“Boys, play nice. And before you tell me that I shouldn’t be on my feet, I am starting to feel really good…like really, really, fucking good.”
Dax’s head popped up, a huge smile on his face. “That would be the upgrade. You’re welcome.”
Oz’s eyes went wide, her eyebrows nearly hitting her hairline. “Upgrade? Like the one you gave Poe? What the hell…you know what, never mind. So, do I have superpowers now?”
Dax laughed. “Not quite. You’ll heal faster and be stronger. Also, you will not die…well not for a second time, that is.”
“Cool!”
Dax bristled. “Cool? That is all you have to say? Do you know how much time it took to create something like that? How brilliant I had to be to even think up the measurements and calculations to make something that gave you humans a huge advantage? It rearranges your stupid, inadequate, and quite frankly, primitive DNA-and you think it’s only justcool?”
“Relax, Science Model,” Oz let out a laugh. “You’re magical…a true cyborg wizard and I wouldn’t be here without you. Poe is one lucky girl and I hope that I am now lucky enough to call you my friend.”
Dax relaxed, the tension leaving his frame. He reached up, straightening his bow tie, his cheeks darkening. “Well, yes. Of course. I can always use more friends.”
Oz smiled, amusement flickering in her eyes. “Now back to you two.” Twisting around, she pinned Axios with a stern glare. “Axios, you know I think you are incredible. You became my friend without a second thought, not caring what others thought. You will always be my cyborg bestie, but Viper is the cyborg I am in love with. I know. Kind of shocked the hell out of the both of us, too, but it’s the truth and it’s real and it’s everything.” Her breath caught and I felt my own do the same.
The beat of her heart matched mine and when I scan my processors, I feel her there, too.
And when she turned to me next, pure warmth sparked inside my core.
“V, you have me. Today, tomorrow, and for forever. If you forget or start to worry, just reach for me and I’ll be there. Axios is my friend and I care about him deeply, but Ichose you.”
I stood frozen as she sauntered up to me, her palms sliding up my chest. I trembled at the slight touch, circuits going haywire inside my frame.
She gazed into my eyes, and I swore I could see flashes of purple in her blue depths. “You’re it for me, big guy. Got it?” She moved to stand beside me and slipped her hand into mine.
Axios stared at the sight of our joined hands for a moment then let out a breath. “Fine. If Viper’s truly the one you want.”
“He is,” Oz confirmed, rising on her tiptoes to put a kiss to my cheek.
Rust’s brow creased. “Sorry. Does anyone else find that weird? Her lips and hands are all over the most touch phobic cyborg of the whole rebellion.”
“Love is a magical thing,” Dax stated. “Even I don’t understand how it works, but I’m happy it exists.”
Under that lab coat, Dax was a hopeless romantic. And standing here with Oz’s hand in mine, I finally understood why Dax had run with Poe that day.
Love makes cyborgs insane, it seems, but in the best way possible. Maybe we need to discuss that at a later date if more of us find females. My fellow cyborgs don’t know what they are in for.
“May we all be blessed to find it one day,” Rust added, a mix of hope and pain on his face. I knew that in his past, he had the unfortune luck to fall for the doctor who had taken Aria, then tormented Reaper and Theo. The doctor had also been responsible for harming Iris and Dash.
The whole rebellion was glad she was dead, and Rust had been one that had helped to kill her. After, Aria had claimed he was just as much of a prisoner of the doctor as the others had been and invited him to join the rebellion.
I knew many had kept their distance, not trusting him, believing him tainted from the time with the doctor.
Strangely enough, the ones who had decided to befriend him had been Dax, Dash, and Brone. I wasn’t sure he would ever get over the guilt and shame he carried.
Oz knew none of this as she walked over and touched his arm. “I saw you, you know. It was a bit of a blur, and not going to lie, that jab to the chest sucked, but without it I don’t think I would have made it back to Viper even following his code. So, thanks, big red. And I’m with you. I hope every cyborg that wants love can find it, and that includes you.”
Rust ducked his head as his cheeks darkened. “Thank you,” he said softly.
She smiled at the group of cyborgs that were gathered in the lab. She rubbed her hands together, a wicked grin spreading across her face. “I’ve gotten the upgrade, and activating my implant won’t kill me any longer. So when are we kicking some Global Allegiance ass and saving some fucking cyborgs?”