The snarls and growls came to an abrupt halt. “Good, now that I’ve got your attention,” I met his blue angry stare, refusing to look away, “no one sent me.” I relaxed in his grasp, trying to convey I wasn’t a threat. “I found the cyborg headquarters all on my own and I was not there as a spy for the Global Allegiance or to hurt anyone. I sweat to you.”
Reaper leaned down, his cool gaze burrowing into mine. “And I assume you want me to simply takeyourword for it?”
“No. You wouldn’t be doing a good job of protecting your cyborgs if you were just willing to believe me. I know how it appeared. I didn’t make the best first impression.” I gave an apologetic shrug. “I should have found a better way to meet you. My excitement over meeting my heroes impaired my judgement. For that I am sorry.”
“Heroes? Did you hear that boss?Weare her heroes!” Viper declared with what sounded like a hint of amusement.
A flash of purple appeared off to my left. I risked a tiny glance in that direction. The Technology Model was grinning. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the cyborg who had their hand wrapped still around my neck.
“Most humanshatecyborgs.” Reaper sneered. “All we were considered to be were tools to be used and then disposed of. Why would any human, including you, consider us to be heroes?” He gave a snort of disbelief.
Dax cut off my attempt to reply. “Why don’t you ask Iris or Aria or Marley that question?”
Viper chuckled. “He’s got a point, Boss.”
Reaper ground his teeth. “Shut up, Viper.”
My brain began to buzz. Who were Iris, Aria and Marley? Could they befemales? Could it be possible? There had been no references to them in any of my searches.
A flicker of hope burst inside my chest. “Who are they?” I blurted out. “Are they females? Are they human? Do they live at headquarters?” A small amount of excitement slipped into my voice.
“Who they are is none of your business,” Reaper bit out. “And unlike you, they have proved their loyalty to the cyborg rebellion.Youon the other hand, snuck onto our grounds, wove some kind of spell over one of my cyborgs that caused him to betray me and his brothers. Then while he was not thinking clearly, you stole him from the only home he’s ever known.”
My eyes slid shut, I couldn’t look at the leader of the cyborg rebellion. Reaper was correct. I couldn’t deny the truth of his words.
“You can’t steal what goes willingly, Reaper.” Dax stated. “I left with Poe because Iwantedto. She didn’t force me. Look at her. I may not be a Military Model, but I do believe I could prevent her from taking me if need be. Iaskedyou stop your advancement. I wasdesperatefor you to trust my judgement but no, you couldn’t do it could you? After all these years you still think I am the stupid Science Model who doesn’tget it.” The last few words held pure anguish.
I longed to see his face, to run to him and wrap my arms around him, but I was stuck in Reaper’s grasp. My cyborg was suffering and I couldn’t soothe him. Frick this. Let Reaper kill me.
I drew my knee back and swiftly planted it right where I knew it would hurt most. His arrogant set of big, gray balls. Reaper dropped to the ground quicker than a sack of potatoes. The hold on my neck broken as he clutched the space between his legs, a string of curses erupting from his mouth.
“Oh shit,” Viper winced as he cupped himself, trying to protect his junk from my ball busting reign of terror.
My knee on fire, Viper hadn’t needed to worry. My knee couldn’t withstand another blow to a cyborg’s family jewels. It was one of the few vulnerable spots on a cyborg, but even their balls were connected to a metal frame. I hopped backward slowly, cradling my knee. A set of familiar green arms scooped me up, lifting me off the ground.
Dax’s eyes were wide as his gaze roamed over my body, visually inspecting me for any visible damage. “Are you okay?”
“What the fuck about me?” Reaper groaned. “That little hellion kneed me in the balls!”
Dax shot the Military Model a glare then rolled his eyes. “You’ll survive.”
The fire in my knee continued to burn and I cradled it gently, digging my hands into Dax’s T-shirt. “Holy blazes! What the hell are your balls made of?” I questioned the Military Model, rubbing my aching knee. “Pretty sure that hurt me more than it hurt you.”
Viper reached down, helping Reaper to his feet. “Don’t think so,” Reaper wheezed. “But I will admit I kind of like you better now though.”
“Should have guessed that violence would be the way to a Military
Model’s processors.” I sighed, meeting Reaper’s blue eyes. “I know I am not your favorite person at the moment, but give me a chance to prove to you I can be loyal to the cyborg rebellion. My whole life all I wanted was meet the cyborgs whose image files decorated my bedroom.”
My gaze pleaded with Reaper. “Do you know what I learned about you Reaper? You hold the record for the most kills on the battlefield along with the highest survival rate among your batch of cyborgs. When the time came, the cyborgs looked to you to guide them to freedom. You have spent years searching for any surviving cyborgs and destroying anything in your path to bring them home.”
“How about you, Viper?” I swung my gaze to the purple Technology Model. “You are the only cyborg to hack The Global Allegiance’s mainframe not once, buttwice. The second time, you infected their systems, allowing over a hundred cyborgs to escape and avoid their scheduled termination. Without the two of you, there would be no cyborg rebellion.” I didn’t hold back any of the awe I felt. They were my heroes even if they didn’t believe me. Their actions had saved the cyborgs. They had saved Dax.
“The Global Allegiance tried to convince the world that you were technology gone wrong. They tried to bury your story, your very existence, but one little girl in the middle of nowhere discovered you and refused to forget.”
I leaned against Dax’s frame needing his strength. This could be the last moment with him. After my well-placed knee, I doubted Reaper would let me near his other cyborgs. I had Dax less than twenty-four hours and the thought of losing him now caused an ache in my chest worse than the one in my knee. For the first time in my whole life I was where I belonged.
Surrounded by cyborgs felt like finally being...home. I had always been the odd girl growing up. More content to dig through dusty, old news clippings for any information on the cyborg program than play with the other children my age. Dirt smeared and dusty, I laid on my attic floor going over everything my parents had secretly saved. My mother never talked about why she had collected information about the cyborgs. I suspected she cared about them as well but felt it was safer to remain silent on the subject. Even though she never talked about them, she allowed me to hang their pictures on my walls and spend my weekends scavenging for any new information on the beings I grew to love more than people.