Make Me Feel
Disclaimer: I won't say it. My lips are sealed.
Notes: Yay!! Reviews!! Again!! Thank you Goldbryn Callow Lyte, DocOcksGirl31, Repto, Kippixin,
Psyche 'pallasathena' Scyon, angelgardian666, and Agent Silver for all reviewing! I'm doing good. I'm afraid of what will happen when this ends…
Chapter 23
Zachary grinned and hugged his mother affectionately.
"Don't worry mamma, you'll love Doctor Octavius! And his tentacles aren't that scary after you get used to them."
Teresa looked at her son with a look that a mother has when she is deathly worried about something but knows not to speak her thoughts aloud. She glanced over at the man who had invaded her family and worried about her daughter. She knew nothing of Octavius, for all she knew he was actually a predator preying on her innocent boy and would do the same to her precious baby girl.
She rubbed her temples and briefly wondered of the extensive therapy her poor babies would need after this whole ordeal was over with. She prayed that it would be soon. In her mind she believed that her son was simply suffering from an infatuation and that it would run it's course and he would see his mistakes and leave that monster and go date one of the pretty daughters of some colleague of hers.
She just needed to ride this out until that happened.
Swallowing and looking at her little boy's smiling face she snaked another glance at Octavius and walked over to the table next to her earlier spot of depressed brooding. She pressed a small button on the intercom and waited a moment.
"Yes Madam?"
Alfred's distinguished aging voice rose from the small speakers on the small black box.
"Alfred, Master Zachary had returned along with," She glanced over at Octavius. "a friend. Be a dear and bring us some tea."
"Master Zachary? He's returned? Of course Madam, I will arrive momentarily."
There was a brief tone of surprise and relief in the elderly man's voice. Alfred had been like a father to Bruce, and like a grandfather to Zachary. He had been heartbroken when the boy had disappeared. A small click was heard and the line of the intercom went dead.
Teresa turned back to her son and her unwanted guest and softly cleared her throat. She smoother out non-existing wrinkles in her beautiful black dress and forced a smile onto her face.
"Please sit down and make yourself comfortable Mr. Octavius. You must be tired after traveling all the way here from New York."
Her tone was laced with politeness and sugar and was obviously very forced. But she was trying and after all that had happened, Otto couldn't blame her for her attitude towards the situation.
"It's Doctor Octavius, actually. I am truly sorry that Zachary and I had you so worried. No mother should have to go through what you have."
He took several slow steps forward and lowered himself down onto the plush love seat that was directly across from the sofa. Teresa then stiffly yet elegantly seated herself back into her earlier seat of choice. Zachary looked at the two adults with a sense of hurt disappointment but not complete surprise. He could feel the tension and sighed very softly.
Otto watched as Zachary took a couple long strides towards him and joined him on the love seat. Instinctively he wrapped his arm around the boys shoulders and pulled him closer. Zachary was more than happy to oblige and leaned against the older man's side. Otto's hands almost as if on their own accord began lightly rubbing the teenager's back.
Teresa's right eye twitched.
She did not like the sight of her baby cuddling with a monster/menace. But she bit down on her tongue and forced a smile. She didn't want to upset Zachary. A new hypothesis of what was going on came to her. Her baby had been very vulnerable while away from her and his home and had just turned to Octavius for affection while in such a state. He hadn't known that it was wrong, he had just given in to what he thought was love when Octavius had…she didn't want to think about it. But what mattered was that Zachary had at least convinced the monster to let him come home to his mother's waiting arms.
She looked up at the door with a brief but genuine smile when the aging Alfred walked in. He was skillfully carrying an antique silver tray ladled with teacups a small delicate looking teapot and a little plate of crumpets.
"Your tea Madam."
Teresa smiled at the dear man and made a motion for him to set the tray on the mahogany coffee table between the sofa and love seat.
"Thank you Alfred, you're such a dear."
He nodded and gently set the tray down and began pouring tea into the little china cups with decades of skilled practice.
"It is good to see you home and well, Master Zachary."
It came out sounding very professional but both Teresa and Zachary knew the man was truthfully over joyed to see the teen home and joining his mother for tea.
"It is good to be home Alfred."
The elderly servant nodded and allowed a rare smile to grace his aging face. He handed a cup and saucer to the woman of the room first then one to Zachary. He stopped and looked at Otto with professional curiosity.
"Tea? Mister…"
"Doctor Octavius. And yes please."
Alfred nodded and then paused for a split second when he recognized the name. He knew his boundaries though, and poured the man a cup and handed it to him on a saucer. Otto took it with a quiet 'thank you" and held it carefully knowing it was most likely an antique or just really expensive.
"May I get you anything else?"
Teresa sipped her tea and gently set it down on the polished wood table.
"No Alfred, that is all."
The older man was just turning to leave when Zachary finished a quick sip from his own cup and set it down on the table.
"Wait a moment Alfred."
When the man stopped and turned to the teenager Zachary looked at Otto.
"I think you should let them out now. This way we won't have to worry about poor Alfred suffering from a shocked heart attack later on."
Otto looked at the boy's serious face and set his cup on the table along with all the others. He looked up at the other adults and spoke seriously.
"You might want to brace yourselves. My children have a knack for startling people horribly."
Teresa and Alfred glanced at each other in confusion and a light feeling of dread. Both were confused by him saying his 'children'. Both watched him reach behind himself and grasp the flap on the back of his dark green trench coat and pull it away.
The tentacles raised up slowly like snakes, their heads snapped open causing both adults to jump in surprise and poor Alfred took several shaky steps back. But the tentacles relaxed and began examining their new surroundings curiously. One came forward and lightly prodded Teresa's shoulder and the woman jerked away and glared at the man.
"Stop that."
The edges of Otto's lips quirked and he tried not to smile.
"That wasn't me. The tentacles have artificial intelligence and when I have no direct commands to give them, they do as they please. Do not be alarmed, they are merely curious and are exploring."
The woman looked startled and looked back at the tentacle that had reopened its head and was getting right up in her face. It cocked its head slightly and seemed to be studying her.
"What are those lights?"
She looked uncomfortable by having it so close to her face but a spark of real curiosity was in her eyes.
"Cameras. They each have cameras built in and that allows them too not only see, but to relay images to my mind allowing me to see what they do. I can willingly shut out the images at any time I want, and then I can uncover them. It's like covering and uncovering one of your actual eyes, you gain and lose a sense of perspective when you do it."
The woman nodded shakily and looked over at Alfred who was also being examined.
"You are excused if you want Alfred."
The old man nodded and looked at the tentacle that was staring at him and making small chittering noises. He hesitantly took a step back with his eyes never leaving the tentacle that watched him. When he was sure it wouldn't make an attempt to stop him, he made a hasty pace out of the room.
The tentacle studying Teresa grew bored and joined its brothers in exploring the room. Teresa watched them and felt a sense of alarm when they began poking around.
"Tell them to not break anything."
Otto smiled at her and his eyes twinkled behind his dark glasses.
"Don't be alarmed Ms. Wayne. I instructed them to be careful before I released them. I assure you, nothing will be harmed."
She looked at him stiffly and picked up her tea. Grudgingly she wished she had ordered Alfred to fetch her something harder, she was starting to think she would need it.
"Now, there is something very serious I need to discuss with you. It is the reason Zachary and I came here and it is something extremely important."
Teresa's eyes snapped onto the scientists face and her elegant eyebrows furrowed. She looked at her darling son who was even more cuddled up against the older man, and she noticed he now looked downcast and a bit sad.
She did not like where this was going.
"What is it?"
Her voice was sharp and guarded; she could tell something was wrong. Otto looked up at the woman's face and assumed his doctor state of mind.
"Were you aware that Zachary was experimented on as an infant?"
Teresa suddenly felt as though a glacier had crashed down upon her. Her eyes widened and her mouth formed an 'o'. She remembered what had happened at the hospital all those years ago. She and Bruce had always assumed that they had been lucky.
"But…the people at the hospital said only the babies in that one section had been injected. And all of those children had been cured before the serum could take affect."
Otto suddenly looked even more serious.
"Are you trying to tell me that they didn't check all of the children? Didn't it occur to them there might have been more?"
It disgusted him to think the staff of that building could have been so stupid.
"I don't know! They wanted to keep it as quiet as possible. What happened to Zachary? What did it do to him?"
Otto could see the woman was getting dangerously close to hysterics. He would have to be blunt.
"Zachary will be alright as long as I can use the containment cylinder in the cave under the house. You will need to order some fluids for me, but I can stabilize him in less than a few days."
The woman stared at him and nodded.
"Yes, you can use whatever you want. But what's wrong with him?"
He sighed and looked down at the crown of black hair leaning on his shoulder.
"Zachary, you need to show your mother."
Two frosty eyes looked up at him and he could see the fear and dread in those lovely orbs. The boy wasn't afraid of admitting to the woman that he was gay or that he was with a criminal, but he was afraid she would not accept what was to be his permanent appearance.
The boy swallowed the hard lump in his throat and moved away from his love's embrace and stood up. He didn't look at his mother as he removed his trench coat and pulled off his shirt.
Silence.
He forced himself to look up at his mother's face and cringed at her frozen look of horror. Her eyes were bulging and her face had drained of all color. Her hands had flown up and were clamped over her mouth. What Teresa was doing, was forcing herself to restrain the urge to scream.
"Mamma?"
His voice came out small and hesitant. He wanted the floor to swallow him whole so he wouldn't have to see her look of utter horror anymore. He wanted her to say something, anything. He watched her hands fall from her face.
"Oh Zachary…I…I can't handle this."
He watched her stand and swiftly walk from the room.
That wasn't how he wanted her to react. That's the reason he had run away. He felt a sudden hole in his chest and he felt himself begin to cry.
He felt a large warm pair of arms wrap around him from behind and he turned to look up at Otto's face. The older man looked sad, sad for him. He wrapped his arms around the older man's neck and buried his face into the man's large strong chest. Large arms enfolded him in a protective embrace and he felt the man press his own face into his hair.
The tentacles came forward and formed a barricade around the couple but kept a fair distance. They loved their father and the boy, but being made of metal made them fear salt water.
End of Chapter
Okay, I think this is a really good one personally. Please tell me what you think. Please review and thanks for reading!!
Stray-