RWBY: Cyborg's Drive
Chapter 3: Build a Family
"Good luck young master." Ren whispered as the boy flew down the stair to rescue his master. As he drifted in an out of consciousness, Ren couldn't get the conversation he had this morning with the doctor out of his head.
Ren's eyes winced as he tried not to look directly at the doctor who was busy welding the cybernetic arm for Penny in his laboratory. He soon sat down the sandwich he had prepared to cover his eyes with his arms, the groans he was making finally alerting the good doctor who instantly ceases welding, only to fix Ren an annoyed look.
"Can't lunch wait? I got to finish this arm if I am to begin recreating the legs as soon as possible!" Pietro said annoyed. Ren just sighed as he fixed his masters an annoyed glare right back.
"Something on your mind?" Pietro asked as he folded his arms.
"Me? No. But your "son" on the other hand I can't say otherwise." Ren said bitterly, making Pietro raise an eyebrow in confusion.
"What? Is something troubling Mercury? I thought he got some time off from work to relax." Pietro asked but Ren just scoffed.
"It's a little hard to relax sir, when one's family is too preoccupied with work to spend time with them. It makes them wonder if their even family at all." Ren admonished. Pietro's eyes widened as he heard this startling revelation, looking over to Penny's unfinished body.
"I…I'm doing this for him." Pietro said sheepishly to Ren's surprise.
"Care to clarify?" Ren asked and Pietro nodded.
"Its just…*sigh* there's this awkward difference between us, I don't know. Mercury never once called me dad the 10 years we lived together." Pietro said sadly, lamenting the boys coldness he usually got beyond simple pleasantries, something Ren knew what plagued his masters mind.
"Indeed, he never once told us about his biological father, only that he's the reason the boy was legless when you found him. Still, what does that have to do with rushing to finish Penny when you finally got some time with him?" Ren asked confused.
"I don't want the boy to be lonely all his life. Ren…I'm old now. I don't have many years to go, so when I do kick the bucket I wanted someone to be around that was near his age, someone he can love and care for like a sister, to call his family. He never brings around a woman, and I can smell that cheap booze on him at times so it's not likely he has one. It was to fulfill Penelope's wish at first, but now I simply wanted my boy to have that happiness he was denied for so many years." Pietro explained. Ren looked on with shock as he heard all this. Pietro took this silence as a sign of agreement and decided to get back to work as he grabbed his welder.
"Now if you'll excuse me Mr. Lie, I have to get back to that task again. Let me know when it's dinner time and if Mercury will be joining us." Pietro said firmly, his tone making it clear his wish was final. All Ren could do was sigh sadly and go back upstairs in defeat.
"I sure hope Mercury comes back to us." Ren thought sadly, remembering the boy went out drinking, not that he blamed him. The boy definitely had a complex family situation. That was when Cinder and Emerald suddenly appeared at the entrance, before Ren felt a surge of pain strike his head and things grew hazy as he collapsed before alerting the doctor. Before Mercury arrived and took off after the duo, he could have sworn he heard a painful cry from the doctor, making the injured man shudder with fear. As Ren finally lost consciousness near the stairwell, all he could hope for was that the boy could save the good doctor and hopefully acknowledge their bond he hid under booze and insecurities, before it was too late.
Meanwhile…
"A dead man doesn't need to know my name…well half a man that is." Cinder snickered as she summoned her bow. Pietro gripped the chains around his neck with fury as he heard that scathing insult.
"Gah…Son" Pietro choked out a whisper as Emerald tightened her grip, keeping him in place. The pain forced his eyes to remain open in horror, helpless to aide his adoptive son, or even cry hope for his survival, as this witch aimed an arrow at him.
He soon saw Cinder gave off a wicked smirk, one stained with bloodlust, as she drew back her string and let the flame arrow fly to Pietro's horror. He wanted to move to block this attack towards his adopted son, but was stuck, a prisoner of both Emerald's chain and his own weak spine that trapped him in his wheelchair. All he could do really in that moment was force the chains off his neck slightly enough to finally scream his worries for Mercury.
"Son!" Pietro's cry echoed through Mercury's mind as he saw Cinder's arrow blaze towards him. In that moment, all time seemed to slow down as he froze there, pondering those words.
"I haven't heard those words since…that night." Mercury bitterly thought.
It was the night he lost his legs, the night he lost his humanity, and it was the night he lost his family.
Suddenly he gasped with a start as an empty beer bottle crashed in the wall right behind him, instinctively shivering as the loud screech of shattered glass ripped through his ears, before they were replaced by an even louder bellow from a dark figure before him. He was muscular, at least twice as bulky as Mercury was. That alone was intimidating enough if not for his cut up red t-shirt and bloodstained boots, showing he had survived his fair share of battles that ended the lives of others. Mercury knew if he wasn't careful with this dangerous man his blood would become yet another stain.
"Hey Brat! Where's my booze!?" The man hollered, sending a shiver down Mercury's spine as he clasped his shoulders. It shocked him as he hadn't recalled the last time someone yelling had frightened him so. Even the General's roars weren't capable of shaking him up like this. This long since forgotten fear resurfacing had all but paralyzed the boy as his father, Marcus Black, reddened face of rage was the shock to the boys heart when he felt his once callous sturdy hands now feeling soft. He slowly looked down to see them half their normal size and bruised, but what made his face pale to ghost white was in doing so, he also noticed his knees, his now human knees.
"W-What the!? My legs are ba- GAH!" Mercury cried out in confusion before a painful yell escaped his lungs as a heavy kick smashed against his chest, knocking the wind was knocked out of him and sending him crashing into the wall. It was bad enough he was confused as hell being small and organic again, now the bane of his existence was subjecting him to pain he hadn't experienced in years, pain he had desperately buried under a lake's worth of tears crying himself to sleep at night. Now as he felt the pain return and soon spread to his ears as he clasped them, desperate to protect them from the screeches of fury his father spouted, Mercury believed he had truly died today and gone to hell.
"What did I * hic* just ask, you little fuck!?" Marcus yelled as he kicked his son's arms, making the boy whimper as pain shot through his arms. Even down on the floor, Mercury could smell the cheap booze Marcus had drank, knowing this would only make things worse. He remembered his father was even more merciless in his beatings when drunk.
"I…I…*cough* couldn't snatch it. Too many people." The boy's feeble defense and whimpering made the drunken oaf scoff in disdain.
"Just like *hic* your mother, never could take a punch or do anything right. Only thing impressive is how much longer you've lasted." Marcus sneered. Mercury's eyes widened as he heard about his mother, the screams of mercy she cried out as he remembered this man beating her head in with his fists flooded his mind, no matter how hard he bit his lip to suppress those memories.
"Why *cough* why did you kill momma!" Mercury bitterly asked, tears stinging his eyes, yet this got him another kick to the stomach, making him cough up blood as his father eyed him disdainfully.
"Because I got tired of her. *Burp* She got so bloody and bruised she became an ugly whore I didn't feel like touching anymore, so I threw her away." Marcus said bitterly.
Mercury's eyes turned red, not from the strain of his crying, but from rage consuming his as he forced himself up a bit, crouching as he spat a bit of blood and eyed his father with malice.
"That's w-why? She was momma!" He cried, but Marcus just sneered.
"She was weak, garbage I took out. If you don't want to be that too, then don't be such a crybaby." He coldly said.
Mercury grit his teeth as he looked down, seeing his reflection in the shattered glass of the once booze bottle. His rage grew as he saw his childhood self staring daggers at him. As much as he hated this man with a fury, he couldn't help but feel he was right about one thing. He saw the ugliness in himself, his weakness he felt sick to his stomach just eyeing. Tears soon kept flowing down his eyes and he grinded his teeth in rage, wanting desperately for his old self to vanish.
What came next after that Mercury would never forget, as he received not 2 but 3 permanent scars that night. In his fury Mercury unlocked his aura, but suddenly his fathers hand shot out, gripping his head as the painful squeeze made Mercury cry out in agony.
"LET ME GO!" Mercury yelled as he punched the man's hand with glowing ones, but Marcus did not yield despite one flinch from visible pain from the semblance-enhanced strength cutting his skin, spraying a bit of blood on the floor.
"These semblances *hic* are crutches. They just make you weak, you don't need them." Marcus said coldly as Mercury's eyes widened as the glowing short blades in his hands began fading, his aura suddenly draining along with them. He choked on his breath as he remembered bitterly this sensation. His dad was stealing his semblance all over again.
"GIVE IT BACK!" Mercury roared before his aura drained completely and was flung back towards the wall again.
"Pff! When you grow some balls and get strong enough maybe. Till then *burp* go back out there and get some more booze or I'll bury you next to that whore." Marcus stuttered through burps as he turned around indifferently.
Mercury's face turned bright red as his rage consumed him. As he clenched his hands, he felt a sharp sting consume them. He looked down to see them bloodied with shards of glass stuck in them. As he hyperventilated, Mercury didn't need to think twice, he let his fury push the first desire that came to mind and grabbed two large shards and charged with a bitter scream.
"YOU BASTARD!" He cried as he lunged at his father, stabbing the back of his knee and drawing both blood and an anguish cry of pain from the older man.
"GAH! YOU LITTLE FUCK!" He roared as he swung his elbow, bashing it into Mercury's face. The boy shuddered as he heard the sound of bones crunching, along with a sharp pain to his face as he plopped to the floor. He clutched his broken nose, barely staying conscious past the pain as he struggled to breath, choking on blood. His father then gripped his neck as he came face-to-face with his flesh and blood son.
"I warned you brat. Now you can join your mother." He groaned as he morphed a glowing blade from his hand and slashed off Mercury's right leg, eliciting a screech of pain from the boy. The pain was keeping him conscious to his disdain as he saw his father look down with a smirk, taking joy in scarring the boy. He then proceeded to do the same to Mercury's left leg, but more slowly, obviously relishing in this torture. What the man didn't anticipate was the shards still in Mercury's hands. The boy soon pulled them out, the sting nothing compared to the agony his legs went through as he jerked his body upright and stabbed both of Marcus's eyes, making the man scream as he reeled back, falling onto the dinner table in anguish.
"AGH! When I find you I'm gonna fucking kill you!" Marcus screamed.
"Doubtful." Mercury could only snicker as he remembered what happened next. Marcus's flailing had caused a knife to fall of the kitchen table Mercury limped towards. As the drunken older man's aura shattered from his inebriation and injuries, Mercury seized his chance and flung the knife straight at Marcus's face, impaling it and sending him crashing down to his demise.
Mercury sighed at his triumph, but felt no joy. Despite killing his tormentor and avenging his mom, his victory robbed him of his legs. Worse he was bleeding out, honestly amazed stealing Marcus's belt and dirty rags to tie up the bloody stumps actually worked as well as it did. But the pain didn't subside; Mercury felt his misery was only just beginning. Without legs he couldn't run after stealing, all this asshole had ever taught him to do besides kill. He was forced to crawl to nearby alleys, hopeful the garbage their from bars and restaurants would keep him from starving, but for what? What future could he have now to look forward too after a meal?
"Were the same kid." Pietro's words echoed. Soon Mercury found himself in a dark alley on a rainy night, feeling a sense of warmth consume him as a younger Pietro caught him in a tight yet soothing hug.
"How? What did you lose?" Mercury remembered asking. He felt tears sting his eyes as Pietro had put his hands, not on his knees like he assumed, but on his chest.
"More than my legs too son. I lost someone close to me, a woman my heart is empty right now without." Pietro whimpered.
"Mom!" Mercury gasped at the thought, remembering crying as he dug the crude hole in the backyard for her bloody corpse. This sense of dread consuming him made the boy go limp, allowing the doctor to carry him gently to his ambulance.
After explaining to his driver/butler Ren the situation, Pietro went on to explain how he lost his wife at the same time as his legs on their way to the hospital. All Ren could do was sit in the limo silently as he heard this grim revelation. No amount of soft fabric that soothed his skin nor fresh water he was provided that eased his dry throat could distract him from the connection he just realized.
"The doctor really does get my pain huh?" Mercury whispered as the vision ended, soon replaced with a flood of memories of what happened after that.
"Come on kiddo! Just keep pushing harder!" Pietro said as he crouched from his chair. Mercury's eyes widened as he saw his child self wobbling, actually wobbling because he could now walk! He was testing out his new robot legs the doctor fitted him with.
Suddenly the pain in the mans leg stumps faded as he saw the smile plastered on his child self as he slowly walked towards the doctor, who soon wrapped him in a tight hug. Mercury felt a surge of warmth envelope him, tears of joy beginning to sting his eyes.
After this, more memories began surging, each one happier than the next. From nice dinners with Pietro and Ren to movie and theater nights, to even a simple bedtime story the doctor read for him when the boy had trouble sleeping one night. As his child self drifted off into slumber, what he didn't realize until then was that Pietro gently patted his back as he laid there, fixing him a warm smile.
"Goodnight son." Pietro said as he slowly rolled out of the room with the book in his lap, making the tears flood Mercury's eyes as he remembered those words.
"He…he really loved me huh? He was my father all along wasn't he?" Mercury whispered. With that, the visions finally ended, returning Mercury to the present situation making him gasp in fright. It was not the arrow aimed at him slowly speeding up, it was the look of terror on Pietro's face as he was choked that hurt the boy. With this fear, however, came a sense of rage as well as the image of Marcus Black on both girls faces snickering at him.
"No! I refuse to croak here and let them do whatever they want to him! I won't let them hurt my true father!" Mercury yelled. In that moment, he fired off a gunshot from both his legs, propelling him upward in time to narrowly avoid the arrow and perform a somersault towards his adoptive father, stepping on the chains and causing Emerald to release them due to the sudden recoil. Mercury capitalized on this chance as delivered a roundhouse kick to Emeralds gut, flickering her aura as she was sent crashing into a glass class filled with tools nearby.
Pietro gasped for air as he was finally freed from his neck bindings, going into a coughing fit that was alleviated with a gentle back rub and smile from his adoptive son.
"Your okay dad. I'll make sure of it." Mercury said warmly, drawing tears to Pietro's eyes as he heard this.
"Don't make promises you can't keep." Cinder snickered as she sent towards Pietro 3 flaming arrows.
"LOOK OUT!" Pietro cried. On que, Mercury delivered 3 kicks in the air with a single leg, each one delivering a gunshot that canceled out each arrow. As Cinder prepared to form another one, Mercury seized his chance to grab Emeralds chain off the floor and whip it as Cinder's hand carrying the bow, pausing her movement as she dropped the weapon and struggled vainly to release herself.
"Got you!" Mercury yelled as he sent his aura to his left leg, its gears changing as 3 prongs emerged and soon stabbed into his legs, absorbing his aura as a circle on his boot glowed intensely. Pietro smiled proudly at his son's attack, knowing it had the force to vaporize Grimm, so this woman would be easy to annihilate.
"GET HER SON!" Pietro cried out.
"WITH PLEASURE!" Mercury cried with a smirk as he sent out a green laser beam towards Cinder, eliciting a painful cry as she crashed into the wall, her chest getting singed from the beam's aura energy.
As the beam faded from his leg, which soon beeped and glowed orange on a marker, indicating low levels and recharging, Mercury sighed with relief as he saw Cinder burned out too, her arms hanging limp as she plopped onto a work table, eyes white out.
"Good, she's dead. Now back to-" Mercury sighed before feeling a presence behind him.
"Emerald? Wrong answer." Cinder said coldly as she drew 2 flame blades, delivering a slash to Mercury's back and one to Pietro's chest drawing blood and cries of pain from both men, sending Mercury crashing towards the body nearby he singed earlier.
"W-What the…how in the hell did-" Mercury groaned as he felt the stinging pulse and blood oozing uncomfortably on his back. The sight before him caused him to pause. Emerald was laying down in front of him with smoke sizzling on her chest, her head tilted and cheek plastered to the floor, and eyes glowing bright red before fading showing off a faint glimmer of her iris's.
"T-Trust your…*wince* guts. Not eyes." Emerald whispered through painful winces, making Cinder laugh as she kicked a wounded Pietro off his chair.
"Indeed. Emerald's semblance lets her cast illusions from her eyes, and make you look like a jackass with yours." Cinder said with a snide before eyeing the mortally wounded girl still smoking a bit with a proud smile. She'd be the one there dying right now if Emerald hadn't swapped with her at the last moment and kept the illusion up to distract them.
"Well done my dear. You've impressed me today." Cinder said warmly, making Emerald's red eyes water.
"T-Thank you Cind…..der" Emerald sighed as she drew her last breath, closing her wet eyes with a smile to Mercury's shock.
"Emerald?" Mercury asked as he crawled over to her, rubbing her shoulders trying to shake her awake to Cinder's amusement.
"Seriously? Mercy? The girl dooms you and your daddy and you pity her?" Cinder mockingly asked to Mercury's anger, fixing her a bitter glare.
"And she gave up her life for you and you have the gall to smile like that!? Don't you care in the slightest!?" Mercury roared. Truth be told he was bitter at Emerald for her betrayal, but the time they spent together was wonderful. He honestly couldn't wish for her death after constantly listening to his insecurities and being a source of comfort, even if false, for so long and helping him keep his sanity. He couldn't say the same for this woman Cinder as she didn't lose that mocking smirk that infuriated him.
"Does your doctor feel bad discarding a broken worn out tool? No. She should be grateful I let her be my tool for so long, bed or battle, since she was just a street rat before I found her and took her in." Cinder laughed.
Mercury double backed as he heard this; Emerald was a street orphan like him too?! Now the man was really starting to grow angry and sad as he gently stroked Emerald's hair. She had led the same path as him, only to end up in the hands of a psychopath that discarded her so easily and without remorse, unlike his…
"DAD!" Mecury gasped as he remembered Pietro, whom he saw was still breathing thankfully, relieving the boy that he was still alive.
As if reading Mercury's mind, Cinder snickered as she stepped on Pietro's bloody cut, her heel digging into the wound as he groaned loudly in pain to the boys rage.
"YOU BITCH!" he screamed. She just rolled her eyes amused as she ignored him, deciding to focus on why she came here in the first place.
"Now dear doctor, if you want to treat that and your brat, first you have to treat me to those blueprints." Cinder said.
"Why *gag* do you…w-want them?" Pietro groaned with a wince.
"My employer saw your robot toy's legs in action earlier and wants to experiment adding cybernetics to her soldiers bodies. Safest way to do that though is to get the designs for the, which you ARE gonna hand over right?" she asked with a forceful tone as she dug the heel deeper, making him yell in agony.
"N-Never!" Pietro yelled. He invented robots and prosthetics to help people like his son. He'd rather rot in hell than allow them to be used for war against the innocent, especially his own people.
"Hmm…if you won't give them to me, maybe your boy knows where there at instead?" She asks as she removed the heel from his cut to his surprise. He gasped for air as he saw her slowly advance towards Mercury, flame blade drawn. He saw the boy groaning as he pounded on the ground, trying to charge up his legs for another laser strike, but the doctor knew it would take another minute, one he didn't have. So Pietro bit his lip, knowing he had to give the boy the time, even if it meant risking his entire life's work.
"Alright! The blueprints are in Penny over there just spare him!" Pietro begged, making both Mercury and Cinder's eyes widen in surprise.
"Dad what are you doing!?" He cried out, before a heel dug into his skull, forcing his head to the ground.
"You be quite, or I'll put one of these in your kisser first." Cinder threatened as she held the knife over his rump, silencing him.
"It's both your lucky day, wising up just bought you another one to live." She sang as she strolled over to the robot girl in the corner. Truth be told she was going to kill them both anyway, but she wanted to get the blueprints in her hands first to avoid losing any leverage to a lie.
"Now then." Cinder said coldly as she drew a bow from dust and aimed another arrow at Mercury, making the doctor gulp. "Where in this girl exactly did you hide the plans?" She asked impatiently.
"The plans Miss. Cinder-" He began saying.
"Fall will due nicely." She sneered, cutting him off. She hated being called her first name casually unless one was screaming it in her bed or on their deathbeds.
Mercury grit his teeth in rage hearing her talk down to him, as well prodding open Penny's chest area with a knife to Pietro's horror. That robot was the heart of his father's dream, his goal for the last 10 years. Her laying her wicked fingers tainted with blood on that pure white robot infuriated him to no end. Rather than force the majority of his remaining aura to heal the cut on his back, Mercury forced all of it to one of his legs, charging it up. He knew he couldn't find the strength to stand and fire accurately, so he did something he knew he was crazy.
"Nice. Now that the plans are here, it's time for you both to-" Cinder said before she froze. Suddenly, Cinder heard what sounded like jet engines activating, feeling a surge of dangerous energy in the room. Her skin grew pale as she felt a surge of heat coming near her, followed by a war cry she knew meant trouble.
"FALL!" Mercury roared as he propelled himself at her with a laser beam behind him blasted from his leg, the force of which incinerated it as it overloaded, but the speed was enough to pile drive him directly into her gut, nearly cleaving right through her as they crashed into the wall. The impact made him feel like his head was splitting open, while she felt the all the wind getting knocked out of her lungs as her eyes widened before losing their natural iris's.
"Mercury!" Pietro yelled before clasping his aching chest, blood oozing into his hand to his dismay. Now he was helpless to crawl even just to see if his boy was okay. He soon choked before giving a weak sigh of relief as the boy gave a weak thumbs up, before he weakly took his cuffs and locked them onto the unconscious Cinder's hands and crawled over to the doctor.
"D-Dad?" Mercury weakly groaned as he cradled him. He winced as he heard Pietro sigh weakly and uncover his chest. Mercury saw the gash on his fathers chest, knowing not only was it deeper than the one on his own back, but it was a deadly wound, he knew one when he saw one. "Just…Just hang on! I'll get Ren…SHIT! He's out too! J-Just wait! I'll call-" Mercury yelled in panic as he recoiled, remembering Emerald stole his scroll. He looked over to see her roasted body, knowing there was no way his scroll made it if she didn't.
"What do I do!? If I don't do something dad will *gasp*!" Mercury said with a grimace as his father held his bloody hand to his shoulder.
"Easy son. Don't give yourself an ulcer on my account. I…*sigh* know I'm a goner. I can see it in your eyes." Pietro said solemnly, drawing tears to the boys eyes.
"Dad. Please don't go. Don't leave me here all alone." Mercury whimpered, his mothers body replacing the image of Pietro in his eyes briefly as they flooded onto Pietro's body.
"You won't be, she'll make sure of that." Pietro said warmly as he pointed to Penny's body.
"Penny?" Mercury asked confused with a sniffle.
"Well…promise me you'll either call her that when you finish her or…maybe sister someday." Pietro said weakly. Mercury double backed as he heard that request. His dad wanted him to finish his work, his dream in his stead. A wave of fear washed over the boy, unsure if he could handle such a task, even with the blueprints back with them, feeling it wasn't right.
"I can't take that from you. Penny was YOUR goal, your dream dad!" Mercury cried.
"No. You were son." Pietro whispered as his eyes began to close to Mercury's distraught.
"Dad?" He asked. But Pietro just moaned as his eyes shut, his arms going limp.
"DAAAAAAAAAAAD!" Mercury's cries echoed throughout not just the room, or Atlas, but the heavens themselves as a surge of rain washed over the Pollendina mansion, having lost one a kind soul today.
3 years later…
As the sun rose bright and early in Vale, a small grey car pulled up to Beacon Academy, with a girl tapping on the car door impatiently, ready to begin her day.
"Bye big brother! See you at 3PM!" A ginger haired girl with a pink bowtie on her head cheered as she jumped out of the car as soon as it parked, waving to a grey haired boy driving it smiling warmly at her.
"Just make sure your out here ready this time. No more letting that kid drag you to the cafeteria after school to eat cookies!" Mercury warned her with a teasing smile, making her pout. She always hated that look.
"No fair!" She whined to his amusement. "My BFF and I barely get to spend time during the week cause of stupid classes! What's a mere 10 minute snack break!?" She complained.
"The fact you two got detention for sneaking in the whole school's supply. Even if you're an android your still going to get a budda belly at that rate, eat something healthier for a snack." He said with a snicker making her blush in embarrassment as she rubbed her stomach.
Suddenly a petite black-haired girl with red highlights crashed into Penny, clinging to her back and rubbing her cheek to cheek blissfully as a flurry of rose petals flew by.
"Salutations Ruby!" Penny cheered, instantly brightening up at the display of affection.
"Sup BFF! I heard that Mr. Polendina! Don't insult our sweets! Justice for the cookies will be swift, but they won't be painful for our guts, THEY'LL BE DELICIOUS!" Ruby roared as she pointed at Penny's older brother, who covered his ears hearing her high-pitch squeal joined by Penny, who flared up her rocket boots and flew into the school at blinding speed before Mercury could warn her not too.
"Gah! Guess she's getting detention again." Mercury sighed as he shook his head disapprovingly, before going into a small laughing. He couldn't really find her behavior too annoying, it was refreshing honestly after years of stiff behavior. Mercury gave a solemn look at his cars dashboard, a picture of Ren, His adoptive father, and himself as a child outside the manor he once lived. He sighed as he remembered having to sell it after the doctor died and Ironwood canceled his project, deeming it impossible without Pietro. With less income, even with his job in Atlas, Mercury had to sell the manor to afford the parts and help to finish constructing Penny. Luckily Ren managed to settle down in Mistral with a ginger hair girl of his own last he heard, while he moved to Vale to get a job as a hunter and raise his new sister in a wholesome environment, just like his father wanted, not that he had any complaints about that.
"Man, it seems like yesterday she came into my life." Mercury sighed as he drove off.
He could never forget that day, the day his sister was born at last. After a year of pain-staking welding and data uploads on human behavior and Remnant history, Mercury wept to this day each time he remembered seeing Penny's green eyes flare to life and say her first words.
"Salutations! My name is Penny, what's your name?" the newborn android asked Mercury, who was busy wiping oil and tears from his face.
"My sensors indicate your sad. What's wrong sir?" She asked him and he shook his head.
"Please don't call me "sir", it's not my name." Mercury said with a chuckle. He then frowned as he pondered what to say next. He had many names over the years, "Mercury Black, Annoying little fuck, Agent P. and best of all, son". Yet, non of those felt fitting for this moment, this day his family had finally been restored like his true dad wanted.
"Mister?" She asked while tilting her head in confusion. The words made Mercury feel old and disgusted, but it was then he realized what the proper name he wanted her to call him.
"Just call me Big Brother. Okay Penny?" He asked and she nodded with a smile.
"Very well, though just one question left. What does that name mean? My databanks don't have that term in them." Penny asked confused, making Mercury pause as he pondered how to define it. Suddenly, he smiled as Pietro's warm smile flashed before his eyes, knowing exactly how to explain this.
"It means I'm your family Penny." Mercury explained.
"Really? According to my sensors we don't share bloodlines, or blood at all. I am a robot." She said as a matter of fact but Mercury shook his head.
"No kiddo. Blood ties don't matter, family is who you choose to love and cherish. That's what doctor P. taught me." He firmly said, making her eyes widened as she sat there on the stool pondering his words.
"Really?" She asked and he nodded.
"Let me tell you the story of a great man name Pietro Polendina, or whom I should really call….our dad." Mercury said with a smile.
FIN