CHAPTER SEVEN: I WANNA ROCK RIGHT NOW: PART III
Lights on.
After a delayed activation, the emergency lights of the holding facility and surrounding halls were finally engaged — with the darkness of Scarecrow's cell irradiated by a flashing red strobe.
With all aspects of the confinement wing rendered visible, it became apparent to the two agents how little there was to see in that neglected corner of Providence.
But the brutal scene before them was an exception to that rule, and a sight that was better left unseen; if not for the display of violence, then perhaps the unfortunate showcase of the frayed familial ties that had long since unraveled.
And despite the certainty that they rendered Scarecrow unconscious, the agents positioned themselves between the collapsed father and son with but one question on their minds, that being what was the appropriate course of action, if any, to take after such an inexcusable failure?
They were assigned the responsibility of protecting Gabriel Rylander from any harm that should befall him — and with both the Rylanders' motionless bodies as a testament of their inadequate supervision, the lower-ranking agent speculated what sort of consequences were to follow.
"What the Hell...how are we going to explain this to Doctor Holiday? Or Knight and Six, even?" He fretted to his senior who simply crouched down next to Rylander and began to inspect his head.
"Now don't you worry about that cadet. Don't you worry." The commander whistled as he retrieved a screwdriver-like tool and began to pry off metal sheets covering sensitive circuitry underneath.
"Don't worry? Look, Providence doesn't offer much but its all I have!" He whined. "I can't afford to lose this job, especially with you messing around with things you probably shouldn't be touching!"
The senior agent halted his dissection and momentarily turned his head to the rookie, who found himself frozen by the ominous glare of the commander who clearly knew something he didn't.
Like a deer caught in headlights he felt unable to move from where he stood despite the potential danger to come — so to his relief, the officer turned his head back and continued his business.
"Well, this wouldn't be the first thing I don't have permission to access today," he responded while tossing up his ID card to the cadet, who fumbled to catch it before studying the credentials under the constantly changing intensity of the lights.
"But I'm just following orders, just like you're following yours." He confessed while an optical drive popped out the back of Rylander's head and was subsequently pocketed by the commander.
The agent was unsure what to make of the commander's comment initially, but by the time he deciphered the subtext and recognized the ID card was counterfeit, it was already too late.
Instinctively he reached for a compact taser holstered on his side, but the rogue commander—using the same rifle that incapacitated Scarecrow—thrust the barrel into the Providence cadet's side and unleashed whatever remaining voltage there was until the cadet blacked out along with the lights.
The infiltrator discarded the weapon following its use, and after checking the pulse of the fallen agent he chose to give one final statement before leaving the scene.
"Hopefully you don't get in too much trouble after this. We're just pawns, after all." he muttered to himself before exiting the premises and making a call to his superior.
"Checking in. Both Rylanders and the rookie I was assigned are neutralized. Turns out intel was right about the scientist having some sort of memory storage, so the data will be delivered at once."
There was little more to be said after that. As such, the spy ended his briefing and continued to make his way through the shadowy halls in silence. His superior, likewise, was in a tenebrous corner sitting on top a throne — savoring both the newfound information and a full glass of champagne.
The glass was emptied as quickly as it filled, but the drinks stopped pouring whereas the ideas continued to flow in a more satisfying manner of intoxication. Soon, there would be no need to indulge in substances that offer an escape from reality when fate would be irrevocably changed.
The high was exhilarating, and the ego was drunk on the mere opportunity of ascension.
"Eternal greatness exists only within myself, and all will celebrate in a world where I am sovereign."
"So, when's the party? It feels like we're heading to a celebration with all of us here!" Rex joked, humoring the possibility of heading out with all his closest friends since they were all present.
And though he considered himself far too busy to participate in any sort of festivities in the near future, he was certain that a fun time was to be had in their company no matter where they went.
However his humor was lost on some of the teenagers present; most notably Annie, who in typical offbeat fashion answered Rex's rhetorical question with complete innocence and sincerity.
"Oh, there's one going on downstairs!" She chipped with a glowing smile and a voice full of pep. "Everyone's waiting for you at—" she naively continued to explain before her mouth was hastily covered by Claire and the rest of the group gossiped loudly in an effort to distract from the slip up.
That is, the rest of the group save for Tuck who was also oblivious to Rex's joke.
"Hold up, Rex knows about the party?" He added, causing both Kenwyn and Beverly to facepalm. "Bro, which one of you snitched—!" Tuck defensively called out before having his mouth covered up by Walter who sighed in exhaustion and disappointment of his trusted companion.
"Hey jabbermouth, you ever wonder why we left you in the dark about our plans to betray Quarry?" Walter lamented to his friend while looking down and pinching his nose between his fingers.
"Rrmf." Tuck replied with Walter's hand still muffling his mouth, after which it was taken off.
Rex raised an eyebrow and let out a single confused laugh at his friends attempt to keep a secret. Attempt being the key word — because now that he knew about a party he was going to be there.
"A text would've gotten my attention too, but whatever! With everyone up it's time to get down." Rex announced before Circe shoved a package secured by an amateurish bow shoved into his chest.
"Where'd this come from?" He asked, not knowing how she kept such a sizeable gift hidden.
"Claire was holding it in her purse for me. As for who its from and why its being given to you — I think those are secrets we can keep for just a moment longer." Circe quipped before entering Rex's room to retrieve his jacket while she was there; which, having retained its signature shade of red over the years, was an easy object to locate in contrast to the monotone color palette of his room.
"Speaking of keeping things, this jacket is now forfeit until you learn how to take care of it properly." Circe declared with a playful wink while slipping her arms through the sleeves and making her way back to the elevator. On queue, the other teens waved farewell and followed her lead.
"We'll catch up with you at Doc's lab once you're more presentable, so try to keep up." Noah taunted with finger guns fired at Rex who looked down at the only clothes he possessed, aged as they were.
"Presentable? If this is a classy party then I don't have any suits to wear. Six locked me out of his room months ago!" He shouted while his friends crammed themselves into the elevator, to which Circe shrugged with a pout before the doors slid shut and everyone descended from Rex's level.
Rex couldn't help but smile because of the company that he kept and how much they meant to him.
To be surrounded by those who cared for his happiness was all he could ever ask for in his current lapse of memory; and despite all the memories of his early youth and parents being long forgotten, it was more than made up for with new memories of everyone who made up his current family.
But with plenty of ability to reflect on his past and move towards the future, he returned to his room, placed his gift on his bed, and pressed his hand against a conductive portion of the wall.
After charging the lights with his most recently developed ability he thought about how limitless the potential of his nanites were, and how that wasn't even the most empowering aspect of his life.
It was true that nanites were the source of his remarkable abilities, but he knew that they were primarily tools of combat that had few auxiliary functions provided some creative thought.
Rather than his builds, it was care and compassion that aided in the repair of neighborhoods that lacked the manpower to restore them; not his smack hands which bore the weight of the materials.
And though his machines were a productive example of nanite's capabilities, it was his dedication and persistence that preserved the reputation of nano-technology's potential; not the speed at which he transported various goods and supplies with his Boogie pack, Sky slyder, and...Rex ride.
He took a mental note to workshop a less self-centered name for the cycle inspired build.
Regardless, he essentially felt that his connection with emotions is what made him a hero and that love was what made him strong. And despite not knowing the origin of that last particular phrase on his mind, it was a belief that continued to resonate with him more than ever in the present day.
But on the subject of presents, Rex greedily rubbed his hands together as he stood in front of his gift. "Time to get to the bottom of this." He stated to no one in particular as he peeled away the bow holding the two halves of the box together and lifted up the cover to reveal the contents within.
Immediately, he smiled a childlike grin and was on the verge of tears simply looking at the selection of clothing inside, which were more fitting than any two-piece suit he could have received.
Every detail of the selection was personal and considerate — from recognition of which four articles of clothes he was in need of replacing, to their arrangement in the order he would put on the layers. So after throwing off his shirt, shoes, and only surviving pair of pants, he began to wear the wares.
First was a one-piece Kevlar blend motorcycle racing suit with extra reinforcement around the shoulders, knees, and elbows. But in addition to being the first aerodynamically designed uniform he ever owned, the intricate weaving suggested it was impervious to any sort of weathering as well.
In terms of how it felt, the dark gray fabric felt soft, smooth, and cool to the touch when he ran his hand across it — a godsend given that his room had no air conditioning in the middle of the hottest summer on record. And it wouldn't have been a stretch of the imagination to assume it was entirely fire-retardant provided its impressive insulation and breathability.
But for all the praise he was giving his tailor-made suit he noticed that it was rather loose fitting after he completely put it on. Disregarding the possibility that the oversized fit was an oversight, he patted himself down looking for any hidden straps or zippers before unconsciously glancing at a DVD collection on his shelf and considering an alternative method of fastening his suit.
Placing his palm against his chest, he used his hands to conduct electricity yet again and the heat from the current triggered springlike coils to tighten the cuffs of his suit. Similar to the plugsuits depicted in foreign animation before his era, his getup was form-fitting to his exact measurements.
"Nickel-Titanium alloys, huh? Didn't know you had connections with Newman, Doc." Rex mused, recognizing the metallurgical composition of the embedded coils via his nanites while recalling an article about one of the scientists who pioneered his clothing's technology.
And complementing the dark color-scheme of his outfit's base was the second item: a brand new jacket to replace the smaller one that seemingly belonged to Circe now. It was a purely cosmetic addition with its vibrant red color and biker inspired appearance — lapels, dark stripes and all.
But he believed the most fascinating part of his new jacket to be the decal that was pressed onto the right shoulder. It was a remarkably simple design, but who would know better than himself as he was the one who designed it when he and his friends from Hong Kong tattooed it on their bodies.
The emblem was the hallmark brand of the rebellious spirit he and his friends embodied, and if he were to cover it up with layers of clothing then he was proud to wear it on his sleeve.
After tossing on the jacket and admiring how comfortably it fit his larger, more heroic build, he explored the gift to put on the final pair of items which were definitely the least exciting — but he appreciated their inclusion all the same and was delighted to see how functional they were.
Complementing the looks of both his suit and jacket were a new pair of gloves that didn't leave much of an impression but completed the set quite well. Some minor padding was added to the joints and knuckles for protection, he assumed, even though he did the bulk of his fighting with the aid of his builds. "But hey, if I'm given a reason to fight without them." he shrugged before moving on.
Last—but certainly not least, he admitted as he looked upon the soles falling from his shoes—were a fresh pair of steel-toed, military-grade biker boots. Nothing much was to be said there, it was factory standard without any alterations; but he did think they were stylish so there was that.
To think that he was finally wearing a new outfit ever since he joined Providence two years ago. Something about that felt inexplicably right to him, as if the thread's refinement and sophistication were an extension to his truest self, rather than a mere reflection of it.
It was a rather poetic understanding of the gift he received and the sentimental value he already felt towards it; and he made certain to thank his dear friends for so generously bestowing it upon him.
Walking out of his room and commanding the door to close, it felt for the first time since The Cure that the worst was behind him and that everything was going to be alright. Better, even.
And though his ultimate fate was already set in stone — he would at least know victory that day.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Looks like this episode may have more chapters than I anticipated! I originally planned on dividing it into four parts, but this chapter is already running a decent length before the party even begins and I don't want to rush through that event; so it looks like that will be the start of the next one!
(Nevermind that it took me weeks to think of the second half of this chapter, just to write it in just two days. I might consider posting these shorter segments if it means more frequent updates)
That aside, Rex gets new clothing this chapter and the redesign can be found in the link below! I'm still deciding where and how I should post art of the rest of the cast, environments, and set pieces, but for the time being I'll link it to my Tumblr where similar content can be sorted via tags.
(Since you are reading this on Fanfiction dot net you have to fill in the periods yourself. Easy!)
draftsmanfive [period] tumblr [period] com/post/186391607525/thrilling