PART 11
"So you met Damian?" Angel sat on the loveseat, nursing a cup of coffee. Roger paced back and forth before her, occasionally stopping to lean against the wall or rub his temples.
"Yeah" he grunted in response. He stopped and looked at her. She sipped from her mug calmly. "So Wayneright had a son, did he?"
"DID is the operative word" Roger sighed as he sat down alongside her. "The android that attacked you is just the image of what Wayneright though his son would have been if he had lived to grow up."
"Odd."
"What's odd?"
"You refer to Damian as an android, yet you don't seem to think of Dorothy as such." Roger was dumbfounded by these words. She sounded almost...jealous. "So, what are you going to do now?"
"I'm not sure." He sighed and leaned his head back against the chair, gazing up at the ceiling. "I know Damian's actions have been wrong, and I'm sure he's somehow connected to that blue megadeus but...I've never seen Dorothy act like she did around him. She was acting so...emotional. Like she really was human, if only for a moment. I don't think I could live with myself if I took that away from her."
"Are you nuts?" Angel screamed suddenly, rising from her seat, her mug dropping from her hands onto the floor, its contents staining the rug. "That thing tried to kill me?"
"I know, I know" Roger said, waving his hand in the air, "But then again, why where you sneaking around in Wayneright's mansion?" He looked up at her. Her jaw was dangling loose, her eyes disbelieving. He pressed further. "What if Damian is the one telling the truth? You have lied to me before, Angel."
"Roger...why would you believe that thing...over me..." her lips trembled, her eyes grew glassy, and finally she spun and ran from the room. She went into the guest bedroom where she had been sleeping, and slammed the door.
Roger stood, for a moment wanting to go after her, but instead clasped his hands into fists of uncertain rage, gazed down at the floor through his closed eyelids, and grunted over his thoughts. He knelt down and picked up the mug she had dropped. He stood slowly, gazing at its rounded contours as if they would somehow reveal to him the answer he sought. But when he finally realized they would not, he snarled with frustration and hurled it. It smashed against the wall, leaving broken shards and black drips as its pieces fell to the ground.
Dorothy walked with a sense of calm she had never known. Her mechanical mind was entirely distracted from its present task. She did not think of the people milling about around her, the cars on the street before her, the groceries in her arms. Her thoughts were floating in a dream world she had never experienced before.
She stood at the corner, waiting for the traffic light to change so she could cross the street. Internally, she wondered what it would be like to have those precious things humans call emotions. Roger took his for granted, never really appreciating just what it was he had. He toyed with the emotions of others, women in particular, without realizing just what it was he was doing. If she accepted Damian's gift, she would be careful not to be so selfish.
And yet...there was another, lingering question. She had once asked Roger Smith if, had she not been an android, would they have fallen in love? But now she found herself faced with other questions. Once she was capable of feeling, would she fall in love with him? And what's more, if she did, would he love her in return? She wondered, what was it like to be in love, what was it like to find yourself totally at ease in the arms of another, without a care in all the world.
So absorbed was she in these thoughts, she could never possibly have known what was coming...
"Are you sure about this, Beck?" Alexis whispered.
"Of course I'm sure. Don't worry about it." He ran his comb through his swirly locks and smiled, self-satisfied. It had taken him weeks to learn Dorothy's habits, he had no intention of backing out now. "Just be sure that when she comes around the bend, you guy's get on her right away."
"Yes boss..." Beck's goon's both moaned in unison. They had received thrashings at the hands of Dorothy before, the thought of another one was unpleasant.
"Don't you remember what Damian said?" Alexis implored. Beck dismissed her worries with a flick of his wrist.
"What he doesn't know won't hurt him. Besides, it'll give us a better bargaining chip." With that he reached into his coat and withdrew a long, black rod. He pressed a button on the end of it, and blue sparks danced along the tip. He smirked, and waited.
Dorothy blinked in surprise. It took her a moment to shake off the pleasant dreams that had been inhabiting her mind a moment ago and let reality set in. The groceries she had been carrying where spilled on the ground. There were two men attempting to grapple with her. She recognized them quickly, and simply did her old routine of going stiff. They both found it impossible to raise her arms.
"Do you never learn?" she sighed. She raised her arms of her own accord, hoisting the both of them off the ground in the process. She swung her arms out the side, throwing the both of them away to the sides. They flew through the air to rough landings.
Dorothy prepared to run when a sharp burn tore through her spinal unit. She stiffened up, then collapsed to the ground alongside the groceries. Beck chuckled and put the stun-gun back into his pocket.
"Pick her up and lets get going." He reached for his comb when the distinct sound of tires screeching rose to his ears. He looked around for the source of the noise, but it found him instead.
The pink motorcycle tore down the street. Beck leapt out of the way, pushing Alexis to the ground as it rocketed past them. It ground to a halt, and the distinctively female figure straddling it called out to the android who rose, trembling to her feet.
"Dorothy, get on!" Beck reached for the stun-gun, but already the familiar woman had a real gun pointed at him. He dropped the weapon and raised his hands up, cursing between his teeth. Dorothy stumbled her way over to the bike, sat behind the pink-clad woman, and they took off into the night.
Unnoticed by all was the black car that was parked further down the street. The figure who sat behind the steering wheel grimaced, and gripped the wheel in fingers trembling with rage.
"Why did you do that?" Dorothy finally said. She stood, facing Angel in the parking garage beneath Roger's home. Angel slid the helmet from her head and shook her long, blonde hair away from her face. She looked directly into the android's eyes, her own never wavering.
"Well, I saw you leaving and thought you were going to see Damian again."
"You were following me then? Why?"
"Lets just say...I wanted to find out if I really am a liar or not." Dorothy's face remained unmoving, but Angel had a feeling she needed to explain in some other manner. She ran a hand through her hair and looked at the ground. "Just tell Roger that now we're even for him saving me." She sat back down on her bike, placing the helmet back on her head. As she revved the engine, she turned and looked over her shoulder at Dorothy. "Dorothy..."
"Yes?"
"I think you and Roger better pay your brother a visit soon. Somehow, I don't think he is going to take what Beck just did very well." With those words, Angel sped off into the night. Dorothy stood, watching, but finally turned and walked into the building.
Greetings once again, true believers! Yes, after months of neglect, I am finally back to work on my fics. I must apologize thoroughly to all of my loyal readers for this prolonged absence. I have been very busy lately with a new job and summer classes, and in the time I had to write I was just drained creatively. But, class ended last week, and I have settled into my new career comfortably, and can finally devote time to my writing once again! Keep reading, true believers, there is only one more chapter in the saga of Damian, and you will never guess at the ultimate ending!
"So you met Damian?" Angel sat on the loveseat, nursing a cup of coffee. Roger paced back and forth before her, occasionally stopping to lean against the wall or rub his temples.
"Yeah" he grunted in response. He stopped and looked at her. She sipped from her mug calmly. "So Wayneright had a son, did he?"
"DID is the operative word" Roger sighed as he sat down alongside her. "The android that attacked you is just the image of what Wayneright though his son would have been if he had lived to grow up."
"Odd."
"What's odd?"
"You refer to Damian as an android, yet you don't seem to think of Dorothy as such." Roger was dumbfounded by these words. She sounded almost...jealous. "So, what are you going to do now?"
"I'm not sure." He sighed and leaned his head back against the chair, gazing up at the ceiling. "I know Damian's actions have been wrong, and I'm sure he's somehow connected to that blue megadeus but...I've never seen Dorothy act like she did around him. She was acting so...emotional. Like she really was human, if only for a moment. I don't think I could live with myself if I took that away from her."
"Are you nuts?" Angel screamed suddenly, rising from her seat, her mug dropping from her hands onto the floor, its contents staining the rug. "That thing tried to kill me?"
"I know, I know" Roger said, waving his hand in the air, "But then again, why where you sneaking around in Wayneright's mansion?" He looked up at her. Her jaw was dangling loose, her eyes disbelieving. He pressed further. "What if Damian is the one telling the truth? You have lied to me before, Angel."
"Roger...why would you believe that thing...over me..." her lips trembled, her eyes grew glassy, and finally she spun and ran from the room. She went into the guest bedroom where she had been sleeping, and slammed the door.
Roger stood, for a moment wanting to go after her, but instead clasped his hands into fists of uncertain rage, gazed down at the floor through his closed eyelids, and grunted over his thoughts. He knelt down and picked up the mug she had dropped. He stood slowly, gazing at its rounded contours as if they would somehow reveal to him the answer he sought. But when he finally realized they would not, he snarled with frustration and hurled it. It smashed against the wall, leaving broken shards and black drips as its pieces fell to the ground.
Dorothy walked with a sense of calm she had never known. Her mechanical mind was entirely distracted from its present task. She did not think of the people milling about around her, the cars on the street before her, the groceries in her arms. Her thoughts were floating in a dream world she had never experienced before.
She stood at the corner, waiting for the traffic light to change so she could cross the street. Internally, she wondered what it would be like to have those precious things humans call emotions. Roger took his for granted, never really appreciating just what it was he had. He toyed with the emotions of others, women in particular, without realizing just what it was he was doing. If she accepted Damian's gift, she would be careful not to be so selfish.
And yet...there was another, lingering question. She had once asked Roger Smith if, had she not been an android, would they have fallen in love? But now she found herself faced with other questions. Once she was capable of feeling, would she fall in love with him? And what's more, if she did, would he love her in return? She wondered, what was it like to be in love, what was it like to find yourself totally at ease in the arms of another, without a care in all the world.
So absorbed was she in these thoughts, she could never possibly have known what was coming...
"Are you sure about this, Beck?" Alexis whispered.
"Of course I'm sure. Don't worry about it." He ran his comb through his swirly locks and smiled, self-satisfied. It had taken him weeks to learn Dorothy's habits, he had no intention of backing out now. "Just be sure that when she comes around the bend, you guy's get on her right away."
"Yes boss..." Beck's goon's both moaned in unison. They had received thrashings at the hands of Dorothy before, the thought of another one was unpleasant.
"Don't you remember what Damian said?" Alexis implored. Beck dismissed her worries with a flick of his wrist.
"What he doesn't know won't hurt him. Besides, it'll give us a better bargaining chip." With that he reached into his coat and withdrew a long, black rod. He pressed a button on the end of it, and blue sparks danced along the tip. He smirked, and waited.
Dorothy blinked in surprise. It took her a moment to shake off the pleasant dreams that had been inhabiting her mind a moment ago and let reality set in. The groceries she had been carrying where spilled on the ground. There were two men attempting to grapple with her. She recognized them quickly, and simply did her old routine of going stiff. They both found it impossible to raise her arms.
"Do you never learn?" she sighed. She raised her arms of her own accord, hoisting the both of them off the ground in the process. She swung her arms out the side, throwing the both of them away to the sides. They flew through the air to rough landings.
Dorothy prepared to run when a sharp burn tore through her spinal unit. She stiffened up, then collapsed to the ground alongside the groceries. Beck chuckled and put the stun-gun back into his pocket.
"Pick her up and lets get going." He reached for his comb when the distinct sound of tires screeching rose to his ears. He looked around for the source of the noise, but it found him instead.
The pink motorcycle tore down the street. Beck leapt out of the way, pushing Alexis to the ground as it rocketed past them. It ground to a halt, and the distinctively female figure straddling it called out to the android who rose, trembling to her feet.
"Dorothy, get on!" Beck reached for the stun-gun, but already the familiar woman had a real gun pointed at him. He dropped the weapon and raised his hands up, cursing between his teeth. Dorothy stumbled her way over to the bike, sat behind the pink-clad woman, and they took off into the night.
Unnoticed by all was the black car that was parked further down the street. The figure who sat behind the steering wheel grimaced, and gripped the wheel in fingers trembling with rage.
"Why did you do that?" Dorothy finally said. She stood, facing Angel in the parking garage beneath Roger's home. Angel slid the helmet from her head and shook her long, blonde hair away from her face. She looked directly into the android's eyes, her own never wavering.
"Well, I saw you leaving and thought you were going to see Damian again."
"You were following me then? Why?"
"Lets just say...I wanted to find out if I really am a liar or not." Dorothy's face remained unmoving, but Angel had a feeling she needed to explain in some other manner. She ran a hand through her hair and looked at the ground. "Just tell Roger that now we're even for him saving me." She sat back down on her bike, placing the helmet back on her head. As she revved the engine, she turned and looked over her shoulder at Dorothy. "Dorothy..."
"Yes?"
"I think you and Roger better pay your brother a visit soon. Somehow, I don't think he is going to take what Beck just did very well." With those words, Angel sped off into the night. Dorothy stood, watching, but finally turned and walked into the building.
Greetings once again, true believers! Yes, after months of neglect, I am finally back to work on my fics. I must apologize thoroughly to all of my loyal readers for this prolonged absence. I have been very busy lately with a new job and summer classes, and in the time I had to write I was just drained creatively. But, class ended last week, and I have settled into my new career comfortably, and can finally devote time to my writing once again! Keep reading, true believers, there is only one more chapter in the saga of Damian, and you will never guess at the ultimate ending!