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Ellamena: My pleasure. I'm trying to keep this fandom alive. Hope you like it.
I don't own.
Caesar worked on the machine. "Hand me the…" Then he stopped himself. He had forgotten. Beverly wasn't here. He got upset at himself for forgetting. He had to be careful since he was sure they were watching him. So far his ray gun was almost operational and he still had no idea how to get out. There was a chance that Providence will come after him after they did their investigation. But it could be awhile. He could hope that Rex went rogue and is searching for him but Rex was different from the rest of the family. Not that he wasn't bright but that he often doesn't think things through which made for a lot of flying in circles literally. Well, there was one bright side. At least Beverly was safe.
0o0
Beverly was precariously hanging onto Rex's hand. In Rex's other, he held a strange device. Beverly had insisted that they make a pit stop back at the convention center. They had to sneak past the Providence agents that were there to investigate the attack. They did not want to be caught disobeying orders.
"What is this again?" Rex asked for the umpteenth time.
Beverly made sure her grip was tight before answering.
"One of Caesars old discarded machines he'd brought along just in case." She said.
"Just in case what?" Rex inquired.
"Just in case the other didn't work." Beverly sighed.
"Then why do we need it?" Rex asked.
"Because it may come in handy." She said.
"I think we're here." Rex flew down into an open corn field. He put Beverly and the heavy machine down. He rubbed his arms to get circulation going while Beverly walked around.
"Interesting." Beverly muttered.
"I don't see anything." Rex said as he pulled his goggles up.
"Well, if you kidnap a Providence scientist, would you want to be out in the open?" Beverly reasoned.
"So where are they?" Rex asked.
"Let's look around." Beverly answered.
"See you don't know either." Rex complained.
Beverly rolled her eyes. "Well, a duh, of course I don't know, that's why we are..." She stopped short. Rex plowed into her.
"Oh hey, sorry, but don't suddenly…" Rex started saying.
"Rex, you see that?" Beverly pointed to the horizon.
"We're in the middle of no where. What am I suppose to see?" Rex asked annoyed.
"Well, how about a scarecrow?" She said pointing at something in the distance.
"Really? Who uses scarecrows anymore?" Rex scoffed.
"Exactly." Beverly motioned for him to bring the machine before dashing off.
"I guess I'm the beast of burden." Rex grumbled as he lugged the machine along.
When Rex arrived Beverly was studying the scarecrow.
"Ugh, that thing's creepy." Rex wrinkled his nose.
"Do you see what it's wearing?" Beverly asked.
"Um, clothes?" Rex answered.
Beverly looked at him. "Not just clothes, look! It's the black uniform of the guys who took Caesar."
"So we're in the right place. Where are they?" Rex turned around. Beverly stared at the scarecrow.
"There." She pointed to the west.
"How'd you know?" Rex asked.
"That's where the scarecrow is pointing." Beverly set off.
"What? That's crazy. The scarecrow isn't…" He trailed off when he got a clear look at the scarecrow. Although both arms hung on the wooden beam, one hand was shaped into a fist pointing out the way.
Rex picked up the machine and followed Beverly.
0o0
"Well, Dr. Salazar, it seems we have company." The voice came back.
"What are you talking about?" Caesar asked allowing annoyance to creep into his voice.
"Recognize these people?" An image flashed suddenly on what he had mistaken for a wall. It was Rex and Beverly. Caesar's heart skipped a beat.
"The crowcam caught them snooping around." The voice said.
"Never seen them before." Caesar said calmly.
"Well, we need to get rid of them." The voice said menacingly.
Inside Caesar was trembling but on the outside he merely shrugged. "Fine, not sure why you bothered to tell me that." He stuck his hands into the panel of the ray gun to hide the tremor that had developed. Think, stupido! They're about to take out your brother and girlfriend. Well, Rex could take care of himself and to some extent so could Beverly but he didn't want Beverly to get hurt… and Rex too.
As he pretended to work an idea came to him.
"Since you decided to bother me, why don't we test the ray gun on the intruders?" Caesar suggested.
"Is it ready?" The voice sounded surprised.
"Well, it will be… now." He slammed the lid closed. He looked at the shadows behind the light.
"Very well, Dr. Salazar." He sounded reluctant. "We will see what your machine can do."
"I think you'll be surprised." Caesar replied.
0o0
"Are we there yet?" Rex panted.
"Honestly?" Beverely asked exasperated.
"Hey, you're not the one carrying twenty ton scrap metal here." Rex complained as beads of sweat rolled down his face.
Beverly didn't answer because they had arrived at a silo. She first tried the door which was locked, of course. So she walked around the building to see if there wass another way in, while Rex dropped his load on the floor. He sat on the floor leaning against the machine.
"I'll… uh…guard the machine." He said slumping down to rest.
There was a few minutes of silence until the ground shook. Rex looked up tiredly to see that the roof of the silo split open. A platform raised a sinister looking gun. When it reached the top, the gun swung around and pointed at Rex.
"Oh, snap." He said as he saw the tip light up. He formed his Boogie Pack and jumped up just as the beam hit the ground leaving a scorched ground. "Hey! What gives?" He asked indignantly.
The beam fired up again. Rex dodged in midair. He flew around to try to get to the back of the gun. But the gun arm swung around as fast as he could move. Rex swished this way and that but the gun would not be easily fooled. As Rex tried to dive bomb it, a laser beam engulfed him. "Eww-yeow!" Rex cried before dropping to the ground.
When Beverly saw the silo open, she immediately ran back to where she left Rex. When she saw the gun shooting at Rex, she went to the machine and switched it on. Both she and the machine disappeared.
Rex hit the ground but instead of being dead like he expected he heard voices in his head.
"Rex, this is Caesar. I've recorded this short message in the laser. They think it's a weapon but you know the difference between a weapon and a communication signal is just a small matter of adjusting…" If Rex wasn't stunned by his fall he would have told his brother to get to the point. "Anyway, if this is successful, I should be able to communicate to you via the laser. They are holding me in some sort of workshop. I had to roll the gun through a hall way and mount it to a free standing hydraulic platform. You should be able to get in through the silo's roof. But be careful of…"
The message cut off.
Rex sat up. He formed his Boogie Pack and flew up into the air. He dodged the laser fire and got close enough to see that the platform did not take up the whole space. There was room for him to sneak in if he was less bulky. His wings absorbed back while his Sky Slyder formed. He slipped through the space between the platform and wall.
Beverly who was now invisible thanks to the holographic projector watched as Rex disappeared from sight. Just he left, the silo door opened and guards rushed out. Beverly waited until all the guards were out before rushing through them to the door. Too late the guards realized that Beverly was now on the other side of the door. She slammed it shut locking them outside. She reappeared when the door shut.
Quickly she ran to see if she could find Caesar.
0o0
Caesar was thrown across the room. He hit the wall with a sickening crunch before sliding onto the floor in a heap. Groaning he pushed himself up. But something grabbed his collar and lifted him up. A slap. Caesar tasted copper in his mouth. He blinked to try to get a good look at the man but was still unable to see because of the light in the background.
"You think you're so clever?" The big man said as he was slapped again.
"Well, it's not so much I'm clever as you're not." Caesar said smugly before the thug punched him in the stomach.
"I knew I should have beaten you." The man growled as Caesar dropped to his knees cradling his middle.
He lifted his hand to bring it down when a violent wind blew through. Caesar looked up to see Rex punching his tormentor.
"No one punches my brother except me!" Rex declared.
Caesar staggered up.
"Going somewhere?" The voice asked coldly.
"As a matter of fact, I was going to go home." Caesar said as his legs threatened to buckle underneath him.
Caesar saw a gun raised. "I don't think so. It's a waste really, so much talent." Caesar heard the gun cock. There was a flash and the sound of metal hitting flesh. A cry came from the man as the gun clattered to the floor followed by a thud. The light turned off and Caesar saw Beverly standing there with a metal chair in her hands.
"I saw this on wrestling." She said throwing the metal chair on top of the unconscious man. She saw Caesar.
"Oh, my poor baby. Are you okay?" She ran to him and gently cradled his swollen face. "Don't worry, I'm going to take good care of you."
"What about me?" Rex asked as he dragged the beaten thug and deposited with the other body.
"You're okay." Beverly looked at him critically. "Besides that would be Circe's job."
"Oh great, that means I get nada." He complained. He touched his communicator. "Hey Providence, I got your guy…"
0o0
"Do you want any more soup?" Beverly asked as she patted Caesar's mouth with a napkin.
"I'm fine. Gracias." Caesar said with a slight smile.
"I can go get you some more scientific journals." She offered.
"I'm a little tired." Caesar said.
"Oh, okay. Let me tuck you in for a nap. Do you want me to stay with you till you fall asleep?" She asked.
"No, why don't you get some rest? You've been taking care of me for too long." Caesar suggested.
"I don't mind. I want to make sure you're all better. Those guys had a lot of nerve kidnapping you. But they're sitting in Providence's holding center." She walked to the door and turned off the light. "I'll be back to check up on you." The door slid closed behind her.
Caesar put his hands behind his head. Beverly had been taking care of him for a solid week now. She didn't seem to notice that his bruises were mostly gone and that most of his injuries were healed. But he was enjoying the fuss she was making over him.
Tomorrow. He promised himself. Tomorrow, he'll get up and get back to work. Or the next.
It was almost worth getting kidnapped.