Summary: Ivan's friend and boss was taken by an unknown entity, forcing Ivan to take on a new identity and go undercover looking for Kolt. When he finds him, Kolt is in rough shape and the escape isn't as clean as either of them could have hoped for. Now, with Kolt free, and Ivan captured, Kolt can only try to recover in time to rescue his friend and keep him from being turned into a living weapon in his place.
Extra Content - Goodnight, Demon Slayer
Prologue - Captain's All
Extra Content - Alchemy Mondays
Part 1 - Oh, How Far You've Fallen
Part 2 - Oh, How Much Farther You've Fallen
Part 3 - What's on Your Mind?
Part 4 - Maybe we Should Try it
Part 5 - The Box and the Jar
Part 6 - Granola Bar
Part7 - Beater, Gambler, Watcher
Part 8 - Bid for Escape
Part 9 - How Much is that Doggie in the Window?
Part 10 - Phoenix
Part 11 - Apple Slices
Part 12 - Whispers and Echoes
Part 13 - What are we?
Part 14 - Oubliette
Part 15 - Satisfying
Part 16 - It is As I Am
Part 17 - Morse Code
Part 18 - The Ruby Coalition
Part 19 - W4#20
Part 20 - Get Out
Part 21 - High Speed Chase
Part 22 - Damaged Goods
Part 23 - Infiltration
Part 24 - Accepting Help
Part 25 - Electric Sheep
Part 26 - Needed to Help
Part 27 - Escaped Containment
Part 28 - Board Meeting
Part 29 - Beater's Return
Part 30 - Respect Earned
Part 31 - Subconsciousness
Part 32 - Mission Prep
Part 33 - On Sight
Part 34 - Just Talk
Part 35 - Punishment
Part 36 - Picking up the Pieces
Part 37 - Salvageable
Part 38 - Cedar
Part 39 - Uncertainty
Part 40 - Lovely Weapon
Part 41 - The Search Begins
Part 42 - Put Back Together Again
Part 43 - Beta-3
Part 44 - Zeroing In
Part 45 - Performative
Part 46 - Twisted Care
Part 47 - Persuasion
Part 48 - Cutting it Close
Part 49 - Pipe Down
Part 50 - Entry 1
Part 51 - Friends
Part 52 - Heroic Interference
Part 53 - Argument
Part 54 - A Walk Outside
Part 55 - Undercover Operative
Part 56 - Thank You
Summary: Ivan's friend and boss was taken by an unknown entity, forcing Ivan to take on a new identity and go undercover looking for Kolt. When he finds him, Kolt is in rough shape and the escape isn't as clean as either of them could have hoped for. Now, with Kolt free, and Ivan captured, Kolt can only try to recover in time to rescue his friend and keep him from being turned into a living weapon in his place.
Fallen Masterlist - Part 38
Content: Living weapon whumpee, descriptions of a facial wound, facial whump, mentioned whip wounds, multiple whumpees, whumpee on whumpee violence, captured, bound, sedated, creepy whumpers
Three days in the box really did a number on a weapon.
Alpha-2 watched blankly as people moved around him, preparing him and his gear for the next mission. Despite him being let out of the box yesterday, everything was still too overstimulating. The lights too bright, the noise so cacophonous he was afraid he was going to miss an order from one of his superiors, and his back and face still ached.
He saw the way people avoided looking at him. Careful to avert their eyes from his face. It had been stitched back together the day before. While they had hired someone with a healing Power to heal his hands and keep them from becoming useless, his face had not received the same treatment. He was meant to scar and scar badly.
He hadn't seen Dr. LeAnne yet. He didn't know if she knew what Harry had done to him. He didn't know if she would think it bad enough for her to plan Harry's downfall.
He hoped so. He wanted to kill Harry.
But maybe Alpha-2 had deserved that treatment. After all, he had been a disobedient weapon and gone against orders. He had faltered. He had let memories get between him and his task.
He felt so guilty as he continued to cling to those memories.
He had finally connected a name to those screams he sometimes heard in the Jar. The ones that seemed to tear his very soul apart. That was Kolt.
The same Kolt that stood there, not running and not attacking. Begging Alpha-2 to come back with him. To be... to be Gale again. To be protected.
Alpha-2 still couldn't decide if he regretted not going with Kolt. He had regretted even considering the proposition while Dr. LeAnne had been in the room. When she had expressed her disappointment in him, but, after she had left, the regret started to turn. He regretted not going with Kolt to safety. If Harry was going to keep Dr. LeAnne away from him and if Dr. LeAnne wouldn't let him kill Harry, he decided he would leave with Kolt the next time Alpha-2 saw him.
He really, really hoped he would get to see Dr. LeAnne soon.
Almost as though his wish had pulled her into existence, there she was across the room.
He didn't smile, that hurt too much, but he did sit straighter and make himself look as perfect as he could for her.
She barely looked at him at first, talking with someone on the phone and then with the person who was managing the workers preparing the gear. And then she made her way over to him.
He could tell the instant she saw his facial wound. Harry must not have told her about it because the look of absolute devastation vindicated Alpha-2 in a way he would never be able to put words to.
She came to him faster, gently cupping his jaw on the good side of his face.
"What did he do to you?" she seethed, words dripping with venom.
"Kolt Tolket made a comment about this weapon not having facial scars. Harry decided to punish this weapon based on that comment, ma'am."
She crooned softly, leaning over him to place a kiss just above his eyebrow. His eyes fluttered shut as he did so, and he allowed himself to lean into her touch.
"This weapon has missed you," he admitted.
"I know. I've missed you too, but you know why I couldnât see you, right?"
"This weapon needed to be punished," he murmured. But did he deserve to have his face cut into like that? Did Dr. LeAnne believe that?
When he opened his eyes, he could tell she did not believe it. She would find revenge for him. She would find some way to let him kill Harry.
Relieved, he focused on her.
"Have you been briefed on your mission?" she asked.
"This weapon is to go on a capture mission," he said. "Harry wants more weapons."
"He does. And with the process of Power transmission almost down to a science, he will get what he wants," Dr. LeAnne said in an inscrutable voice.
Alpha-2 felt something jump nervously in his chest. Other weapons. He hadn't even thought about... Dr. LeAnne would be involved in that process. Of course she would, and they would take up more of her time because they would be new and untrained. She would have her attention on other weapons and not on Alpha-2.
Distressed, he swallowed hard, trying to find the right question to ask. One that wouldn't assume anything about his relationship with her, whatever it was, but one that would get him the comfort he needed.
She watched him before she smiled. "I know what you're thinking. Ask it, Alpha-2."
"This... this weapon is afraid that its mistress will like another weapon better," he rasped.
She ran a hand over his head. "Oh, never, Alpha-2. You are going to always be the best. You know what the rules are. You have the practice. The other weapons won't be able to catch up to you."
Which implied that if somehow they did, Alpha-2 would no longer be the favorite.
Still, he nodded and planned to be better than all the rest. He would not let any other weapon win over him.
"Alright, I'll let them finish prepping you for the mission. If you do well, I have permission from Harry to bring you dinner and spend the evening with you."
Alpha-2 nodded eagerly and watched as she straightened, looking at his facial wound for a moment longer before turning and leaving.
Alpha-2 closed his eyes, relaxing slightly. He could do this. He could be good. He could be perfect.
And if he couldn't... it sounded like there was someone who would be able to pull him out of all of this.
Powell skidded on the wet concrete, the sound of running feet right on his heels. He was exhausted. He had been chased for 10 blocks now while maintaining his camouflage and he was running out of steam. He felt like he was going to throw up.
He glanced over his shoulder to see the man chasing him. More of a predator than a man. He never missed a step, his eyes hidden behind tactical gear that likely made it easy to keep track of Powell, and a single mindedness to his every moment. He cared about nothing except capturing Powell and the vigilante knew it.
Powell skidded off down an alley, finding a fire escape to get up to the roof of a building. He was good at roof running and his camouflage worked really well against the night sky. He could get out of here. As long as he could get to one of the vigilante union buildings heâd be safe. He just had to make it.
Something sang through the air and pain zinged through his ankles as a bolus wrapped tripped him up.
He caught himself hard on his hands, landing on his hip and skillfully kicked the boluses off before getting back on his bruised feet, running as fast as he could, zigzagging so his pursuer couldnât get another bolus around his ankles. He was so close. He was so close!
He leapt off the edge of a building, heading for the next roof, only for a sharp bang to sound in the alley. A net wrapped around him just before he reached the next building, shot from the darkness below. Powell landed heavily in the gravel that coated the roof, screaming in frustration that briefly overpowered his fear.
He fought to get the net off, gasping for air. It was a trap. He was chased right into a trap! Powell was better than that and he knew it!
He writhed, turning onto his back to kick at his assailant, who had followed him onto the roof with a graceful ease that said he was a roof runner as well.
"Get back," Powell rasped, dropping his camouflage in favor of conserving energy to fight his way out of this.
The operative, for lack of a better term, moved quickly, grabbing the net and rolling Powell back onto his stomach, dropping a knee on the small of Powell's back and pinning his head down against the gravel.
Powell tried to reach for the small knife he kept in his sleeve, only to have his wrist grabbed and twisted hard.
He gasped for air as the pain spun off down his arm. He swore and spat as the operative bound him as though Powell was a newborn fawn before picking him up by the back of his jacket.
The operative hauled him to the edge of the building where he casually tossed Powell over the edge.
Powell screamed as he fell before the wind was knocked out of him when he hit a rescue trampoline. Someone grabbed him, hauling him off just as the operative jumped down.
"That was a good run, Kamo," someone laughed. "You might have actually slipped us if we hadn't brought our weapon here. Alpha-2, heel."
Powell sorted himself out, looking around at the men that crowded him, hauling him to his feet. The man in charge had teeth that were too straight and too white. His hair was styled for the office and he wore a suit with an unlabeled Kevlar vest over the top of it.
The operative stalked over and knelt at the man's feet, hands folded behind his back.
The man reached down and pulled the operative's helmet off, revealing a man with dark skin and closely shaved hair. When he turned his face, Powell could see the recently stitched cut running from the corner of his mouth up his cheek.
Powell struggled against his bindings, the net, and the men who held him. "You're one of those sick corporate freaks! Suns irradiate you!! I'm with the Eastern Vigilante Union! Do you even know who you're messing with!?"
"Yes, yes I do, Kamo. Or should I say Powell Kendrick? Not that you'll keep either name for much longer. You're going to be my pet project from here on out, and this weapon here-" the man put his hand on the operative's head. The operative gave him a distasteful glance, but visibly leaned into the touch- "He will be your brother at arms and your enemy should the time come. Perhaps you will even become his replacement."
The operative twitched, glancing at Powell resentfully now.
Powell snarled. "Likely story. If you think I'll do anything for you-"
The man gave a signal and someone slammed something into the back of his skull, dazing him badly.
"Pack him up. We have a lot of work to do."
Powell was blindfolded by a strangely complex fabric and plastic contraption and all he knew were hands and some sort of harness that tucked his limbs out of the way firmly and gently.
He snarled and swore at every chance he got as he was divested of his weapons and tools and bound so he was practically hanging in the harness from something, only just stabilized by his knees.
There was more movement nearby, during which Powell screamed and called for help until someone placed a mask over his face that hissed ominously.
His last memory was of a car door slamming shut and the world moving and shifting around him.
Dr. LeAnne slowly sipped at her coffee, watching patiently as the vans drove into the warehouse and started to unpack their precious cargo.
Her weapon was pulled out of the van and marched into the debriefing room. She hadn't been allowed to listen in on this mission, but she knew it had gone well.
Sure enough, another man in a similar harness and bindings was pulled from the van. He was sluggish and groggy, clearly from being sedated, but he was fit and looked fairly uninjured. She wondered if he had it in him to become a weapon like her Alpha-2, or if he would just break.
She thought she had broke Kolt, but he had pretended. He had just pretended and it irked her that she had been so easily misled by a man whose very life she had held in her hands.
She shook off the anger and finished the rest of her coffee, leaving the cup on the ground for someone else to take care of while she went to comfort and praise her lovely, wonderful weapon. She could play with the new toy later. Hopefully Harry wouldn't feel the need to be too in the way while she worked her magic.
Part 40
A.N. - WAHOO MULTIPLE WHUMPEES LETS GO!!! Will they become friends or will they make both of their situations worse? We shall see >:)
Summary: Ivan's friend and boss was taken by an unknown entity, forcing Ivan to take on a new identity and go undercover looking for Kolt. When he finds him, Kolt is in rough shape and the escape isn't as clean as either of them could have hoped for. Now, with Kolt free, and Ivan captured, Kolt can only try to recover in time to rescue his friend and keep him from being turned into a living weapon in his place.
Fallen Masterlist - Part 39
Content: living weapon whumpee, mentioned facial wound, referenced scarring, creepy whumper, whumpee afraid of being replaced, vigilante whumpee, bound and blindfolded, beginning of torture session.
Dr. LeAnne sauntered into the briefing room where her lovely weapon was still bound up in his harness and blindfold. He sat straight and tall, unlike last time she had come to meet him in this room. He was proud of himself. How cute!
"Alpha-2," Dr. LeAnne crooned.
The weapon straightened in his seat and he turned his head in her direction, almost squirming in his seat.
She approached, gently pulling off the blindfold and headset device so she could see his deep brown eyes. "You did so good," she cooed, caressing his cheek.
He looked up in awe and relief at her, his eyelashes fluttering as she touched him. She still had control over him. Total control, not matter what Harry had done.
Her heart flinched within her every time she looked at the cut in her weapon's face. It was so deep and it was stitched almost carelessly. He was supposed to scar.
"When this is over," she said, leaning over him to unbind him from the harness, "I will have someone remove the scar. It will be like nothing every happened. You are mine, not Harry's."
He gave a soft sigh of satisfaction and nodded.
"Mistress," he murmured. "May this weapon speak?"
"Yes, my weapon may speak," she said, glad that she had disabled the cameras in the briefing room before entering so they could have an open conversation.
"You will not replace this weapon, will you?" he asked.
"Oh, no," Dr. LeAnne said earnestly. "You will always be my favorite. My love. My pet."
At least, as long as he continued to act like her weapon and her pet. She could work with him about accepting other weapons into her care, maybe acting as an example for them, but that could happen later.
He relaxed, relieved as she undid the bands around his arms, pulling the harness over his head and setting it on the floor beside his chair.
"That asset is meant to be Harry's weapon and pet?" Alpha-2 asked.
Dr. LeAnne nodded, stroking her hand over his sweat soaked hair. "That is the plan... though Harry would not treat a pet well, would he?"
"He would be like Dr. Anderson," Alpha-2 agreed.
"Perhaps that isn't fair to our new friend. He will need my attention and guidance. He will need kindness like you needed kindness, remember?"
Alpha-2's eyes shone a little, tears threatening to make an appearance. How lovely was that?
He nodded and Dr. LeAnne continued, "We don't want him to suffer without someone there to help him. He will be lucky. He will have you and me there to help him. Can you do that for me, my pet? I promise, he will never replace you, but he deserves my love, don't you think?"
Alpha-2 nodded eagerly. He hesitated before he said, "Harry intends for this weapon to keep that asset in check, and vice versa. If he orders this weapon to kill the other...?"
Dr. LeAnne hummed softly. "That is a very important question, my love. If our new friend doesn't respond to my care, then he will be a waste of space. If he wants to be with me, with us, then we will care for him. And the two of you could kill Harry together. Wouldn't that be nice?"
Alpha-2 nodded eagerly. "That would be very nice," he said hoarsely.
"Good. Now, I've brought a few things for you to eat," she said, turning to a lunch bag she had brought with her. "You did so good. I watched the footage. You captured him with so few injuries. I can't help but be amazed."
Alpha-2 smiled and looked down bashfully. "Thank you, mistress. I wanted to be good for you."
She allowed the first person pronoun to slide and she hummed, "That you did. Now, how about you move to the floor so I can sit there and help you eat?"
Alpha-2, as always, did as he told without a moment's hesitation, eagerly watching her as she got settled in the chair.
Powell didn't know how long he was left hanging from the harness after he had woken up and been pulled from the van they had transported him in, but it felt like forever in the darkness.
Every time panic started to set in, he forced himself to breathe deeply and think.
He was a member of the Eastern Vigilante Union. You didn't mess with the EVU without consequences. Especially not when it came to Powell. He wasn't the strongest person in the union, but he had connections. He had friends. He knew a few assassins that would claim to be very protective of him.
He swallowed hard, remembering one assassin in particular he hoped was already on the way to rescue him. Powell wasn't really sure what he and Obsidian were to each other, but Powell wished suddenly that he had told the assassin how much he liked them. How he couldn't stop thinking about how nice it might be to kiss Obsidian.
Powell squirmed again, uncomfortable as he was forced to stand on his toes to keep from swinging back and forth as the harness put pressure on his chest. He needed to focus if he wanted to get out of this situation and away from these freaks. They would try to break him and reshape him. He couldn't allow that. He couldn't let anything they did get to him or make him forget how much he had to go back to.
He had to go back and tell Obsidian that he wanted to take them on a proper date. He had been waiting for them to ask since they were so sure of themself, but maybe that had been a mistake.
And then there were his friends. Wassail, Vista, and Seren. They would be coming after him. They had to. They would. And they would probably bring their mentors.
And Powell's mentor, Jade, would be coming too.
These people messed with the wrong person.
He smiled a little to himself, imagining the damage his friends, mentor, and Obsidian would cause when they came to get him. It would be fine. He could put up with a little torture before then.
He heard something in the hall and he waited, the power dampener cuff burning into his wrist as if to remind him how powerless he was here.
"Well, Dr. LeAnne. This is what we're working with."
That was the voice from before. The guy who was in charge.
"Take a good long look," Powell said. "I'm not going to be here long. You have no idea who you just pissed off."
The man laughed, joined by a woman's chuckle. "He reminds me of Alpha-2 before we broke him in," the woman said, presumably Dr. LeAnne.
"I think you'll find I'm made of sterner stuff," Powell retorted. "So, you're Dr. LeAnne. Who else am I dealing with here? I didn't catch your name before."
"Harry," the man said.
Powell chewed over that. Harry. The current CEO of Harry and Co Labs, then. That didn't bode well for Powell.
"Gotcha. Any last name?"
"Not anymore," Harry replied. "The business is cutthroat and we've found that identifiers like that can be somewhat distracting when it comes to our true goal."
"Oh, sure," Powell said in his 'talking reasonably to a client' tone. "I know how that is. That's why we all pick our vigilante names in the union. The EVU, you know. The people who are going to notice I am gone here in a minute."
"Chatty, aren't we?" Dr. LeAnne said, and Powell flinched back as he felt her hand glide back along his jaw toward his ear. There was something very claiming to that touch. It made Powell want to scream about getting out of there.
"Afraid so," Powell said, controlling his tone. He shouldn't have flinched. He couldn't show weakness here and it also made it hard to keep his balance when he did so. "Should have chosen someone else, sorry."
Dr. LeAnne chuckled. "I'm not worried. Your kind are so tough and prickly when you're able to get out your quips every so often. We have tools to train that out of you."
"You would not be the first to try and shut me up," Powell said. "I'm loquacious. Everyone from my grandmother to my EVU mentors have tried to train it out of me. They would warn you that it is a waste of time an effort."
"I don't think they were doing it right," Dr. LeAnne said brightly.
She ran her hand up his face and pulled the blindfold/headset contraption off.
Powell squinted, getting used to the light and looking between Harry and Dr. LeAnne.
Harry was a painfully normal looking businessman. His dark brown hair combed back, his pale skin without blemish beyond his calculating eyes and thin lips.
Dr. LeAnne was pretty in the way that a cougar was pretty. There was something predatory in her expression and they way that the curls of her reddish-brown hair fell perfectly from the tail she had them pulled back in.
"Well, well, well. Aren't you a pair," Powell said. "Good to see what I'm working with here."
Dr. LeAnne gave him a piercing stare, like she was examining the health of his organs through his skin.
He leaned toward her, despite the danger of losing his footing. "Take a picture. It will last longer. Especially with my friends coming for me."
"Bold of you to assume your friends will be finding you," Harry said with a short laugh. "This is a new set of labs. Secretly purchased just for our plans involving you. We know you don't have any trackers on you, so you aren't going to be found that way, and we were not followed in the least. We have ways of ensuring that."
Powell just smiled. They had no idea he was friends with Seren, then. Seren's ability with finding people and objects was wildly impressive, and had been kept carefully under wraps.
"We'll see," Powell said, enjoying the slight consternation that crossed Harry's face.
Dr. LeAnne glanced at Harry and said, "The first part of training is rather intensive and hands on. Do you want to handle it."
"Why, yes. I think I do," Harry said. He only had eyes for Powell stung up from the rafters, so he didn't see the glee in Dr. LeAnne's face. Harry had played into her hands, somehow. Powell wasn't sure how yet, but he was certain he would be able to figure out what that was about and play them off of one another soon enough.
Powell smiled at Harry. "Bring it on."
Dr. LeAnne left and Harry called in some people who rearranged the room, setting up a chair and then unhooking Powell from the ceiling. They didn't undo the harness, instead hooking it into the chair.
Smart. Powell had no doubt he could have made a run for it if they had just taken the harness off.
Once in the chair, there was a lot of hustle and bustle as machines were brought in and arranged along the walls as well as tables and cabinets. It felt as though they were trying to build a doctor's office around him, which would have been more entertaining if he hasn't been mentally prepping for what was about to happen.
Finally, a machine was lined up next to his chair, complete with wires, cords, electrodes, and dials.
"Mm, fun," he said, looking it over and trying to guess its purpose. "This all for me?"
"That it is, Powell. That it is."
"Let's do this," Powell said, cracking his neck.
Harry watched as a scientist of some kind approached, applying sensors to his body. The nice thing about the harness was that they couldn't get to much of his torso. The bad thing about it was how much focus that put on his neck and face.
And scalp, it seemed.
"Oi," Powell barked when another worker approached with a set of clippers. "Torture is fine, but shaving my head bald is a low blow. Do you even know how slow my hair grows?"
"We don't need to worry about things like that, anymore, Powell," Harry said as the worker started shaving, "And remember, it doesn't always have to be this way. I want you to understand what will happen to you should you disobey me from here on out."
Powell snorted. "I suppose now is the time to indulge in my masochistic tendencies, then."
Harry gave him a tight smile and signaled to the worker by the machine as the last diode was applied to his bare scalp.
The girl standing by the machine turned the dial up without a moment's hesitation, her eyes hungry as pain lanced through Powell's neck and head.
He threw his head back in a silent scream, the pain seeming to last for hours before it was turned off. He gasped for air until he caught his breathe and looked up to see Harry watching him for his reaction.
"That all you got?" Powell asked despite himself.
That was not, in fact, all Harry had in store for the vigilante.
Part 41
A.N. - Broskies, I cannot wait for you to meet Obsidian!! And for Alpha-2 and Powell to properly interact. This is going to be so vibes! And of course, how long is it going to take for Powell's friends to actually find him? Hopefully it's not too late >:)
Leave a comment of reblog if you are so inclined :3
Author's notes: A short one today! Just exploring what Alpha-2's life as an active weapon is like with a side character who may or may not show back up later in the main story line :3
Challenges Masterlist - Voltober 11
Content: living weapon whumpee/whumper, vigilante whumpee, multiple whumpees, creepy whumper, hunted down, bolus, net, captured, bound for travel
@voltober
Living Weapon | Android/Robot | âKneelâ
Powell skidded on the wet concrete, the near silent sound of feet right on his heels. He was exhausted. He had been chased for 10 blocks now while maintaining his camouflage and he was running out of steam. He felt like he was going to throw up.
He glanced over his shoulder to see the man chasing him. More of a predator than a man. He never missed a step, his eyes hidden behind tactical gear that likely made it easy to keep track of Powell, and a single mindedness to his every moment. He cared about nothing except capturing Powell and the vigilante knew it.
Powell skidded off down an alley, finding a fire escape to get up to the roof of a building. He was good at roof running and his camouflage worked really well against the night sky. He could get out of here. As long as he could get to one of the vigilante union buildings heâd be safe. He just had to make it.
Something sang through the air and pain zinged through his ankles as a bolus wrapped tripped him up.
He caught himself hard on his hands, landing on his hip and skillfully kicked the boluses off before getting back on his bruised feet, running as fast as he could, zigzagging so his pursuer couldnât get another bolus around his ankles. He was so close. He was so close!
He leapt off the edge of a building, heading for the next roof, only for a bang below to draw his attention. A net wrapped around him before the rope attached to it dragged him violently down.
He screamed before he hit the pavement. He lay there, unable to breath, his head aching where he smacked it into the cement. He lost a few moments to the pain and dizziness, and when he opened his eyes again, the man who had been chasing him was walking toward a woman wearing armor and head gear much like the man was wearing.
âWell done, Alpha-2!â she said in a cooing tone. âCome here.â
Powell groaned trying to push himself up as the man padded up to the woman. He looked like a dog, ready for a treat. It was uncanny and it made Powell even more nauseous.
âKneel,â the woman said, and to Powellâs surprise, Alpha-2 dropped to his knees, bowing his head. She ran her fingers over the buzzed hair on the manâs skull, scratching at his scalp.
Powell shuddered as he realized what was going on. He had heard rumors of trained weapons roaming the underworld of the cities. He had just been run down by one of these weapons and he had no idea what these people wanted with him.
The woman looked over at Powell and smiled, reaching up to take off her gear so she could look him in the eye. âHello, Kamo. Or should I call you Powell Kendrick?â
Powell swallowed hard. âWhat do you want with me? If I donât report to the union they will come looking for me.â
âOh, donât worry about reporting to the union,â she said with a cruel grin. âWe will handle it for you. Youâre under our care now.â
Powellâs eyes were drawn to the still kneeling weapon who was being stripped of gear and put into traveling bindings without so much as a wince on his face. He was terrified of whatever âcareâ she was talking about.
