of the room. Adam and Bree were pushed to safety along with Chase. Marcus had taken the hit for them. The bolt had picked Marcus up like a demonic hand and hurled the boy out of the building.
Chase swallowed the bile, slapping himself as he repressed the images. He repressed the cold, laughing voice that once again mocked him for trusting someone.
He's dead because of you.
Chase inhaled deeply, focusing on where he was. The hum in the air made was giving him a splitting headache, making it harder for him to focus his thoughts. Closing his eyes and doing a quick breathing exercise, Chase collected himself and sat up. The first thing Chase noticed were the glowing blue bars around him. They were spaced out around evenly, creating a small 8x8 foot box.
Past the laser bars, he could make out that he was in some kind of industrial lab. Adam and Bree were in their own separate cells. It was like being in their capsules, each of them 5 feet apart from each other. They weren't the only ones imprisoned, however. He found Mr. Davenport in his own cell.
They're here because of you.
He stood, rubbing his head. Cool metal brushed against his skin and he pulled back, finding a metal band around his wrist. He was confused at first, but he realized all to clearly what he was sporting.
"Chase?"
He turned to his left, where Bree was now sitting up. He saw the same metal band around her wrist. Turning to his right, he found Adam waking up as well. Just like Chase, Adam was wearing an inhibitor as well.
"Ugh, what hit me?" Adam asked as he sat up. "Whoa. Cool, its like a space station!"
"We're not in a space station, Adam," Chase told his brother. If anyone noticed the tremble in his voice, no one said anything. Mr. Davenport started to stir, eyes opening as best as they could through the bruising around his cheeks.
"Kids?" Donald croaked weakly. Chase let out a watery laugh of relief before he pulled the man into a hug. "Where are we?" Donald asked.
"Looks like some kind of lab," Chase answered. "And in some kind of laser cell."
"Cell, shmell," Adam spoke up. "I'll get us out of here in a jiffy."
"Adam wait!"
Adam's hands wrapped around the bars and was immediately greeted with a powerful jolt. He pulled back, crying out in pain. His hands smoked, but the flesh wasn't singed at all. His cries of pain were enough to get his family up on their feet, trying to get to him. But they were hindered by the bars.
"Adam try your heat vision." Davenport instructed.
"It's not going to work," An exhausted voice said from the shadows. Startled, the family turned in the direction of the voice.
Distracted by his worry for his family, Chase hadn't checked to see if anyone was in the lab. He located the source of the voice to be coming from a computer monitor situation by three operating tables in the middle of the lab. A man leaning casually in the chair, his feet propped up on the table that had the computer system. Most of the man's features were hidden by the shadows of the lab, but Chase could make out the e-cigarette in the man's mouth and the glass of what he could only assume was whisky held loosely in the man's hand.
"You three are sporting inhibitors," the man said, confirming Chase's suspicions. "You're about a normal as your old man."
"And who are you, exactly?" Bree asked, crossing her arms in suspicion.
The man in the shadows chuckled. In one fluid movement, the man downed the rest of his drink and slammed the cup with enough force to startle them all. He hopped out of his chair and stepped out of the shadows. The first thing Chase noticed about the man was his hair. It was like a chestnut colored porcupine had decided to nest on the man's head. Combined with his scruff and sharp features and the man could easily be mistaken for a 90's bad guy from one of Leo's superhero shows. The only thing that didn't make him look so intimidating was his fashion sense. He looked like a hipster that ransacked all the camo from Good Will, who also happened to steal several bracelets.
The man stood far enough not to be threatening, but close enough for them to get a good look at his smug face. He held his hands out in what could be seen as a welcoming manner. But excuse Chase if he didn't feel like trusting anyone right now.
"What? Don't you recognize me? Ah who am I kidding. The last time I saw you guys, you were trying to eat the remote," the man said to Adam. He then pointed to Bree as he added, "you were speed crawling around the lab. And you," he pointed a finger at Chase, "you were still in diapers."
It took him a bit longer than he'd like to make the connection. But the way Davenport stared in disbelieve and the gasp from Bree, it was only a little too obvious who this man was.
"Douglas?"
"Hey, Donnie. Long time no see."
….
…
..
There were many ways to celebrate a job well done. Some people threw parties. Others took in the moment before continuing their work. But for Sebastian, to him, nothing said victory like a fresh hot home-made pizza with all the fixings. He pulled his masterpiece out of the oven, sliding it perfectly onto the kitchen table, where a moping Spin and a workaholic Susan were sitting. He looked at the two of them and rolled his eyes.
He wanted to chalk it up to hunger, but he knew why they were retreating into themselves. The attack hadn't exactly gone as planned. He was still feeling the electric pulses from their attack on the Davenport estate. It had been risky using such an attack against the Davenports. With their missing fourth, Sebastian, Susan, and Owen had taken in more stress than they should have. While it had done its job and rendered Adam, Bree, and Chase unconscious, it had also left the Sebastian and his siblings temporarily unable to use their bionics. Although, since he could already feel his bionics coming back on, he took it as a personal victory.
But the victory still cost them a member. Even if they soldier had all but defected to the enemies' side. Now his sister was going to pool her resources together to not only expedite their mission to save their father, but she was most likely going to spend the evening trying to change the ranks and change teams around. Sebastian cut up a slice, making sure she got a large slice, and slid the cheesy goodness to her.
"Eat up, Sis," he told her, his smile as bright as ever as he tried to get her attention. She still focused on her tablet. He picked up the slice, hovering it just under her line of sight. "Extra anchovies. Your favorite." He said in a sing-song voice.
"You're too old to like that," she scolded. But she put her tablet down and thanked him for the slice by taking a large bite. Hearing the satisfied moan, Sebastian grinned.
He then turned to Spin, sliding a slice from the extra pepperoni and cheese side of the dual sided pizza. The boy didn't look up. He just laid his head on the table; his arms used a pillow. When smell of melted mozzarella and cured meat didn't get the boy's attention, Sebastian tried a different tactic. He was now Marcus, but he could try to get the kid to open up.
"Hey, cheery up, Spin. You were great tonight."
"I still couldn't save, Marcus though," Spin mumbled.
Sebastian mentally cursed. Of course, the kid would be hung up on that. Even before Marcus got soft, he close with Spin.
"S-8, don't mumble at the table," Susan scolded lightly as she grabbed a second slice. Spin sat up, glaring.
"It's Spin," he told her.
"The mission's over, there's no need for us to use human names anymore."
"Well I like being called Spin," he shot back.
"I think it's a great name," Sebastian said quickly. He looked Spin, still seeing the kid's demeanor. He mentally thanks the universe than Owen was asleep in his capsule. More time to deal with a moping pre-teen. How would Marcus deal with Spin? "Look, Spin, I know your upset, but Marcus wouldn't want you to be upset. It wasn't your fault after all."
Spin looked at him.
"It was their fault. Adam, Bree, Chase, and Leo," Sebastian continued, grabbing a slice of pizza for himself. "They were the ones who made him forget about everything. Even you."
Spin frowned and Sebastian hit a smirk by stuffing his mouth with pizza.
"They made him think he should be loyal to them. I mean, do you really think our Marcus would throw his own life away to save the enemy?"
"….No," Spin answered.
"Exactly. He wouldn't. It wasn't your fault, Spin. You tried your best. It was their fault and theirs alone. They took our brother," Sebastian told him. Spin looked at him and after a minute, he smiled.
"Yeah. Yeah they did."
Sebastian held up a slice of pizza, which Spin took and started to munch on. Satisfied, Sebastian leaned back, taking in his family's victory dinner. Nothing could go wrong now.
….
…
..
Back at the remains of the Davenport estate, the silence of the underground lab was disturbed by the sound of creaking metal. It echoed loudly through the remains of the lab.
The lab had seen better days. Several computers were destroyed beyond repair, each with their own holes of various decrees. Wires stuck out of them like frayed snakes and they occasionally sparked with electricity. Monitors were shattered, the glass broken inward or hung off the walls precariously. Scorch marks lined the walls like poorly done street art. The air caustic smell of brunt electronics lingered in the air.
The cyber desk had been caved in, the side of it kicked in and the tempered glass that made up its desktop had cracks spider webbing across its surface. The newly installed capsules had once again found themselves destroyed. Their frames were bent inward, with Chase's capsule shattered inward as if a hurricane had personally seen to its destruction. The only capsule that remained standing was Bree's, with only a few scorched marks here and there. With the overhead lights partially out, the lab had a dimly lit atmosphere of unease and defeat.
Another sound, the echo of metal on metal, and the lab doors started to move, inching apart slowly. The metallic grinding of the doors sliding apart screamed throughout the lab, the sound bouncing off the stone walls. Thin fingers inched between the doors, getting a weak grasp on them to pull them apart. They slipped through the small opening, stumbling into the room. They didn't have much time. God only knew what was happening to his family.
….
…
..
Chase remembered when he learned about Uncle Douglas. From what Mr. Davenport told them, Uncle Douglas was…eccentric. He was smart but bordered on the manic side of life. From his own research Douglas had been arrest twice, once for blowing up a factory and another time for freeing animals from a testing facility. And all before he was a legal adult. But hearing about the man who help build their bionics and meeting him was another thing.
Douglas was pretty relaxed for someone who spent the last 15 years held captive by a psychopath. But Chase wasn't sure if that was because of the whiskey. His alcoholism aside, Douglas's captivity put all the pieces together. Douglas was the brains behind all their bionics. It made sense for Henderson to have used Douglas to give his soldiers bionics to rival their own.
He wasn't sure if he should be angry or not. Instead of voicing his opinions, he sat in his cell, watching as Mr. Davenport and Douglas. What had started as a heartwarming reunion between brothers had quickly devolved into a battle of egos and blaming. Especially once Douglas revealed that he had been the one who provided Henderson with the bionic technology.
"How could you implant bionics into people!?" Davenport asked loudly.
"It's not like I had a choice!" Douglas countered.
"You always have a choice. Of all the things you've done, this is by far the worse."
"Yeah, yeah. It's always my fault," Douglas snarked before raising his voice to mock Mr. Davenport's. "he didn't do the dishes. He left my bike out. He reanimated my dead gerbil and now it's a monster!"
"Well it was! You should have let Herman rest in peace!"
"Ok! We get it!" Chase finally snapped. "Can we focus on a way to get out of here?"
"We can't. Not with the S-Force out there," Douglas said as he poured himself another glass of whiskey.
"S-Force?"
"S-1, 2, 3, and 4," Douglas explained. "Henderson's most elite soldiers who are each more powerful than you three put together."
"Spin is an elite soldier?" Bree scoffed in disbelief. Chase nodded in agreement.
"No, Spin's S-8. He was actually my lab assistant until a few months ago. The other two, Susan and Sebastian, they're S-1 and S-3, respectively. S-2 is Marcus."
"Which means S-4 must be that Owen look-alike," Chase concluded.
"Pretty nasty of them to shapeshift into a dead guy," Adam added. Douglas made a face.
"None of them have shapeshifting. Never cracked that one."
"W-wait," Bree's voice hitched, and Chase suddenly wished he could phase through the bars to be by her side. "You're telling me that Owen has always been bionic?"
"Is that what S-4's been calling himself? Always saw him as a Greg."
"How long has Henderson been sending bionic soldiers have us?" Mr. Davenport asked.
"What? You think he's been using S-4 to spy on you guys?" Douglas asked. He looked at Bree and realized the situation. "Oh. Oh no. Look, don't be mad at Owen. He defected two years ago. No one's seen him until a few months ago when Henderson sent Susan, Sebastian, and Spin to finish what Marcus couldn't."
"So, Owen's alive…" Bree realized. "We…we thought he died. There was a body and…"
"Henderson probably faked his death," Chase hypothesized. "But if he defected, why did he attack us?"
"They're probably controlling him like they did with Marcus," Mr. Davenport answered. "When he attacked me in the lab, his eyes were glowing green like Marcus."
"Triton App. Gives you control to any tech. Not my proudest invention," Douglas sighed before taking a swig of whiskey. Chase rolled his eyes.
"Is there anything else you invented for Henderson that we should know about?" he asked angrily.
"Look, I did what I had to in order to keep my sons alive!" Douglas defended. "Am I proud of myself? No. I never will be. But my kids are alive, and I'll never be ashamed of that."
"Mateus and Cole are alive?" Donald asked, his voice softening as he realized his nephews were alive.
"More or less. Matty got adopted not long after I got captured. Right now, S-1's got some bionic soldiers spying on him and if I don't cooperate, he's as good as dead. And you guys already met Cole."
"We have?"
"Well I would hope so. You've been living with him for the past couple of months," Douglas answered as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. And when Chase thought about it, it really was.
Chase's blood suddenly went cold. He was taken back to a couple of months ago. Back to a conversation he had with Marcus. They never got around to getting a blood sample after the hard drive was stolen. And as the months passed, Chase's own research into the other boy's biological parents didn't wield much. But now that he stood here, watching Douglas, pieces were fitting together.
The way the two men raised their eyebrows were near identical. Then there were the little things. The way they dressed. The way they moved. It was too coincidental for Marcus to remember Douglas in his childhood and for Douglas to say that Henderson was threatening his son. The others seem to fall in line with his thinking and Chase swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Marcus is your son," Chase concluded.
"Yeah. Thanks for taking care of him by the way. Hope he hasn't been too much trouble. He gets kind of strangle-ly because of his chip," Douglas laughed, as if he were proud of his son's violent tendencies. Chase never left like he could relate more to Mr. Davenport than in this very moment. And he never felt worse than now.
Marcus was family. You killed your family.
"Look, between me and you," Douglas continued, not noticing the somber air, "S-1 told me how you guys managed to disable the Triton app on him. And since they didn't bring Marcus in with you guys, he's probably coming up with some sort of crazy convoluted plan to bust you guys out of here. I didn't turn off the GPS's in your chips, so he just needs to track it and Ba-Da-Bing, here comes the cavalry."
"Douglas," Chase started. He seemed to be the only one able to speak about Marcus. But seeing his uncle turn to look at him, Chase suddenly lost the ability to speak. The voice in his head once again reared up to taunt him.
He'll never see his son again because of you.
"Cavalry won't be arriving. At all."
Despite their inability to fight back, Chase and his siblings instinctively got into a fighting stance, all eyes trained on Susan as she and her brothers came down the stairs to the lab. She looked at them with a restrained smugness. She trotted up to Douglas, the man backing up a bit. Out of the corner of his eye, Chase saw Sebastian by his cell while Spin just trotted over to Douglas's chair and sat in it.
"Saved you a slice. It's your favorite," Sebastian greeted Chase. Chase stared at the taller boy, unable to process the gesture. He wasn't sure if Sebastian was actually being genuine or taunting him. He didn't know anything anymore!
"I'll pass."
"Hey if he's not going to eat that, can I have it?"
"Really, Adam?"
"I'm hungry."
"If you boys are finished," Susan hissed. "We have business to attend to."
She eyed Douglas with contempt. The man gulped, leaning back, just inches from Mr. Davenport's cage.
"I always figured you were a coward, Douglas. Why my father kept you around for so long, I'll never understand."
"Look, Susan-"
"It's S-1 to you," she told him. She never once raised her voice. The edge in her tone alone was enough to keep Douglas from speaking up. "If you thought your pitiful excuse of a son was going to save you, don't hold your breath. We deleted him."
"What?"
"You heard me," she turned away from Douglas, marching past the other cells, eyeing Chase and his siblings like a tigress on the prowl. Her words were soft yet cut deeper than weapon. "S-2 not only failed to bring you three in, but he allowed himself to become humiliated. He disgraced the Henderson name by becoming soft and weak. The minute he showed compassion for what he perceived to be a normal human, he spat in the face of our father's work. So, we dealt with him like we would have any other failed bionic soldier."
"Marcus isn't some machine you can throw away just because he's changed," Bree said.
"Yeah!" Adam agreed. "Wait, he wasn't a robot, right? Because just saying, that would have been really cool."
"We would have happily brought him back into the fold," S-1 continued, marching calmly towards Bree. She stood face to face with Bree. The two young women stared each other down. "We happily did it with Owen. After some…intense persuasion."
Spin hit a button and a spotlight lit up. Across the left-hand side of the room were four capsules. Sleeping in one of them was Owen. Bree let out a cry of surprise before turning to S-1, glaring.
"Let him go! You have us, you don't need him anymore."
"But, Bree, Sweetie, unlike my little brothers, I don't abandon family," S-1 smiled mockingly.
"Just for the record," Sebastian spoke up through a mouthful of pizza, "he begged us to leave you alone."
"Alright, enough," Douglas said, moving towards the teens. S-1 leveled a questioning glare at him, but after swallowing a lump in his throat, Douglas pressed on. "I'm not going to let you torture them like this."
An alarm went off, drawing S-1's attention. Spin typed a few things on the console, bringing up a live feed taken from security system around the house. The black and white footage showed Leo walking around, dragging a wagon behind. Chase wasn't sure if he should cry out in joy that cavalry indeed had come, or cry because Leo was trying to help them.
"You're right, Douglas, torturing them with how much fun we had re-educating Owen isn't going to cut it. We'll torture them through Leo."
"No!"
"You leave him alone!"
"Don't you touch him!"
S-1 turned to Sebastian, who was cleaning his hands of his meal. He headed for the door, only to have Spin block the way.
"No! Let me do it," the young boy said. Sebastian turned to S-1, who simply nodded. Spin smiled before running up the stairs. The captives had no choice but to turn to the monitor, the camera focused solely on Leo.
….
…
..
Leo looked around. There didn't seem to be any secret entrance to the Henderson household. It didn't leave him a lot of options. The only entrance he could find were the front door and the back door. That or run through the windows and hope he doesn't hurt himself. He dragged his wagon back to the front, thankful that the Hendersons lived far from nosy neighbors. As he rounded the corner, he let out a yelp of surprise at the sight of Spin standing at the front door.
"Looking for something, Leo?" Spin asked. Spin attempted to look tough, standing straight while crossing his arms over his chest. Unfortunately, any intimidation factor Spin could have possibly had was lost due to his youthful face and the way he smiled. He showed enough teeth to make it look like he had buck teeth. Spin looked down at the wagon Leo had and then back at Leo. "Aren't you a little old for a play date, Leo?"
"Haha, Mighty Mouse," Leo mocked. Spin scowled at the nickname, eyes flaring green as he tried to remind Leo who was the bigger fish. But Leo didn't seem afraid at all. Instead he looked around. "Where are your brothers and sister? I got a few choice words for them. And the bill for the repairs to my living room."
Spin barked with laughter.
"You? Please. You barely have a chance against me, let alone them," Spin said as he took walked towards Leo. "In fact, they gave me the personal pleasure to taking you out."
"Ok you know what? Back off, Spin."
"Or else what?"
"Or else I'll use this," Leo said as he reached into his wagon and pulled up what looked like a futuristic hairdryer. Spin raised an eyebrow before spinning forward and knocking the device out of Leo's hand. The very force of his spin sending the hairdryer flying miles away into the air. Leo blinked before stepping back and pointing to the wagon.
"I still got all of these."
With a roll of his eyes, Spin once against spun into a cyclone. The wagon was sucked into the vortex and unceremoniously spat out into the air. Broken weaponry and metal rained down around them, falling to the ground. Leo stood there, mouth agape as Spin finished demolishing everything.
"Well ok then."
Spin smiled like a demented squirrel, eyes flickering green as adrenaline ran through his veins.
"I am going to enjoy this," he said as he stepped towards Leo.
"Maybe we could talk this out?"
"Talk? We're way past talking. Your family destroyed my big brother," Spin accused. The humor in his eyes fell and was replaced with hatred. Leo reared back at seeing so much anger coming from someone so small. "There's nothing left to talk about."
"They didn't destroy Marcus."
"Yes, they did," Spin spat. "Marcus was the best, and you guys made him soft. And because of that, he got deleted. So now, I'm going to return the favor."
"Y-you really care about Marcus, don't you?" Leo asked, no longer backing up.
"I don't need to explain myself to you!" he shot back.
"Ok, I don't know what twisted thing your family's taught you, but we didn't make Marcus soft. We made him better," Leo tried to explain. But his words only seem to make the green in Spin's eyes intensify. "He got to be human. He got to be normal. You spent the last five months with him. You can't tell me he wasn't happier with Davenport than he ever was with Henderson."
The light in Spin's eyes flickered, before turning back to normal. Leo saw his chance and pressed on.
"Look, Spin. You're different from Sebastian and the others. You don't have to be like them. You can be happy." Leo extended a handout, giving Spin a genuine smile. Spin looked at it skeptically before taking the hand. He looked at Leo.
The tension in Spin's body loosened. He lowered his arms, relaxing his body. Leo's smile widened as Spin carefully stepped forward, taking his hand.
"Any chance of happiness I had, went out the window with Marcus."
Leo barely had the chance to say anything before Spin spun around. He was whipped up in the whirlwind, his body getting tossed around before Spin hurled him into the air. His body came crashing down with a sickening crunch. Spin just glared.
"Your family took my brother from me. So, I'm going to take yours," he said darkly before storming back inside.
….
…
..
"Leo!" Bree cried.
Sebastian laughed from his spot next to Chase's cell. "Oh man. I didn't think anyone could catch that much air. Got to admit, Spin's a lot nastier than I give him credit for."
"Maybe we should kill of more of his friends," S-1 joked. But her joke only enraged Douglas, who picked up a weapon and held it at her. "Got something on your mind, Douglas?"
"How about you leave that kid alone?" Douglas snapped. S-1 just blinked. She pressed a button on the console. The bars to Davenport's cell dropped. With a flick of Sebastian's wrist, Douglas was thrown into the cell. S-1 hit another button and reactivated the cell.
"Unlike these three wastes of bionics, we don't teach compassion and doing good," S-1 explained. "The real world is cruel. The sooner he learns that, the better. If you care about S-8 at all, you should be happy that he's finally growing out of that stupid childish phase of his and started to man up."
"Being a killer doesn't make you man," Chase countered. The bionic girl laughed.
"And what does, Chase? Trusting someone just because they flash you a smile and give you pretty little complements?"
"Hey! Leave my brother alone!" Adam shouted, grabbing the bars to his cell before yelping from the lasers.
The door to the lab opened and Spin walked into, sulking all the way to the table. He took his seat, glaring at his now cold slice of pizza. Sebastian kicked himself off the wall, walking over to Spin and patted the boy on the back.
"Why so glum, Kiddo?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Spin snapped. Sebastian held his hands up in defeat.
"Thought you would have enjoyed that."
"Enough," S-1 sighed. "We've all had our fun. Had a nice family reunion. Let's get down to business. Sebastian, get Chase on the operating table."
"Fine," Sebastian sighed.
"What are you guys even going to do with us?" Chase asked.
"We're going to rip out your bionic infrastructure so we can use them to build a new body for a father," Sebastian smiled innocently. "But if you don't fight, I can maybe make sure you're still in….decent enough shape so we can keep hanging out."
Chase stood up in his cell, eyes fixed on Sebastian. The inhibitor on his wrist hummed, reminding him that escape wouldn't be easy. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to go down without a fight. He stood ready, glaring down his former friend. Sebastian seemed to find enjoyment in Chase's defiance, and he cracked his knuckles before taking a step forward.
A tremor shook the lab.
"Wasn't me," Adam said, raising his hands. Everyone looked at him in disgust for his implied comment.
Another violent shake rocked the foundation of the house. Everyone stopped to look above them as dust particles started to fall. Another shake. And then another.
"What the…"
Sebastian never got to finish. The ceiling caved in and it was only thanks to S-1's speed that he managed to avoid being crushed by 5 ton of concrete. Plaster and stone came crashing down, causing a massing cloud of dust to billow up on impact. A loud impact came from within the dust cloud, pulling in everyone's attention.
As the dust cleared, a tall figure rose from the cloud. It stood 6 feet tall, the black armor a drastic contrast from the cloud of plaster dust. Pistons came to life, aiding the giant suit in standing tall. The cloud was blown away by a gust of air from the Exosuit as it came to life. As the dust parted, standing in front of the Exosuit was a proud looking Leo, his brow raised as if asking if anyone was impressed by his entrance.
"L-Doo in the house!" came the excited cheer from the Exosuit.
"What the heck!?" Chase and Sebastian exclaimed in unison.
"Leo!" Davenport laughed/cried, relief washing over himself at the sight of his stepson.
"That's not possible!" S-1 gasped. "We saw the surveillance. The human body couldn't possibly survive that kind of fall."
"You're right. The human body can't," Leo said. He put two fingers up to his neck. His entire body glitched, static twisting around him. His baggy green shirt turned into a grey camo shirt that matched the dark blue pants and military boots. He grew taller as his hair grew and parted neatly. His features twisted until an arrogant smirk and raised brow stared down at them all.
"But I'm bionic," Marcus concluded before removing the tiny metal square from his neck. "Cyber cloak and mask, courtesy of Mr. Davenport's blast-proof storage chest."
The lab erupted in different arrays of emotions. Some were of shock and confusion, their minds still trying to process the very arrival of two supposedly dead heroes. Others cried in relief, tears of joy slipping through well armored defenses. And others were of pure, unbridled rage. Rage at the audacity of these death-defying idiots. Rage at their perfect plan coming undone.
"You were one who fought Spin. It was a distraction so we wouldn't see that giant hunk of junk!" S-1 realized, slamming her fist onto the console.
"Leo's idea," Marcus admitted. "Figured you guys might have surveillance and knew if a Leo showed up, Spin would want to come pick a fight. They never did get along. So, while Spin was busy with me, the real Leo snuck in the back."
"And you fell for it hook line and sinker. That's right, we tricked you guys," Leo said from inside the Exosuit."Thought you'd leave us for dead didn't you. Well ya didn't. We're here to save the day!"
Leo danced in the suit, the armor moving its arms and shaking its hips in a little victory dance. Marcus shook his head out of embarrassment, the cool factor in their entrance plummeting thanks to the ridged dance movements. Though Adam seemed to appreciate it since he started to mimic the dance inside his cell.
"How are you alive?" Sebastian asked, ignoring the dancing Exosuit. "No one ever survived our lightning bomb."
"I…honestly have no idea," Marcus laughed. But the laughter soon faded, and he sent Sebastian cold, spiteful glare. Marcus spoke, his voice lowering into a deadly register, "But word of advice: next time you try to kill someone, make sure you don't fuck up. Because they might just be really pissed off when they wake up."
"Thanks for the advice. We'll be sure to start with the two of you," S-1 said. She pressed a button on the console. The operating tables quickly sunk into a compartment in the ground, giving them room for a fight.
Marcus stepped forward; queuing Leo started to move. The Exosuit lumbered towards the cells that housed his family. Spin ran to intercept him, chasing after the large weaponized suit. Spin caught up to Leo just as he reached Donald and Douglas's cell. Spin attempted to break the Exoskeleton, but it took the brunt of his spin attack. Leo used the strength from the Exoskeleton to pick the small bionic up by his pants. He laughed as Spin cried out at the unexpected wedgie.
"Eat this, Mini-Man!"
He effortlessly chucked Spin cross the lab before turning back and blasting the bars. The bars came down, freeing the Davenport brothers. Douglas hung back, as if not trusting everything that was happening around him. Donald on the other hand rushed out, turning to Leo.
"I don't know whether to ground you and Marcus or hug you two," he stated.
"How about we figure that out after we help free the others?"
"Wait, what about Marcus?" Douglas asked as he stepped passed his brother, his eyes trained on his son.
Marcus stood opposite Sebastian and S-1. The raven-haired boy had his signature eyebrow raised up, scanning over his bionic siblings. Sebastian stood in front of his sister. While he still had a smile on his face, Marcus could see the killer intent in Sebastian's eyes. It was like looking into the eyes of a crocodile. But if Sebastian was the crocodile, S-1 was the lion waiting in the wings. She stood a little way back, poised, eyes sharp as she waited to strike. Marcus kept his eyes on her, knowing full well that if he didn't, she'd easily take him out.
"You really think you can take us on?" Sebastian asked with a playful smile as he and Marcus started circling each other. Each of them was waiting for the right moment to strike.
"Well, if memory serves me right, you never could beat me," Marcus shot back, a playful smirk forming on his face. Sebastian raised a brow in bewilderment, but he didn't waver. "Yeah. Turns out that weak little bolt of electricity you guys gave me actually helped override my memory blocking. I remember everything our creator tried to make me forget. The Facility. Owen being S-4. S-1's love of anchovies. How you didn't stop wetting your capsule until you were 11."
Sebastian's smile dropped and his nostrils flaring with contempt.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," Marcus apologized with fake kindness. He even went the distance and placed his hand over his chest as if his own actions had hurt him. "Would you prefer me telling everyone about your third nipple? Or maybe about the Orlando Incident? Oh, was the old man mad at you, S-3PO."
Snarling, Sebastian summoned his blood red laser bo. The two brothers stopped circling each other. Marcus mockingly gestured for Sebastian to come at him. His cocky smile and raised brow adding fuel to Sebastian's fire. His very posture, relaxed and uncaring, was enough to get the message across: He wasn't scared of Sebastian.
With an angry battle cry, Sebastian charged forward, brandishing his laser boy like a two-handed sword. Marcus avoided the attack, dodging with the fluidity of a dancer. He ducked under a swing, rolled out of the way of a swipe, and jumped over an underhanded attempt to disable his legs. His smile never left his face. It only seemed to grow as he dodged Sebastian's wild swings.
He flipped behind Sebastian, crouching like a panther. As Sebastian turned around, Marcus kicked him in the jaw. He stood up as Sebastian stumbled and ripped the laser bo out of the other boy's hands. With a laugh, Marcus spun the laser bo around his body before smacking Sebastian in the side with it.
"Stop mocking me!" Sebastian demanded as he turned red face. "You always do that!"
"But you make it so easy, Sebby" Marcus taunted before snapping the laser bo over his knee. Much to everyone's shock, Marcus's hands started to glow white. Before their eyes, the energy from the bo was quickly absorbed into his body. Electricity briefly sparked around his fingers after it was complete.
"Wait a minute. Y-you never had that ability." Sebastian stood, his eyes widening
"Energy absorption. Complementary of Dr. Davenport," Marcus answered smugly. He threw his arms out, conjuring a bright sky-blue force field around his body. He brought his arms together in a sweeping motion, condensing the force field into a ball that he launched at Sebastian. The other boy was taken off guard and was hit dead on. Sebastian was thrown into Chase's cell, the bars zapping the evil bionic teen. Sebastian stumbled to the floor, S-1 coming to his aid.
"And that was something Chase taught me," Marcus said. He watched as S-1 helped Sebastian up. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Spin try once again to attack Leo while Douglas and Davenport ran for cover. In the corner of his eyes, his bionic vision showed him a display of his own health status.
Status: 95%. Estimated time until shut down, 10 minutes, 25 second and counting.
Marcus breathed in, taking in air to collect himself. He let out the air, eyes focused on the two deadly threats in front of him.
Status: 95%. Estimated time until shut down, 10 minutes, 20 second and counting.
Sebastian summoned a second laser bo. His eyes lit up, green and blue staring each other down. S-1 stood by her brother, her left hand glowing brightly as a laser sphere came to life.
Status: 95%. Estimated time until shut down, 10 minutes, 15 second and counting.
Marcus inhaled, eyes moving past the two. He made eye contact with Chase. He saw the red around the other boy's eyes. He reigned in the anger. He couldn't afford to fight like he usually did. He only had so much time left.
Status: 95%. Estimated time until shut down, 10 minutes, 10 second and counting.
Marcus exhaled, time slowing as his body tensed. Electricity coursed through his body, his bionic infrastructure coming to life for his last mission.
Status: 90%. Estimated time until shut down, 10 minutes, and counting.
The three siblings charged each other.