Part 5
"Please tell me you've heard the latest rumor." Lexa groaned, walking into Nines office and sitting down on the couch with her laptop.
"Sorry I haven't?" Nine guessed.
He was completely lost. Ella had told him about Marina and John this afternoon when she brought him lunch.
"Apparently I'm pregnant with your child." Lexa bluntly answered. He couldn't help it. He cracked up laughing.
"Says who?" He spoke between laughs.
"Everyone." Lexa huffed. Nine threw his head back and laughed.
Once he had caught his breath he spoke.
"So when's the baby due, sweetie?" He smirked.
She rolled her eyes at him. He laughed some more.
"If you're done. Your presence is requested on the beach. They're leaving." Lexa spoke.
"I'll be back." Nine nodded before leaving.
He ran across campus and down to the beach. Ella had her backpack on was talking to Marina. John was petting a griffon he guaranteed was BK.
"Nine!" Ella squealed, rushing to hug him. After Ella released him Marina pulled him into a hug. John smiled and hugged him.
"We're going to go meet up with Sam and Six nearby. We'll be waiting for your call." John told him.
"Safe travels." Nine nodded. Ella climbed onto John piggyback style and up into the air they went. Marina waved before climbing on BK and taking off. Nine watched them take off heading towards San Francisco.
Now to sit and wait. Hopefully, Cecilia hadn't killed Linda yet. Oh to be a fly on the wall during that therapy session. His phone went off and brought him back to reality. It was Lexa. Linda wanted to chat with professor Nine about said, child. What could she have possibly done? He thought running back to his office.
Cecilia stormed out of the therapist office and tore across campus. She went to where she'd trained with Nine today. Maybe he'd be there and she could take her anger out on absolutely anything. No one was there except the science dude. He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Something to punch." She ordered. He came downstairs and unlocked a closet. After some huffing and puffing, he pulled out an old dummy.
"Nine originally got it to practice punches after his accident. Have at it. Just don't break it." Malcolm replied before heading back for the stairs.
She let the dummy have it. She didn't need legacies currently. She let it all out. She just kept laying into it punch after punch. It felt good to punch something. She could stay here all day punching the dummy.
With an aggrieved sigh, Nine left the main building to find Cecilia. Malcolm had texted him that she'd shown up at the gym and started beating things up. When he'd gotten there he was amazed. Malcolm had started the program they'd invented solely for the six he trained bright and early right before Cecilia. It sent dummy after dummy out at the student. It was supposed to train them in teamwork and against multiple foes at once.
But it was just Cecilia with a dagger in each hand slicing and dicing every single one. She was just on fire wielding her daggers and spinning back and forth like an experienced warrior. He saw one of the more intelligent dummies come out and actually disarm her of her one dagger. While it was disarming her right hand she used her left one to stab the dummy in the side of the throat. More and more just kept coming each round smarter than the last but she never gave up. She persisted.
Nine just leaned against the door and watched her in awe. She was a force of nature almost. He didn't know how many rounds she'd taken down but eventually, it stopped and Malcolm walked out onto the observation deck.
"Excellent!" He called down.
"Come on what's ya got next!" Cecilia hollered at him. She was soaked with sweat and panting heavily but the fire in her eyes amazed him. Her hair was pasted to her face and neck with sweat.
"Next thing would be the obstacle and that's meant for legacy people," Malcolm replied. Nine quietly chuckled. Neither of them knew he was even here.
"So? You said the smart dummies were meant for legacy using people too. Bring it." Cecilia argued. He had to applaud this girl's fierce determination.
"Alright get ready for a challenge," Malcolm told her before disappearing into the control center. Nine walked up the wall and onto the ceiling. He walked over and dropped down on the observation deck. Cecilia was too busy to notice him. Malcolm was starting it up.
"Malcolm!" Nine stopped him. Cecilia looked up with a confused look. Nine jumped down to see her.
"Cecilia. How was your therapy session?" He inquired.
"Wonderful." She scoffed.
"I heard you inform her to go to hell and lasted only five minutes." Nine replied.
"Okay yes, I couldn't take it. She knows nothing about my life and needs to stay out of it!" Cecilia demanded.
"Cecilia, I can only help you but you have to help me help you. I got a plan in action but it requires you not to kill anyone." He sighed.
"I didn't kill her. I thought of it but I didn't act on those thoughts." Cecilia argued. Then she gave him a quizzical look. "What plan?"
"A plan to get you and your sister to safety. Out of here and Earth Garde's reach." Nine quietly explained.
"Why?" She suspiciously questioned.
"Because you have no future here. They will always treat you like a convict. They will make an example out of you for the others. Do you realize you are the first one to resist them to such a degree?" Nine questioned.
"When we leave?" She huffed.
"Within the next few days. This stays between us though." Nine answered.
"Yes, sir. Now release me so I can beat another challenge of the Bill Nye wannabe." She demanded, holding out her right wrist.
"Just for the obstacle course." Nine reminded her.
"Yep." She nodded. He typed the code in and took it off.
"Fire her up!" Cecilia called to Malcolm.
Nine laughed as she charged into the course guns blazing. She was certainly strong-willed and stubborn. Nine joined Malcolm up in observation.
"So what happens when you run outta toys?" He teased Malcolm.
"Hopefully dinner and homework." Malcolm sighed. Lexa marched in and jogged up the stairs.
"Tell Sam he owes me twenty bucks." She replied, joining them.
"Oh?" Nine raised an eyebrow.
"Emma Warner is currently living with one giant family. I'll get Sam and Six the address. Less than twenty-four hours." She smirked. Malcolm shook his head and chuckled. Nine laughed. He had never doubted Lexa's hacking abilities.
"You and my son made a bet over how fast you could find her?" He inquired with an amused look.
"Yep. I say we can remove Cecilia tonight so Nine doesn't get his butt kicked again and no one else dies." Lexa casually replied.
"Get the others in motion. We'll get the girl ready." Nine told her.
"Aye aye captain." She mock saluted him.
"You and Marina can get together and discuss your pregnancies as well." Nine quipped. Lexa looked torn between rolling her eyes and being in shock.
"Yes. John and Marina are having a Loric baby." Nine nodded.
"Since when was Lexa pregnant?" Malcolm asked completely lost.
"I'm out of here before you get fired up." Lexa sighed, walking away.
"But come back, sweetie! We must discuss names!" Nine harassed. Malcolm laughed.
"As if!" Lexa called back to them.
Nine leaned against the railing laughing hard. He would probably never let her live it down.
Cecilia had been miserably failing at falling asleep so she was up sketching. She was startled and then annoyed that something was tapping on her window. She abandoned her sketch of Professor Nine and opened her blind. John Smith of all people was out there. How'd he get to the third story? She huffed in annoyance and opened her window.
"What?"
"Pack your things and come on out. Professor Nine has everything lined up to evacuate you from this place." John told her casually.
"Can you get this off?" Cecilia demanded, thrusting her wrist at him.
"Nine would like you to appreciate the irony." He grabbed it and turned it palm side up to reveal the keypad. He told her the combination as he punched it in. The combination was her birthday. She swore at him while collecting her stuff. She strapped her backpack on and walked back over to the window.
"How's this gonna work?" She inquired.
"We'll climb on out here," John instructed. She climbed out onto the edge of her window.
"Climb on." He chuckled. He turned his back on her. He wanted her to ride piggyback style. With a groan, she climbed on him.
"Next stop home." He smirked taking off for the ocean. "Feel free to drop your band in the Pacific." He teased.
"I left it in my room," Cecilia admitted.
"Or that." He replied simply.
Nine actually was going to enjoy this meeting. By now they probably all know Cecilia is gone. Lexa chuckled at his excitement.
"Don't look so excited. We need to act normal because we know nothing about it." Lexa told him. Malcolm laughed and tossed Lexa the band Cecilia had left behind. She stashed it away in her pocket right before colonel Archibald walked in with the Earth Garde rep. They were both followed by Susan and Linda.
"Have you heard Cecilia has gone missing?" Susan questioned.
"I just thought she slept in." Nine shrugged.
"I had two guards check her room and it was empty. Only the window was open." Archibald added gruffly. Nine nodded.
"Do you know where she went?" The Earth Garde rep questioned.
Nine smirked inside his head but kept a straight face. He simply replied.
"I don't have the slightest idea."