Prodigal Son

1

"Cody! You're... You're hypnotized!"
Frankie felt her heart beating in her chest, horror saturating her heart as she registered the phone plugged into the bot's console.
Cody just stared blankly ahead, an annoyed look on his usual cheerful features. His tone was stale, and his words forced, so utterly devoid of any emotion or personality, that it unnerved her to the core. Was that what she'd sounded like, when the whole town had been controlled?
She shook the thoughts aside, no time now.
"You and I are best friends, you know that!"
She kneeled down, tightly gripping Cody's seat, an idea already forming.
"She's your enemy! Pay her no mind.", Snapped the moor-Bot.
"If we're enemies, why would you give me This for my birthday?"
She held out the precious necklace, her heart practically in her throat.
Only one chance, only one shot.
His vacant look was disinterested, and she tensed.
"Look more closely! Don't you recognize it?"
"Yes. So?"
A simple, sharp response. It cut deep, again unsettling her.
One. Shot.
"So?! IT DOES THIS!"
she took aim-
And was completely unprepared for Cody's arm to shoot out, his hand clenching her wrist.
No.....
She sputtered from shock, trying to shake him off, but he held firm.
His seatbelt quietly unhooked itself, the AI beaming from the screen.
"Excellent, dear boy! Now, partner, show her out!"
Cody fully stood up, and Frankie struggled as he tightly clenched her arms, managing to get a handful of his jacket sleeve.
Sweat beaded on her forehead, heart pounding fiercely.
Her eyes stung as she looked into Cody's deep, hateful expression.
"Cody... Please...."
He hesitated for a brief second, but his gaze hardened.
Without a word, he reached out, activated the Phasing Technology on her chest, and roughly shoved her through the bot, the frigid ocean water soaking into her in an instant.
No.
No no no no no THAT WAS HER ONLY CHANCE
She watched helplessly as the bot drove off, water seeping through her helmet- really should've waterproofed that- and had no choice but to frantically swim up.
She broke through the Water's surface, her helmet disengaging as she frantically gasped for air.
Everything was scattered for a moment. Everything a full roar in her ears, as she slowly noticed the weight in her left hand.
His jacket.
She must've pulled it with her when he'd pushed her out.....
A sudden burst of light caught her off guard, as did the roar of an engine.
"FRANKIE! GRAB ON!"
She glanced up, seeing Blades overhead.
Dani tossed down a rope, and she grabbed on, just in time for Heatwave to speed past.
Dani pulled her up, and she collapsed into Blades's seats.
"Frankie, are you okay?!?!"
Dani's face echoed Blades's concern, and she glanced at Heatwave, quickly dissapearing from view.
"..... Blades, turn around. Frankie, please answer, are you okay? What happened in there?"
Frankie shivered from the cold water, but only raised Cody's jacket.
Blades and Dani were stunned at the sight of it, and Frankie felt the wet fabric.
Water dripped from it when she squeezed it. The comm link on the collar was definitely fried, they'd been meaning to waterproof the comns for years.
She felt a weight from the right side, and didn't even need to look to know it was his comn tab.
She felt a hand on her shoulder, and Dani leaned in close.
"Frankie, are you hurt?"
Frankie looked at her, then Blades, then the jacket.
"..... He's gone....."
Frankie burst into tears, and Dani pulled her close.
Blades silently turned back, the only sounds besides his engine being Frankie's sobs.
-
"And .... He was just so.... Different."
Frankie trembled, clutching the necklace in a vice grip.
She looked at the small pendant, and sighed, pulling the blanket draped around her shoulders tighter.
".... He just wouldn't listen to me.... Morocco had him deep."
Graham paced anxiously around the firehouse, deep in thought.
"First of all: how'd the moor-Bot get one of those phones in the first place?"
"The Best Left Forgotten Facility."
Doc Greene rubbed his head, then started scrolling through archived records on a tablet.
"After you all arrested Madeline Pinch, most of her technology was confiscated as evidence. Except, for the phones. The mind control phones were locked away in the best left forgotten facility..... Where the Virus was also being held..."
Baranova scowled, gripping Doc's shoulder.
"We know the Virus had been casing the lab, stealing parts and tools to rebuild the moor-Bot in the first place, looks like it wasn't limited to there. It must've raided the B.L.F prior to staging it's attack."
Charlie looked over at the damp jacket, slung over a chair to dry.
".... Doc, I thought you decommissioned the confiscated technology."
"I did! Honest!"
Baranova peeked over his shoulder, commenting as she started at the screen,
"We also had the technology schematics uploaded to a private database. We had no intention of using them, of course, but it was just proper scientific procedure to understand how they worked. The files weren't publicly accessable, but as mentioned, the virus had infiltrated the lab for weeks. It probably breached our servers, learning how to reactivate the technology."
"Agreed, Anna. Charlie, I promise you, we would've never saved those records if we'd known the phones would be used again."
Charlie tore his gaze from the jacket, then sighed, rubbed his neck.
"... No time to think about what happened, now, we need to focus on getting my son back. Is there any way to shut the phone down remotely?"
"I'm afraid not."
Graham suddenly looked up, chiming in,
"And even if there was, I don't think we should. If the control breaks while Cody's still seperated from us, he'd only be in more danger. From what Frankie told us, right now, the moor-Bot actually seems to like him. If he started fighting back, who knows what'd happen."
"So basically, we've got shit."
Everyone looked over as the firehouse doors swung open, in storming Heatwave and Kade.
Both had dark looks embedded in their features, a crushing feeling of despair radiating off both of them.
Kade strode over, snarling out,
"We lost the trail. Damn thing was just too fast. He's gone."
Heatwaves's heavy metal steps echoed throughout the entire building, a sense of pure fury tainting the air around him.
Suddenly, without warning, he screamed out, his fist colliding with the wall.
The cement cracked beneath his rage, dust clouding the air as he roughly yanked his fist out.
"WE HAD HIM!!! WE WERE RIGHT ON TOP OF HIM!!! BUT HE GOT AWAY!!!"
Boulder and Chase rushed over, each grabbing one of his sides, attempting to drag him away.
"LET GO OF ME!"
Chase did not in fact let go, replying, "Heatwave, while we are all under enotional distress, I cannot condone property damage and vandalism!"
Boulder was a tad looser on his grip, softly saying, "Heatwave, we need to talk this out, okay? We're all hurting right now, but lashing out won't help."
Heatwave struggled in their grasp, but slowly, dropped to his knees.
His hands met the floor, his head bowed low as Chase and Boulder gave one another helpless looks, before a low, pained cry escaped heatwave.
Boulder silently leaned over and rubbed his back, the emotion all escaping heatwave at once, in shrill, pained whines.
It was a haunting sight, everyone unable to look away.
Kade saw the sheer despair oozing from Heatwave, and slowly clenched his fists.
That monster had just invoked the wrong family.
He'd get his brother back if it killed him.
-
The moor-Bot emerged from the Water's depths, slowly creeping along the shore.
"Almost there, my partner...... Almost there...."