P O V - ???

"Boss-man." I looked up from my desk to see my consigliere.

"What is it Pip?"

"Piper. Don't call me that. Sounds short for pipsqueak..."

"I will call you what I desire, now what do you want? Shouldn't you be gathering data or something?"

"That's the thing. Look at this!"

Pip laid a file on my desk. Avery Chronos... Bipedal Cyber-Sentry huh? So they really are going to use her for weaponry. That's a problem.

"We need to talk to her now. You'll come with me."

"You're sure about that? You know why I don't do missions I-"

"I think your expertise in words will persuade her. Don't fail me. Be ready soon. We're expecting a new member."

_________________________________

P O V - Avery

"All of that crap and they STILL think it was my fault? I check my equipment with careful expertise, it was sabotaged! SABOTAGED!"

"Please Avery, calm down..."

"Shut up Shaun, just leave would you? Not right now."

"...yes, Ms. Chronos."

He left.

...

Who the hell is at the window? Why are they dressed like that? He has long hair... it's pretty. Who's the kid with him? He's struggling to get up. I guess I'll open up the window for 'em, don't want them to fall and die.

I opened up the window and the boy looked relieved- holy shit up close he looks older, he's not a boy, he's like 20! Still young, but I thought he was like 14-

"Oh gosh, thank you for opening that."

"It's uh- no problem... who are you, what are you doing here?"

"We needed to talk to you!"

"Oh, what are you, a reporter? Good luck trying to do that, I can't talk."

I started to close the window.

"What? No- I"

"What he's trying to say is-" long-haired man interrupted him. "We know who killed you."

I immediately lifted the window back open.

"What?"

"You heard me, and you better believe it. We know your story."

The kid nodded.

"We'll show you! Look, I have a bit of footage and evidence. See, see?"

How adorable, I cracked a smile. I stared at the laptop's screen...

That... that's my house. It looks terrible...

Who's that going near? They look so suspicious, they had what appeared to be a walkie talkie on their hip. And was dressed in black... the camera zoomed in on his head and he- he took off the mask-

It's... him.

"Professor Brillow? He's behind this? I'm gonna kick his ass when I get back at him! He fucking put me here, he killed me!"

The man with long hair looked at me.

"Ah, so you know him? This will be easy then. We want to make a... deal with you."

"Throw it at me."

"Well, we know that you'll be used as some metal toy by the government and that the Professor now said is 'retired' because he couldn't 'bear the loss' of his beloved top student."

"What an asshole. Alright, get to the point."

"We can get you out of here. We'll be able to keep you hidden from the government, completely undetected. You see, they can't touch us, and if they do, they are in for a lovely treat."

"Go on."

"Pip?"

The boy perked up at this so-called name. He calls him Pip. PIP? That's adorable... He started to speak.

"We can get you out of here, and we can locate Brillow... We'll uh- call him that for now because that's what you know him as. We'll also provide you information and proper defensive training so you won't be so vulnerable if anything were to happen if he or his fellow gang members find out that you're alive."

"WAIT- HE'S IN A GANG?"

"Correct, but since we are helping you, you need to help us."

"I see. I'm not exactly sure what I can do, but-"

"Not sure? What do you mean not sure? You're an amazing scientist!" Long-haired man nudged him and tsked.

"He has an obsession."

Pip paused and blushed a bit, then scowled at the man.

"I do not! Ahem, anyway. You specialize in tech and stuff. You're crazy smart and we need your help to create some tools for us. We'll also provide you with cash and a place to stay. It's an improvement from this dump."

"Well... maybe, but only on one condition."

The boy and the man looked at each other with confused faces. What more could she possibly want right now? She can't go into the public or do much right now so why-

"I want a lifetime supply of energy drinks of all kinds. A fridge full of string cheese as well. I need my snacks, and I need my drinks to power through the work."

They all stared at each other for a moment.

"So like... Nos and stuff?"

"I prefer Monster over anything else, but yes."

The man spoke up.

"That's easy darling. You've got yourself a deal, woman."

Before they left out of the window, they gave me an earpiece. They told me it was for communication, so I would know when this is all going to happen. I placed it behind my ear and covered it up with my hair.

Sorry Jodey, nice meeting you, but I have better plans ahead.