Captain Possible and The Centurion Legacy

Chapter Twelve: Reaping the Whirlwind

Drakken's metal feet tromped along the steel walkways within what used to be the corporate headquarters of a fast food chain. The air was sterile, yet had the taste of metal and oil. Synthodrones passed by on either side, granting him space to move through the halls as he strode, absent minded. Shego was in Hephaestus' chambers, under repairs. While Drakken knew that Erik had been created as a completely loyal servant and Warlord, he was beginning to question Shego's purpose here.

"Ah, Lord Drakken." came a heavily accented, electronic voice. "Vhy ze face of conzusion? Perhaps you vequire assistance?"

Drakken stopped and rolled his eyes. "No, Dementor..." he began, then paused. "Actually, yes..." Drakken turned to glare down at the diminutive synthetic, the red line of light that shined from his mechanical eye running along Dementor's frame. "What is your purpose here?"

Dementor seemed to smile, despite his lack of mobile facial features. "I am vere to be zerving, Lord Drakken."

Tilting his head slightly, Drakken approached Dementor, staring down his metal nose at him. "Yes, but why you? Why did Hephaestus bring you out as a servant, Dementor?"

Dementor shrugged innocently. "Who am I to question ze visdom ov Hevestus?"

Drakken frowned at him. "Indeed."

"I zought zince you zeemed so unjoyful, you could use Hevestus' ajurance. "

Drakken glared. "There is no reason to bother Hephaestus with my... thoughts. I am simply considering my next move in ridding this planet of Kim Possible's presence."

"Okay, okay." Dementor replied, holding up his hands defensively. "I had zhought zat you may be in ze interest of Zego's... diviculties."

"Zego?"

"Yez, Zego..." Drakken looked at Dementor in confusion, but remained silent. "ZEGO! ZEGO!" Dementor shouted, unable to pronounce the name correctly.

"Perhaps you should go see Hephaestus yourself, Dementor. Get that vocalizer fixed." Drakken grinned, turning away. The dwarf sized robot was right, however. Hephaestus did have some answers he seeked. The vast difference in the two synthomechs troubled him. Erik had never disobeyed orders, not even questioned them. But Shego had continually and openly defied him, much as she had before in her career as a henchwoman, developing her own pride and agenda to destroy Kim Possible, even to the point of interfering with others that had the same goal.

The ultimate plan of replacing the entire human species with mechanoid immortals that lived and served him unquestioningly was becoming shrouded. Hephaestus could bring back anyone it stored through the use of his digitization ray in various forms, but if they could not be controlled, then what was the point?

As Drakken reached his throne room, he entered and sat. His chair granted him a cybernetic link to his army of synthodrones, and all of his tools of destruction, including Hephaestus. He sat back, commanding the cyber link to take him as steel clamps closed around his wrists and waist to keep him from moving during the process. To any outside observers, it would appear that he had fallen asleep in his chair, but his mind raced through cables of data and power that lead him to Hephaestus. "Give me your memories." he murmured, grinding his metal teeth together.

While Hephaestus was busy repairing Shego, It's attention was diverted, constantly regulating power while weaving broken code and disrupted DNA together, and Drakken was able to enter the vast stores of data unnoticed. Searching through Hephaestus was something he'd had to do often, but there was always the lingering suspicion that the artificial intelligence was hiding something, like a file clerk that was hiding something behind their back. He sifted through images that he already knew well, from Hephaestus' activation in the depths of the Space Center, to the betraying little roboticist, Fenwick Agle. The images continued to fly by until his own, completely human, if blue tinged, face first appeared.