I wasn't sure how much time had gone by before Marcus and his father graced me with their presence.
Spiky (that's what I decided to call Marcus' dad until I found out his real name) went over to the console/ desk and began pressing a series of buttons while I watched him through narrowed eyes. Marcus stood at his side looking annoyed.
"Would you quit staring?!" Spiky snapped after a few minutes. I smirked. "It's freaking me out!"
"I will if you let me go."
"Not happening."
My lips pursed. "Can you at least tell me your name? That way I don't have to call you Spiky?" Spiky frowned at me.
"I didn't mention it?" I shook my head, "Douglas Davenport."
"Davenport?" I muttered to myself. He must be related to Donald. My eyes widened as I made the connection. "Wait, you're Donald's little brother aren't you? I thought you died by falling in a volcano. At least that's what I'd heard."
"Well, I had to get the feds off my tracks." I nodded absently when I thought of something else.
"You're the one who hired me to put cameras in Donald's house!" I stated and Douglas looked at me unimpressed.
"Took you long enough to figure that one out." Marcus said and I gave him a dirty look.
"I don't think I ever thanked you for helping me find Donny's secret lab." Douglas added while going back to doing stuff on his computer.
"Secret Lab? That's what you wanted to find?" He nodded. "Why?" He smirked at the computer screen.
"Haven't figured that one yet either? "
"Well I have a theory but I'm not a hundred percent sure it's real." Douglas turned and motioned me to continue, looking genuinely interested. "Adam, Bree, Chase are androids like Marcus. Adam has super strength, Bree: super speed, and Chase has super smarts. "
"They're not androids. They're bionic superhumans." Douglas corrected.
"Meaning..."
"Adam, Bree, and Chase are genetically modified superhumans. They have a bionic infrastructure that is controlled by a chip fused to their nervous system."
I pondered this. "So…. They're like, cyborgs?" Douglas gave me a half smile.
"Yeah, but bionic sounds cooler."
"I... guess." I agreed slowly, weirded out by the childish excuse. "But I still don't understand why I'm here."
"You'll find out soon enough." He said mysteriously.
Marcus came over and unlocked the cage.
"What's going on? " I demanded but I got no reply. Marcus firmly grabbed my right arm and pulled me to the front of the room where a strange glass container was. I'd hadn't really paid much attention to it.
Unable to yank myself free, I watched as one of the glass panels swung open the door. I almost tripped and face planted on the back one after being shoved in.
I swiveled around to face the pair as the door shut and locked.
"What is going on? " I repeated more forcefully this time and when they didn't look at me I pounded my fists on the glass which got their attention but no reply.
Douglas went back to typing quickly on his computer with an excited glint in his eyes and Marcus was silently watching. Only he didn't appear to be as enthusiastic compared to his father.
I jumped when the glass container made a weird humming noise and the floor beneath me lit up with fluorescent lights.
I could feel my heart pounding as I knew something was going to happen and I couldn't stop it.
Suddenly I felt a weird tingling sensation that started at the base of my neck and quickly spread down my spine to the rest of my body. Then came pain and it was as if thousands of tiny needles were stabbing me all over.
My vision was being affected too, and I squeezed them tightly shut. I was feeling everything but then nothing at the same time. My hands clutched the sides of my head as it began to pound.
After what felt like hours but was only a few minutes the humming finally seized. My entire body felt like jelly and I had to lean against the glass to stay upright. Marcus was the one who opened the door and took a hold of my arms to pull me out of the container.
I tried to say something but it was unintelligible and I couldn't stop the darkness that took over and I went limp in Marcus' arms.
"What do we do with her? " Marcus questioned after Harper lost consciousness. Douglas noticed that she'd become pale.
"Go put her on the operating table. And quick, I need to check her vitals." Marcus still held onto Harper's forearms while her legs dragged on the floor as he headed over to the table next to the console.
She was lifted bridal style and laid onto the table. Marcus strapped her down with leather straps on her wrists, ankles, and middle though he knew she wouldn't be trying to escape any time soon.
Douglas used a device to scan her neck and once it completed the scan his tablet beeped with a message.
Chip Activation Successful.
Douglas chuckled, quite pleased with himself.
The father/ son pair proceeded to hook Harper up to a series of machines that would monitor the girl's condition as they worked.
As Harper lay there, she was unaware that her life was never going to be the same.