I'll Remember

Chapter 6: Stars

I'll Remember

Chapter 6

Stars

John had woken up early as always, preparing breakfast as usual. Feeding Penny a small bowl of baby breakfast cereal mixed with pureed pears. Something she seemed to like a lot. Tonight was the thanksgiving dinner with Dr. Holiday. He wanted to get this check up taken care of before going.

Penny sat bundled up in his arms. Snow lightly fell around him as he walked up the incline. The mechanics shop was out in the woods and up on the edge of a cliff. He wasn't sure why till he saw it. An observatory.

The yard was full of metal art or what looked like junk to him. He didn't have an eye for this sort of stuff.

Walking up through the garden that seemed a little too overgrown.

He knocked on the door and waited. After a few seconds he knocked again and the speaker next to the door turned on and loudly declared.

"What!?"

John looked at the speaker a little harshly, holding Penny closer since the speaker had woken her up. Her bottom lip quivered and she looked up at John.

"Appointment for John Brown."

Beyond the door there was loud shuffling and a slight curse as something fell over and broke. The door finally opened a little. To John's amazement the woman's soft blue eyes could be seen behind a set of small glasses on the bridge of a delicate nose.

"John...Brown?" She asked. She slowly opened the door and let him see her completely. So this was the woman that Dr. Holiday said was a horrible person. "I'm Dr. Ren Anthem." She introduced herself as she put her hair up in a very messy bun. Her clothing looked baggy on her frame and the look of her told him that she likely slept in her clothing.

"Should I come back later?" John asked her. She looked over her shoulder as she walked toward the middle of the room.

"No...and yes. You'll have to come back later. I'm your mechanic. Now lay down. You can put the bug in the crib here. You can't hold her when I look over you." She said as she sat down behind a screen.

John watched her as she turned something on and the whole room lit up. It was huge. The walls were full of books. The loft had a telescope. There was a kitchen in the back corner and the shower was in plain view...the ceiling was glass. He was almost glad he couldn't see the toilet.

"Wow..." He whispered, laying Penny down and covering her with his jacket. A creative way the nurses at the hospital got Penny to go to sleep when John wasn't around. She felt secure that way in not so familiar places.

Laying down on the cot. Ren walked over and placed a small circlette on his chest. John jumped feeling how cold it was. The scope looked like any other stethoscope. The woman looked thoughtful for a moment until she threw back his shirt and pressed on something. To Johns amazement a side panel opened up. He panicked.

"Oh my god!" The woman just rolled her eyes and moved something a little before she listened again. She could still see the horrible look on Johns face, and the quick breathing he was doing. He'd hyperventilate if she didn't defuse this now.

"You are 87% cyborg with over 13k items hidden within your body." She informed him. "What, did you think you could only extend your arms and legs?" She giggled, shaking her head.

"I'm...what am I?" He looked up at the woman again. She slid her glasses off and leaned into John.

"You are a complex human organism that was in an accident. Because of the paperwork you signed with the department of interpol upon your employment they decided to employ my mentor to add these...things to your body. You are now the most sophisticated piece of hardware and software that this world has ever seen. Because of this technology your niece still has family to be with." She told him as she sat back down. A scanner began to swing down above him. A bright light enveloped the room. After about ten minutes the scan ended and the light dissipated.

"Whats going to happen to me?" He asked. Ren looked up over the tablet she now had in her hands.

"Youre going to be Inspector Gadget like a good boy, be the best uncle you can be for that kitten...and your going to live your life...for them." Ren said. That seemed loaded. John looked around at Penny who was sitting up rubbing one of her eyes.

"Doctor?" He asked. She looked up at him and glared.

"Question...everything." She told him. "Even Dr. Holiday...because she plays like she's just as innocent as that kid." She ran her fingers over her shoulder. How could she be in that tank top when it was so cold outside? "Not everyone was as lucky." She told him. She cleared her throat and held up a piece of paper.

"Whats this?" He looked at it. It had a written notice on it.

"Work out more, or your devices will begin to get too small for you. It's set for a certain weight." Was she calling him fat?

"Oh...right." He looked down at Penny as she held up her hands.

"You're going to..." She stopped, thought better of it. "Nevermind..." She cleared her throat as she looked back at the instruments running her fingers over them.

To John she seemed so lonely. Like she was so used to doing something other than what she was doing now. Then it struck him...her name was Anthem, not Holiday. He looked around again seeing the pictures on the walls. She seemed so happy. He walked toward the door and called over his shoulder.

"Dr. Holiday is having Thanksgiving dinner. You should drop by your sisters." He tried. Ren looked up and glared at him.

"A word of advice about my dear sister." She spat the last word. She stopped to think about what she was going to say. "She's...going to kill you...so don't go." She grabbed something from the table and walked toward the kitchen. A bowl...she must have been eating when he came by.

"She said the same thing about you." John admitted. Ren shrugged as she said the next thing that had John floored.

"I can kill you John...I wouldn't even get into trouble because it wouldn't be against the law. You're already dead, can't kill someone twice." She ran her fingers over her cheeks. She wasn't lying, double jeopardy was a thing. "I had you on my table, you were blinded...why didn't I kill you?" She looked up at him with the saddest face. "She doesn't deserve to be alone." She pointed to Penny.

John nodded as he turned toward the door, seeing a framed newspaper clipping that said 'car wreck kills 3 and wounds a 4th.' Was that him? Why was it framed? Who was the forth? He didn't ask, he had dinner to get to.