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Chapter Text

Wrench's head throbbed as he was awakened by the searing pain in his back, as if someone tore his muscles apart and crudely put them back together again.

He tried getting up, but was kept in place by the metal restraints around his wrist and ankles, now realizing he wasn't wearing his studded jacket and DedSec themed shirt if the freezing metal table he laid on stomach-first was of any indication.

"What the fuck?" he mumbled, trying to get a better look of his surroundings, nothing but a blinding white that blurred his vision wherever he looked. He then picked up movement from next to him, people in light blue surgical scrubs and masks appearing within what range of view he had in his current position.

"Shit, he's awake!" one of them yelled.

"Wha?" he tried saying, his throat aching and voice weak as he spoke. "What are you doing-"

He was cut off by the needle one of them stabbed into his neck, Wrench ready to shout and swear at whoever did it when he began to feel drowsy, his eyelids closing as a more gentle voice told him,

"Not yet. We need to make the final adjustments for the procedure first."

He wanted to demand what they were talking about, what they were doing to him, but whatever it was they injected lulled back into a deep, long sleep.

***

"Are you sure this is it?"

"That's what came up on the footage I managed to salvage," Josh said to Marcus, replaying the footage of Wrench walking down the alleyways near his garage, stopping when an unmarked black van screeched to a halt, four figures in all black rushing out to attack him.

Marcus and the others watched as Wrench managed to stand his ground, even taking down one of his attackers, only for one of them to trap him in a chokehold, keeping their arms against his throat until he went slack, the figure then tearing his mask off to place a black bag over his head and carry his unconscious body into the van, the others joining in before driving away. The footage was cut off from there.

"Think it's the FBI again?" Sitara said with worry. "But why destroy footage of their kidnapping?"

"And it's not like them to just randomly appear to snatch up people they're after. They're usually less subtle about their arrests unless they're undercover."

"Wait, Josh," Marcus added. "Rewind so we can check their license plates."

Josh did exactly that, freezing the footage to zoom in on the blank license plate.

"Damn it!" Marcus shouted in anger, slamming a fist on Josh's desk.

"Don't get your panties in a bind," T-Bone said next to him. "These bastards shouldn't be that tough to track."

"But we've got nothing besides Wrench getting kidnapped by people in an ominous black van."

"Wait a minute," Josh suddenly said, rewinding and fast forwarding the footage until he was able to find the clearly showing face of one of Wrench's kidnappers, a scan revealing their ctOS profile. "Mary Stanley. Age 39. Dropped out of UC Davis. Currently working as a security guard for Phoenix Industries." Josh paused, observing the woman's profile more closely. "Wait..."

"What is it?" Marcus asked, Josh ignoring him in favor of skimming through some databases and records.

"What?" he said, his normally neutral face becoming shocked at what he found. "It can't be..."

"What? What is it?" 

"RenSense," Josh muttered.

"What about them?" Marcus asked. "Did they do this?"

"Well, yes and no. Phoenix Industries, the company the woman works for, is a subsidiary of RenSense, specializing on bioengineering and bio augmentation in contrast to their parent company's nanotech focus."

"You seem to know quite a bit about this," T-Bone commented.

"Ever since the day we exposed RenSense for experimenting on the homeless, I've been keeping tabs on what else they and their smaller companies have been doing behind closed doors. And in the case of Phoenix, rumors have been circulating for a while now that they've been kidnapping people based on certain criteria to use as subjects for their experiments, which their higher ups, of course, have denied whenever its brought up."

"Wait, do you think they took him to..." Marcus trailed off, hoping it wasn't the case.

"I'm not sure, since we don't have any evidence of that yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to make an experiment out of him as retribution for us exposing RenSense's crimes."

You sick bastards.

"And if some of the tips from our followers are right," Josh continued. "The evidence we need should be located within their main office in San Jose."

"What are we waiting for then? We need to get searching!"

"Marking the address on your map...now."

Marcus felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, taking it out to see the marked location on Nudle Maps.

"I'll be heading out."

"Sure you can do this by yourself?" Sitara asked him. "I know how close you and Wrench are, and finding that he was, in fact, kidnapped..."

"Sitara, I'll be fine," Marcus answered. "It's just a lot to take in, you know? But I swear I'll get to the bottom of this, and make them pay for messing with us."

"If you insist. But before you go, just promise me that if you somehow happen to find him during your search, please bring him home."

He nodded. "I will."

Marcus ran upstairs to leave the hackerspace, getting in his car parked across from Gary's Games and Glory to drive to San Jose, ignoring how fast he was going, or how many cars he nearly crashed into, as he raced through San Francisco.

Please hang in there, Wrench. I'm on my way.

***

"Up," a demanding voice boomed. "Up." No matter what he did, his body refused to move, a heavy weight on his back keeping him down. "UP!"

Wrench was startled by the hands of two men grasping tightly around his arms, forcing him up to stand on wobbly legs. His vision adjusted to see another man in a white lab coat standing in front of him, a glass wall keeping them separated from one another.

"Good to see you're awake, Reginald," the man said through a microphone, his voice sounding almost distorted through the speaker system. "I'm Dr. Oliver Henderson, head of bioengineering. I do apologize for your accidental awakening back in the operating room, as we wanted to make sure the procedure was finished before you were due to wake up."

"Where am I?" Wrench demanded. "What the fuck did you do to me?"

Oliver shook his head in disapproval. "There's no need for foul language. As for what we did, we only gave your physiology a slight upgrade."

Before he could demand what the hell he was talking about, Wrench saw his faint reflection in the glass, his eyes growing wide at the large, light blonde wings on his back, the feathered limbs quickly spreading out instinctively to match his shock.

"Impressive, aren't they? And to think we didn't have to modify your genome before birth to make this happen. And it seems they're able to move in conjunction with your emotions."

Wrench paid no attention to what Oliver was saying, his mind going back to the day he gushed about having wings to the others after Marcus agreed to help Lenni investigate the experiments performed by RenSense, how he thought it'd be cool for modern biotech to give him wings. He didn't think he would actually get them in the form of being some mad scientist's lab rat.

"I'm sure you have so many questions, but I'm afraid we're out of time for today."

Olive stepped away from the glass, the men dragging Wrench to the sliding steel door, Wrench fighting to free himself of their grip.

"Let me go, you assholes!"

They ignored how he thrashed in their hold, the three of them exiting into a hallway when Wrench used his knee to kick one of them in the groin. He cried out in pain, letting go of Wrench's arm so he could punch the other in his nose, Wrench feeling the bones break and the gush of blood cover his knuckles, taking advantage of his other arms being freed to run as fast as his newfound adrenaline rush and the weighing wings would allow him.

Alarms sounded around him, flooding the hallway in a red light as he ran past the many numbered doors, his ears picking up the cries, screams, and animalistic shouts of whoever or whatever was behind each door, sometimes hearing some of the captive bang against the steel doors of their cells in a desperate attempt to break out.

Where the fuck am I? What is all this? And why me of all people?

Then came the door up ahead, a green EXIT sign shining above the doorway. He ran straight for it, thinking about how this escape was easier than he thought.

Until he felt the jab of metal prods in his back, a surge of electricity traveling through his body. He wanted to scream out in pain, the ensuing paralysis preventing anything from coming out of his mouth. His unmoving body fell over, the rough hands of the two guards carrying him down the hall until they reached the door labeled 29, tossing him in his cell.

"Pathetic," one of them said before the door slid closed.

Even as he regained his ability to move, Wrench did nothing else but lie on the cold, grey tile floor, silently wishing that this wasn't really happening, that he was probably having some weird dream back in the safety and comfort of his garage.

Except he knew deep down that this wasn't a dream, that this was actually happening to him. All he could do now was stare at the blank wall, wondering if the others were searching for him, and he prayed that was the case, and if he'll ever escape this prison of a lab he found himself in.

Chapter Text

"Alright, I'm in front of the building," Marcus spoke into his phone.

"The data we're looking for should be kept in a database somewhere inside," Josh said. "It should contain important info such as employee profiles, finance records, and if we're lucky, any evidence of Phoenix's alleged kidnapping and human experimentation.

"And that they took Wrench, right?"

"There's only one way to find out."

"On it."

Marcus stepped inside the multistory office building, moving past people mingling about in the spacious, modern lobby, large windows making up most of the building's walls letting in the afternoon sun. Marcus scanned the room before finding and hiding behind a wide support beam covered with crawling ivy near a windowless corner. He sat down and took out his laptop to place on his lap, then taking out his RC jumper to drive it to the nearest vent, hacking the grill open to let it inside the vents, letting it drive around to pick up the nearest signal of a security camera.

The jumper eventually found another grill, Marcus opening it up to let it enter a room full of server racks lining the walls.

Jackpot.

"Did you find something?" Josh asked from the other end.

"I sure did," Marcus replied, using the jumper to input a few command into one of the servers, waiting for the data to download onto the laptop. "Got it," he said once it was done, opening a few files to skim through. "And these files contain exactly what you say they would, Josh. We've got copies of their financial records, profiles on their employees, and...what the hell?"

"Marcus?" Sitara said. "Is there something wrong?"

Marcus didn't answer as he skimmed through the scientific documents presented to him, the text revealing information on procedures related to body modification and limb grafting, sometimes accompanied by blurry X-ray images of human bodies with strange features he couldn't make out. Opening the next folder, he was presented with a list of names, along with notes on things such as age, occupation, and what appeared to be designation numbers. Some listings included highlighted links attached to the end.

"Are you guys seeing this?"

"We are now," Josh said. "It seems like those rumors are starting to have some credibility, as many of these names match the ones of people reported missing within the Bay Area. And these documents and X-ray imagery...what are these people being subjected to?"

"I don't know either, Josh, but based on what can be made out, it probably isn't pretty."

"Was there anything else you were able to find?" Sitara added.

"Let's see here..."

Marcus nearly lost his breath when he stumbled upon on the listing that read:

Reginald Blechman. Age 28. Suspected affiliation with black hat hacker organization DedSec. Subject Designation: R-29. Status: Alive.

"You fuckers," he muttered.

"What was that?" Sitara asked.

"Uh, nothing," Marcus quickly answered. "But we now have proof of their kidnappings, and proof that they did snatch Wrench, and if this listing's right, made him one of their test subjects."

"They did? What are they doing to him?" Sitara asked worryingly. 

"I'm don't know, as it doesn't really say here." He noticed the highlighted link at the end of Wrench's listing. "But his listing includes a link. Maybe it can-"

"Hey!" a voice shouted from the laptop, Marcus pulling up the camera feed of the jumper, watching as the footage went static from the guard shooting it into many pieces.

"Shit!"

Marcus closed his laptop and ran from his hiding spot, keeping the device in his arm as he rushed through the lobby in the direction of the exit, hearing the radios of the other guards receiving orders to search the premise, ignoring the newfound shouts of guards ordering him to stop. He ran back out and got in his car parked across from the building, dropping the laptop in the seat next to him before driving fast out of the parking lot, checking his rearview mirror to see the flashing sirens of cop cars not far behind him.

"Really?" Marcus said exasperated. "And right after I leave the scene. And how'd they even get here this fast?"

"No time for questions, Marcus," Josh began. "We've got what we needed."

"What about the link?" Marcus asked.

"We'll look further into it once you're in the clear. In the meantime, I'll start going through the rest of the data and files, and hopefully try to find a possible location where these victims, Wrench included, are being held."

"Sounds like a plan. Now if you excuse me, I've got cops to outrun."

"You mean drive," Josh corrected.

"What's the difference?"

Marcus made a swerving turn to drive in the opposite direction, ignoring the other drivers honking and yelling that he was going the wrong way, forcing the cop cars speeding in his direction to veer out of his way, allowing him to drive right past them. He then heard a gun go off behind him, the sound of bullets hitting the back of his car following soon after.

"Are you kidding me right now?!"

Despite his frustration, Marcus kept on driving until he could figure out a way to elude his pursuers. 

***

Wrench kept himself huddled in the corner of his cell, using his wings to wrap around his body like a defensive shield now that he got a hang at controlling them, the limbs feeling like they were always a part of him and not forcibly attached onto his back.

Staring at the ceiling, he hoped that someone was out there searching for him by now, and preferably managed to find him before he was subjected to whatever was in store for him, having watched enough movies about scientists experimenting on people with strange powers and abilities to know where things may be heading. 

Then he picked up the sound of footsteps approaching his door, moving a wing out of the way to watch it slide open, two burly guards entering to look down at him with cattle prods in their hands.

"Up," one of them commanded. "Dr. Henderson wants to see you now."

Already? Shit.

Chapter Text

"It's good to see you again, Reginald," Oliver said through the speaker once Wrench was pushed into the observation room by the guards escorting him, the scientist noting how he seemed to act like he was being exposed despite the hospital gown they provided for him to wear. "I hope your accommodations are comfortable, as you'll be here for quite a while."

"Fuck off," Wrench said.

Oliver frowned. "Again, watch your language. Now before we can begin testing, I want to ask you a question."

Wrench tilted his head. "What?"

"Answer truthfully and honestly," Oliver began, picking up some papers off the console to skim over. "It says here you're a suspected member of the black hat hacker group DedSec. And given what information we were able to acquire regarding your history in hacking and programming, we have a good reason to believe this is the case. Is it true you work for them?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Olive made a hand gesture to one of the guards, who approached Wrench with his cattle prod turned on and emitting sparks. Wrench backed away from him, raising his arms out in front of himself defensively.

"Woah, man! Don't you think we can talk without one of these guys trying to electrocute me again?"

"A sensible request," Oliver agreed, motioning the guards to leave the room to Wrench's relief. "As we have an alternative to the cattle prods."

"Wait, what do you-"

Oliver pushed a button on the console, the metal flooring on Wrench's side surging with flashing bolts of electricity. Wrench tried to flee, but the fast moving currents quickly overwhelmed him, rendering immobile as he screamed in pain from the burning, shocking sensation wracking his entire body.

After taking his time to decide when enough was enough, Oliver pushed another button to deactivate the electrified floor, Wrench having to keep himself from falling over once he regained control of his muscles, leaning against the wall for support. Looking down, he saw the patchy burn marks and bright red Lichtenburg figures spreading out on his legs and bare feet. Checking his arms, only a few, fainter burns and figures were seen among his many tattoos.

"Answer the question," Oliver said more threateningly, taking Wrench's attention off his wounds. "Are you or are you not affiliated with DedSec?"

He made no response, making Oliver shake his head in disapproval. 

"If you don't answer me, I'll have no choice but to push the button again." He made a show of letting his finger linger above the button in question. "Again, answer or-"

"I ain't telling you shit," Wrench interrupted, giving him the middle finger as best as his shaky arm could.

"If you insist."

Oliver pushed the button again, Wrench regretting his choice in words and gesture when the painful surge returned, his screams louder than before to the point it was the only thing he heard in the bright, electrified room.

Then it suddenly stopped, Wrench allowing his body to fall over once the brightness died down and his throat refused to make another sound.

"Are you going to talk now?" Oliver demanded. "Or should we go for another round, as I can do this all day as I did with the other subjects who refused to talk."

Wrench felt too numb to respond as he lied on the floor, instead gazing at the scientist behind the glass torturing him, wishing the barrier wasn't there so he could make him pay for what he's done.

"Again, answer me."

"Why?" Wrench finally struggled to say. "Are you doing this?"

"I thought I said you were to answer my question. But I guess I owe you some sort of explanation into what's going on, not like you'll do anything with the info. To keep things short, after DedSec exposed out parent company's methods of testing out their research into nanotechnology, and costing them valuable human assets and precious nanobots in the process, we here at Phoenix Industries, myself included, agreed that the best course of action was to take who we suspected was one of DedSec's own to use in our ongoing tests in bioaugmentation. An eye for an eye if you will."

"But why? And why choose me?"

"We have our reasons, young man. And regardless of your refusal to answer my question, you'll now act as a vital part of our efforts to redefine what mankind can become in the near future, no matter the cost to do so." He heard his watch beep, glancing at it to check the time. "And just like yesterday, I'm afraid we're all out of time to continue our chit chat. But after what you've been through today, you'll need the time to recover, as we've got plans that'll require you to be in tip-top shape first."

Oliver turned off the speaker system and left the room, the guards reentering to force Wrench up and escorted him back to his cell, Wrench quickly returning to his corner as the door slid to a close.

Who are these people? And why the grudge against us? Remembering Oliver's explanation about his company's parent company, and that DedSec exposed their unethical nanotech research, it all came together. They're with RenSense?

"Oh fuck," he whispered to himself. "What did we get ourselves into?"

Chapter Text

It was later that night when Josh found himself worrying about the possibility of Marcus not returning to the hackerspace. Even though he knew Marcus was more than capable of getting himself out of sticky situations like a police chase, that didn't stop his anxiety from dwelling on it. He began twirling the drawstring of his hoodie between his fingers, trying to use the act of stimming to distract himself from his thoughts.

"You okay there?" T-Bone asked as he walked next to his desk, Josh startled by his sudden appearance.

"Um, yeah," he said, ceasing his stimming.

"It's about Marcus, isn't it?"

"How did you-"

"I can tell you're getting anxious every time you do that thing with your drawstring."

"Stimming?" Josh said.

"Yeah, that."

"Sorry you had to see that," Josh added, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I thought no one would be looking."

"It's fine. We all have our ways of coping. Yours is at least better than mine."

"What?" Josh asked.

"But moving on. I'm sure Marcus will be fine. He's gotten himself out of some tough shit before, and I wouldn't be surprised if he did it again."

"I know that. It's just given recent events I can't help but worry since one of the companies we exposed want payback against us. And considering how Phoenix easily tracked down and took Wrench, I'm worried if the same will happen to Marcus if the cops catch up with him."

"Speaking of Marcus," Sitara said from across the room. "Look who's back."

"Sorry for the wait," Marcus said as he went downstairs to enter the hackerspace. "The cops were harder to evade this time, but I've managed to make them give up the chase. Might need to lay low for a while, though. Was there anything I missed while I was out?"

"About that," Josh began. "I tracked down the location of the lab where they're keeping their victims, but I wanted to show you the link first. Wrench's link."

Marcus and Sitara joined the others at Josh's desk, the hacker bringing up the list of subjects on his computer.

"There," Marcus pointed out, his finger pointing to the listing for Reginald Blechman.

"So he's really named Reginald, huh?" Sitara commented. "I thought you were pulling our legs, Marcus."

Josh clicked on the link, a black, blank screen greeting them for several seconds.

"Nothing?" Marcus complained. "Well that's just-"

A sudden barrage of documents and images flooded the screen, Josh quickly trying to sort them out.

"Holy shit," T-Bone muttered. "Why so many..."

Josh and the others paused when he opened a folder dated from three days ago, opening a video playing footage taken from what looked like a white operating room, walls lined with monitors and tables displaying an assortment of surgical tools. And a topless, mask-less Wrench lying on the metal operating table within the room's center stomach-first. But what made everyone nearly drop their jaws were the large, light blonde wings on his back, faint lines of blood dripping off where they appeared to be crudely attached to him and onto the cream tile floor.

"What the..." Marcus muttered. "I'm not seeing things, am I?"

"Nope," Josh answered. "They're wings alright."

"But how?" Sitara questioned.

"Who knows," T-Bone added. "But didn't Josh mention these guys were dabbling with body modification or something like that?"

"Guys, you might wanna see this," Marcus said, the others watching as Wrench showed signs of movement, his efforts hindered by what restraints they were able to find with the camera's restricted point of view.

Even with the lack of audio they could tell he caught the attention of the people in scrubs and masks quickly entering the camera's view, all of them surrounding the table.

"What are they doing?" Sitara asked, the way Wrench stopped moving once the group backed away answering her question. The feed was cut off from there.

"Again?" Josh complained. "I understand the need for secrecy, but all this cut off feed is starting to get ridiculous." 

"But we finally know what they're doing to him," Marcus told him, then moved away to take his leave. "And we're gonna make them pay for it."

"Wait," T-Bone said, causing Marcus to stop in his tracks. "Didn't you mention needing to lay low?"

"Oh, right," Marcus remembered. "Damnit."

"No need to fret, it's only a few hours, or whenever the cops decide you're not worth the pursuit. Besides, I'm sure he can wait on us just a little longer."

"I'm not so sure as you, Ray, but if I we'll have to play the waiting game, then that's what it's gonna be. And Josh?"

"Yeah?"

"You mentioned finding their lab?"

"Right, sending the coordinates now."

Marcus checked Nudle Maps once he heard the buzz of his phone.

"Berkeley, huh? At least it's not in the middle of nowhere."

"And we should be thankful for that," Sitara added. "Who knows what would happen if they sent him farther away."

"Well then," Marcus continued as he walked over to the couch facing the stack of TV and computer monitors. "See you all in a few hours."

He set an alarm on his phone and lied down on the sofa, settling in for a nap.

Chapter Text

"Are you sure you want to do this with me, Josh?" Marcus asked as they drove through Berkeley, the streets almost empty from the pre-morning rush hour.

"Yes," he plainly said from the passenger seat. "You'll need my help navigating the lab, and because I want to my part in taking down Phoenix, and by extension RenSense, without...Lenni being around." The mere mention of her name made him shudder.

"Yeah, I get it. And at least Lenni won't be on our case this time around."

"Thankfully. And who knows what would happen if she learned about what Phoenix is doing."

"Knowing her, she'll probably see what they're doing as a transhumanist's dream come true."

"And knowing her, she wouldn't care about the crime they've committed to get their desired results."

"Well that's Lenni for ya." Marcus checked his phone's GPS to find they were getting closer to their destination on the city outskirts. "Almost there. Before we begin, are you ready for this?"

"Ready as I'll ever be. Now let's cornhole these motherfuckers."

Marcus raised a hand in the air. "Oh, up top!"

After their high five, Marcus parked across the street from the fenced complex, only a few buildings scattered within the lot.

"Huh. Smaller than I anticipated," Marcus commented.

"That's only the above level," Josh said, busy typing on his laptop.

"The what now?"

Josh pointed to the screen, Marcus taking a look to see the layout of the complex, including the additional floors beneath where they were.

"See?" Josh continued, pointing to the top layer. "We're right here at the top. Where we need to go is the fifth level, where they house their experiments."

"So this is gonna be one of those underground labs, isn't it?"

"Unfortunately."

"How do you expect me to get in then?"

"The building closest to the gate contains an elevator used to get in and out of the facility." Josh pointed out the window, Marcus seeing the small building in question. "But it'll require a keycard used by security and staff to get in."

Marcus was about to ask how Josh expected him to find one when he saw the idle guard on the other side of the fence, his eyes glued on the phone in his hand.

"I think that can be arranged."

He got out of the car and snuck towards the fence, taking advantage of the guard's lack of awareness to hack a distraction on his device.

"Huh?" the guard said at the offensive image Marcus sent, the hacker climbing over the fence to sneak behind him. "Oh, real funny. Wait 'til I-"

The guard was cut off by Marcus swinging his thunder ball against his head, knocking him out instantly. Marcus began searching the guard's unconscious body until he found the keycard in his shirt pocket.

"I'll be taking that, thank you very much."

He approached the building and held the keycard in front of the door's scanner lock, hearing the affirmative beep as the door automatically swung open, allowing himself inside.

"I'm in," Marcus spoke into his phone as he stepped in the elevator, pushing the button for the fifth level.

"Good, but be careful, as there will be patrolling guards where you're heading," Josh spoke into his earbuds.

"You know me, I'm always careful."

"Not all the time, Marcus."

The elevator arrived before Marcus could argue, letting the doors slide open before stepping out to enter the long, narrow hallway, bright fluorescent ceiling lights flickering every now and then. Searching the area, there wasn't a guard in sight.

Funny. I thought Josh said-

Footsteps and someone whistling a tune echoed from farther down the hall, Marcus quickly scanning the area for a hiding spot, darting eyes landing on a door ahead to his left. He ran up to it and entered the room, closing the doors in time for the footsteps to sound closer, the whistle growing louder. He pressed his ear against the metal surface to listen in, the source of the sounds passing by until he could hear no more. Relived with the close call, he prepared to leave, only now noticing that he wasn't in a room but an even longer hallway lined with metal, numbered doors.

"I think I found where they keep their victims locked up," Marcus said.

"That was surprisingly easy," Josh replied. "According to the schematics, there's a control room for the doors up ahead."

"They couldn't be bothered with a keycard scanner?"

"Security measures, Marcus. That's what I'm assuming is the case."

Marcus walked down the hallway, Josh providing guidance every now and then, paying no mind to the doors along the way.

Except for the one that caught his eye, making him stop to see it was marked 29.

29. Isn't that the same number as-

"Marcus? Why are you stopping?" Josh suddenly asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"Josh," he began. "You don't think that's his cell, is it?"

"You probably shouldn't consider it right now, as we need to make sure that whoever inside is in fact him first."

"You're probably right. Sorry."

Marcus continued on his way, keeping his mind off what he saw to focus on the mission at hand, walking farther until he saw the door marked Control Room.

"I only managed to disable the security systems temporarily," Josh said. "So you'll have a short window of time before they activate again."

"You did good, Josh. Now let's liberate some test subjects."

Marcus went inside, finding a space dominated by computer desks and TV screens showing security footage on the walls, along with the large control panel sitting in the room's center.

"What should I be looking for in here?" Marcus asked Josh.

"See that control panel?"

"Yep."

"That's what you'll use to control each and every door. As for the computers, they should hold an archive on who's being kept in each cell, and-"

"Hey!" came the shout, Marcus spinning around to find a guard pointing a gun at him. "Put your hands in the air!"

Already? But I just got here!

Marcus began raising his hands as ordered, trying to keep a slow pace to let his hand meet the stun gun holstered on his belt.

"I said-"

"I know, I know," Marcus cut him off, his hand grasping onto his weapon. "Put my hands in the air."

He quickly raised his stun gun, shooting at the guard's chest as he shot back, the strength of the shock causing him to miss Marcus and shoot the control panel as he passed out. Marcus shielded himself as sparks spewed from the bullet's entry point before fizzling out, leaving behind a trail of smoke coming from the burnt circuity.

"Marcus? What happened?" Josh asked with concern. "Are you alright?"

"I almost got shot before gaining the upper hand if that counts. But the control panel here wasn't so lucky."

The lights went out, replaced by the flashing red of a blaring alarm.

"And I triggered the room's alarm. Great."

"Marcus, that's not just the room's alarm that went off."

"What do you mean?" Then it occurred to him. "Wait, I hope you don't mean-"

"Attention all personnel!" a panicked voice said through the intercom. "All subjects have breached containment! I repeat, all subjects have breached containment! Please evacuate to the nearest exit or emergency shelter before lockdown is initiated, and may God help you survive through this."

Marcus heard screaming coming from the TV screens on the wall, the footage of one area showing the doors of every cell wide open. Another screen showed hapless scientists and maintenance workers running for their lives as the newly freed experiments, some human and others inhuman, chased after them. Other screens played footage of security guards shooting at the escapees to no avail, the faster, stronger beings taking them down easily, Marcus forcing himself to look away from the ensuing carnage.

"Oh shit," he muttered. "What have we done?"

Remembering the passed out guard, Marcus took the gun he still held in his hand, checking the chamber to find only six bullets.

Great. I'll have to make these count.

He left the room to venture back to where he came, gun in hand and on guard for anything that could jump out of the seemingly empty cells.

"Marcus? What are you doing?"

"What does it look like, Josh? Continuing the mission, and hopefully get out of this alive."

Chapter Text

"What do you mean, containment breach?!" Oliver shouted into his phone.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Henderson, but you know the protocol in the event of a containment breach-"

"Head to the nearest shelter or exit? Yeah, I know that, but what about the subjects? We're finally onto something here with my grafting research, which will require more time to study its effects in our living subjects, and-"

"Again, I apologize, sir, but since the Bay Area lab is located beneath a populated, urban area, protocol dictates that it would be too dangerous to let escaped subjects live, regardless if they're categorized as hostile or not."

Oliver slammed his fist on his desk, the force nearly spilling his cup of coffee. "Fine. Do whatever your squad needs to get done. Just don't fuck this up, you hear me? Last thing we want is for something to escape this level and expose our work to the public."

"I assure you that won't happen, sir."

"Then ensure you'll do it."

Oliver hung up, not wanting to deal with the company's head of security more than necessary. He leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes and taking in slow, deep breaths to calm his nerves, his frustration over the task force being sent in to gun down all of his hard work overwhelming his thoughts.

I finally got what I wanted with my experiments in artificial limb grafting only for it to be wasted on this stupid breakout!

He opened his eyes to the faint screams coming from outside his office, sometimes followed by horrifying roars. Realizing there was no point in dwelling in his anger any longer, and leaving himself vulnerable to his own creations, he opened one of his desk drawers, taking out the handgun he kept for emergencies.

"Might as well put you to good use if I plan on escaping here and starting over."

***

Marcus never felt this scared in his life as he sped walked down the hall, frightenedly glancing around for any sign of danger, occasionally jumping and pointing his gun in the direction of a random sound, only to find nothing jumping out at him.

"Calm down, Marcus," he tried telling himself. "I know you're scared out of your mind here, and that you might've played SCP-Containment Breach way too much before this, but you can do this! You can do this!"

He heard a yell coming from behind him, spinning around to point his gun at nothing. He waited some moments just in case before moving on, remaining on edge.

***

Wrench had a feeling shit was going down when he woke up to the alarms going off and his cell door sliding open, followed by the screams and howls echoing through the halls. Being smart enough to know that he'd rather not get involved with what he assumed was a containment breach, he stayed put in his corner, listening, waiting as the chaos outside continued. The anticipation made his hair stand on end, his wing feathers ruffling from the suspense.

When it seemed that things were dying down, which felt like forever for it to finally happen, he bolted right out, almost tripping over the bloodied corpse of a fallen security guard he failed to notice at first. Backing away from it, he cringed at the visible bite marks dripping with blood on the guard's neck, his padded vest torn apart to reveal how shredded up his chest was. Looking around, there were more bodies on the now bloodstained tile, many of them guards and scientists alike. Some of them were in a state similar to the guard he found, others missing their limbs, leaving behind fleshy stubs of where their arms or legs used to be, while the rest were mutilated beyond recognition.

Why do these containment breaches always go from zero to a million real fast? At least it's not like that SCP Foundation game Marcus gushed about.

A roar echoed from farther away.

And I spoke too soon.

"Attention," a voice boomed over the intercom. "Lockdown will initiate shortly. Please evacuate to your nearest emergency shelter or find your closest exit to allow the security task force to neutralize all subjects."

And they got what I'm gonna assume is their own squad of soldiers. Great.

Wrench proceeded to loot the guard's corpse, removing the gun from his holster, checking to see its magazine was full of bullets.

"Why thank you, kind sir," he sarcastically thanked the corpse. "Now I should probably-"

"Wrench?"

Wrench hurriedly pointed his gun at whoever was speaking to him.

"Woah, man!" a panicked Marcus exclaimed. "Watch where you're pointing that thing!"

He froze up for a second, wondering if it was him. "Marcus?" he then asked, lowering his weapon.

"Yeah, it's me."

Wrench tackled him into a hug, Marcus hugging back, finding it difficult with Wrench's wings in the way.

"You came," Marcus heard Wrench mutter. "You actually came."

"Hey, it's alright," he reassured. "I'm here to bust you outta here."

When they parted, Marcus' eyes widened at the red lichtenburg figures strewn all over Wrench's arms, legs, and chest, a small cluster of the uneven lines cutting through the anarchy symbol tattoo on his neck.

What the fuck did they do to you?

"M? Is something wrong? And its not the wings, is it?"

"Attention personnel," the voice on the intercom said before Marcus could answer. "The security task force will arrive shortly. Please find any remaining shelters or exits before lockdown is initiated."

"And that's our cue to get the fuck out of here," Marcus said. "Josh, you still there?" he spoke into his phone.

"Yeah, why?" he answered. "And did you find him?"

"I sure did. Now how do we escape this place before we become subject to a real life survival horror game?"

"The elevator you used will likely be used by their security task force, so you'll need another way of getting out."

"Like what?"

"According to the lab's schematic here, there's some closed off maintenance tunnels on the other side of the level from where you're at, complete with elevators to reach the surface. But it'll take some time for me to reactivate them and disable the tunnels' security to let you two escape undetected."

"More obstacles, of course," Marcus said exasperated. 

"At least these guys are better prepared than for shit like this than RenSense," Wrench added.

Another, more beastly roar erupted, this one sounding as if it were from close by, even if a quick glance showed nothing was coming for them.

But not wanting to meet the roar's source, they dashed down the hallway, Josh giving Marcus directions as they ran for their lives.

***

Oliver kept looking forward, gun in hand with a finger on the trigger as he searched for an exit, never looking back nor paying mind to the screams of his fellow scientists to the tiniest of sounds.

He did whip his head when he heard a low growl, reflexively shooting a few bullets at one of the more grotesque of the hybridization experiments, what it was suppose to be a hybrid of he couldn't tell based off its misshaped body parts. He kept an eye on it as its humanoid body slumped over, landing in a way to let Oliver see the bullet wounds spewing blood from it's chest.

At least you were one of the weaker ones.

He continued on until he found an emergency exit, digging in his lab coat pocket to find his card for the door's scanner, coming up with nothing.   

"Great. Must've left it in my office."

Oliver hurried back the way he came, hoping he could get his keycard before it was too late.

Reminds me, I should probably bring that mask with me too, being my new souvenir and all. I had it in one of my cabinets, I think...

Chapter Text

The screams and alarms only continued as they ran, Marcus trying to keep his focus on the directions Josh was giving him while Wrench ran next to him, both keeping a tight grip on their guns as they went.

"Josh, how much longer?!" Marcus practically screamed into his phone.

"You should be close," he replied, trying to hide his own panic in his voice. "I'm still busy trying to disable the tunnel security systems, but that should only take-"

"Attention," the intercom spoke. "The security task force team has entered the current level. Please remain in your emergency shelter until all hostile entities are eliminated and lockdown is lifted. For those who haven't made it to safety, please shelter in place for the remainder of the lockdown."

"Shit," he heard Wrench mutter."

"Two unknown entities spotted!" a voice barked from up ahead.

"Double shit," Marcus added, the duo changing direction to run down the hall on their left.

"Guys," Josh spoke up. "Why are you going the wrong way?"

"Subject R-29 spotted!" another voice shouted. "Open fire!"

They made another turn to avoid the gunfire, briefly looking back to find a group of armored men wielding assault rifles coming from around the corner chasing after them.

"Josh! Can you find us an alternate route?" Marcus quickly asked.

"Trying. It's kinda hard having to juggle that and ensuring you guys have a hassle free escape..."

Marcus barely heard the rest of his sentence over the screaming and gunshots behind him, a glance behind him revealing the security task force members fighting against a horde of strange, humanoid creatures ambushing them. No matter how many shots they fired at their attackers, they were too overwhelmed by the creatures' strength and resilience. At first Marcus and Wrench were too stunned by the ensuing bloodshed to move or do anything else, watching as the creatures used their elongated teeth and claws to pierce through their bulletproof armor, blood splattering onto their faces as they slaughtered each member of the security task force. Even as they lied on the floor dead, the creatures continued to tear apart their bodies, seeming to ignore the two onlookers trying their best to back away from the scene.

Then the creatures lifted their heads to stare at the duo, blood dripping from their mouths as they snarled at them, a low growl emitting from the largest of the creatures.

"Don't move a muscle," Marcus whispered to Wrench as best as he could, the other hacker nodding in return.

They remained still and kept their eyes on the creatures, who in turn stared at them back, as if both sides were engaged in a rather weird yet intense staring contest, neither party making a sudden move or noise.

Until a shriek came from nearby, the creatures turning their heads in its direction. The largest creature howled before running on all fours to chase after its source, the others following suit. Marcus and Wrench took this opportunity to run away, not looking back as the shrieks grew louder, eventually cut off by a series of howls and roars.

"Uh...what exactly happened there?" Josh asked.

"You don't wanna know," Marcus replied, wanting to forget what just happened.

"Check this way!" a voice suddenly ordered up ahead.

Oh fuck, not them again.

"Marcus," Wrench said, Marcus looking in his direction to find him suddenly stopping. "Over here." He pointed to a blank wooded door, checking the knob to find it wouldn't budge. "You don't happen to have anything I can use as a pick, do you?"

Marcus reached into his laptop bag until he found a folded up pocket knife.

"I have this," he said, handing it to Wrench. "But it's not the Swiss army kind with the lockpicking tools and other thingamajigs."

"It'll do."

He took the pocket knife, unfolding the blade and inserting it into the lock, wiggling the cylinder until it turned with ease.

"Bingo."

"Go go go!" the voice shouted.

"Shit, we better hide," Marcus said.

"Way ahead of you."

Wrench opened the door to allow them inside, almost slamming it shut behind them. He kept his ear presses against the wood to hear the barrage of quick moving footsteps outside the room, waiting until he was sure they passed.

"Where do they keep the light switch in here?" he heard Marcus question, followed by the thump of him slamming into something, and the loud, metallic crash of whatever it was he knocked over.

"Fuck!" he exclaimed. "What was that?!"

Wrench moved his hand over the surface of the wall until he felt the outline of a switch. "Found it!"

Flipping it on, a near blinding brightness filled the room, showing that they were in a small office, and the knocked over filing cabinet in front of Marcus.

"Well that explains it," Marcus observed, looking over the papers and few office supplies spilling out of the open drawers. He raised an eyebrow at one of the items among the mess, noting how it appeared oddly familiar.

With curiosity, he bent down and picked up the mask-like object, nearly gasping when he turned it over for a better look.

"Holy fuck," Wrench said next to him. "Is that..."

"I think it is," Marcus finished for him, checking Wrench's mask for signs of damage, finding none. He passed it over to Wrench, who hugged it against his chest.

"But why was it in some filing cabinet of all places?"

"I don't know either." Looking around some more, Marcus saw the metal desk, an engraved name plate sitting next to a jar of pens and pencils. Picking it up, he began reading it aloud. "Oliver Henderson."

Wrench felt himself freeze up upon hearing that dreaded name, Marcus reading it to himself before seeing Wrench's odd reaction, tilting his head at him.

"Are you okay there?"

Wrench got himself to snap out of it to say,

"Um, yeah. It's just, I didn't think we'd be in his office." His voice sounded almost venomous at mentioning Oliver.

"I didn't expect the same, Reginald."

They glanced towards the door to find Oliver standing in the doorway, one hand holding the door open, the other pointing a gun at them. Marcus and Wrench quickly held up their own guns at the scientist.

"And I see you found the souvenir the hunting crew gave me the night they brought you here." He turned to Marcus, paying close attention to the "DedSec" symbol on his cap. "And I also didn't expect for one of you cyberterrorists to actually find your way in here."

Shitty security is probably why.

"But I guess my peers and I have underestimated the capabilities of DedSec for far too long."

"Cyberterrorist?" Marcus repeated. "Now that's a new one."

"That's what you people are, are you not? Using your proficiency in hacking and computing to disrupt society at large and cause all sorts of discord and disarray."

"Look man, I don't know where you're going with this, but I'll put it out now that yeah, we may do things no sane, law-abiding person would do, and we already don't consider ourselves saints to begin with, but we do what we do because we believe in protecting the people when others won't."

"Protecting the people?' Oliver mocked. "You guys were suspected for causing a mass blackout in South Korea!"

"As much as we regret out role in causing that," Marcus grudgingly admitted. "That's not the point. What we do is protect others from the likes of bastards such as yourself, Phoenix, RenSense, Blume, and whoever or whatever else makes it their purpose in life to exploit or fuck over the lives of others for their own gain and satisfaction."

"As much as I understand what you're saying, I can't help but call bull on that. At least what we're doing here at Phoenix is beneficial to the future of mankind."

"Yeah, if you call 'Let's create abominations of science and give some guy we plucked off the street wings' beneficial," Wrench replied.

Oliver shook his head. "Oh, Reginald. If only you and your friend here understood how DedSec's actions held back our parent company's progress in bio and nanotech that could've improved mankind from the weak, vulnerable vessel of flesh and bone they had to deal with for eons. But I guess you're too stubborn like the subjects before you to understand."

"Dude, don't you ever think about what you and you're mad scientist friends are doing in this place?" Marcus began telling him.

"Of course I do. Why are you even asking me that?"

"Well, think about it. You basically kidnap people off the streets and subject them to all sorts of horrors no one should go through. And if you ask me, that's more fucked up than the acts of cyberterrorism you accuse DedSec of, even it they are halfway true."

"At least what we do here is the lesser of two evils," Oliver replied. "Plus, have you ever considered what today's technology and basic understanding of biology can do to change the world compared to decades ago? Or what it's like to bring these points up only for your peers to brush you off as a buffoon, crackpot, or idiot with their head stuck in the clouds, even if you worked for so long and so hard on the research you cared about with a fiery passion?"

Great, he's probably gonna go on a "They called me mad!" rant.

"They even called me a madman for Christ sake!"

Called it.

"But unlike those other so called 'crackpots' who continued to live their lives in ridicule, I here was selected by the likeminded people of Phoenix to join their ranks, and I myself got to experience the very cathartic process of 'volunteering' the ones who laughed at or belittled me to act as our first batch of human-animal hybridization subjects. I even got promoted to be Phoenix's head of bioengineering for doing things others in my position would've considered unconventional to downright impossible.  And sure, some lives might've been lost in the process, but here at Phoenix, you can't earn success if there aren't any sacrifices made to achieve your goal."

"You can't just seem to give a proper justification without making sound more fucked up than it already is, huh?" Wrench said.

"Call it horrible all you want, but we're just more willing to do anything in the name of science." Oliver moved his finger over the trigger. "I'm not sure if more of you will be sent after me for what I'm about to do, but at least it'll keep the ugly truth from reaching the public for just a little longer."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Marcus warned. "We've got you outnumbered two to one."

"Like I'd actually care about that. As like most others here at Phoenix, I would rather die trying to kill you first to ensure that the truth, good bad and ugly, doesn't get out than die failing the company who actually allows me to engage in my studies without today's restrictions on what counts as scientific research."

He moved the gun back and forth between the duo, undecided on who to shoot first.

"Don't you dare," warned Wrench.

Without warning, the lights went out, followed by the bang of a fired gun.

Chapter Text

If Oliver had a few words to describe what a gunshot wound felt like, it would be fucking hell.

He couldn't keep back his scream when the hot metal of the bullet entered his shoulder, feeling the blood seeping out dampening his shirt as he stumbled backwards in the dark, eventually hitting his injured shoulder against a wall, forcing back a cry from the impact.

Then the lights came back on, Oliver assuming that it was the backup power supply being put to use for once, using an arm to shield his eyes from the newfound brightness when he heard the pair of footsteps running out of his office. Moving his arm away, his suspicions were confirmed when he saw the two DedSec hackers running down the hall.

Oh no you don't, you bastards.

Oliver aimed his gun and fired a shot of his own, keeping himself from swearing when he missed before deciding on running after them, ignoring the way his movements aggravated his wound as he chased his targets, firing another round that missed when the duo made a left turn, Oliver hating how he was always a lousy shot when it came to firearms. Despite this, he made the same turn to catch up, only to find the duo nowhere in sight.

Shit. They can't be that far.

He tried running again, but the wound had a sudden flare up, forcing him to continue on with a walking pace.

"Look on the bright side, Oliver," he was telling himself, as if he were reassuring an old friend. "At least you'll regain some much needed energy, considering that you're still a decade away from the day you'll finally retire to your beach home far from this stupid city. Assuming you'll live though this, of course, and I hope it'll be the case. Plus, you still have some unfinished business you need to take care of outside work, such as Henry."

Oliver was hit with the memories about the argument he and Henry had a month before this mess, remembering the way his son acted malicious towards his own father after discovering what really went on with his work for Phoenix, and how he ran off into the night before Oliver could try to talk some sense into him.

"If I do make it out, I hope someone out there knows the whereabouts of my fucking traitor of a son, as it would be a real shame if I escaped to only find that the truth got out regardless of DedSec's involvement in all this..." He came to a pause as a theory formed in his mind. "No, Henry can't possibly be working for those criminals. But how else would one of them find his way in here to rescue one of their own..."

"Damnit!" came the shout, which sounded like R-29's coming from nearby, Oliver going still to hone in on which direction the voice was coming from.

He walked quietly as he could, careful that his shoes didn't squeak on the bloodied tiles as he followed the voice to a dead end. A dead end that just happened to be the one with the closed off entrance to the level's old maintenance tunnels, and with R-29 and the other hacker standing right in front of the steel door to boot, R-29 in particular banging his fists on the metal with frustration.

"I thought you said this was unlocked!" the other hacker said, likely speaking into some sort of microphone, which only worried Oliver with the revelation that someone else must've been listening in on their previous conversation, and by extension, whatever info DedSec sought out from Phoenix, the entire time. "Josh, what do we do now?" the other hacker asked more desperately. 

I don't know the answer to that either, unfortunatley.

Oliver raised his gun, finding it difficult to keep it aimed properly with his shaking arms.

But what I do know is that one of us is going to escape this alive.

The other hacker suddenly turned around, Oliver not caring if he was caught as he aimed his weapon on his experiment.

Even if it means killing one the most successful of my hybridization experiments.

"Don't!" the other hacker yelled, shoving R-29 out of the way as Oliver pulled the trigger, the other hacker almost falling backwards as the bullet pierced through his stomach, R-29 watching in horror as the other hacker's body slammed against the door, sliding down in a slumped sitting position, his breaths quickened as he held a hand over his wound.

"You fucker!" R-29 screamed, Oliver failing to get away when R-29 shot at the scientist, Oliver falling on his knees as a sharp pain entered his stomach, looking down to find a growing bloodstain on his shirt.

Looking back up, Oliver was met with the barrel of R-29's gun close to his face.

"Give me a very good reason why I shouldn't blow your brains out," he said coldly. "For starters, why do any of this? And why do it to me of all people?"

"If you're so insistent," Oliver began. "Then fine. What I did to you was not only out of some petty vengeance, but because unlike our parent company, we're more willing to have our subject pool include folks that we know society won't actually miss should they one day disappear off the face of the earth, as admittedly, as hobos can only be so expendable before someone notices that something's up. After all, we prefer the likes of criminals such as you, Reginald. And after Phoenix's collectors did some digging on your past, we learned that you weren't always wanted for the majority of your life."

"Liar!" 

"Liar? Me? Well, then why did your parents view you as a burden to hurt as they pleased until you were whisked away by social services? Why did your peers reject you for your rather impressing intellect and nerdy interests? And why did your community fear you for your violent impulses to the point of ostracization? I know, how about because you're clearly not meant to be wanted in our normal, peaceful, and more importantly, functional society. In fact, I'm confidant that others would be better off if you didn't exist to begin with."

Oliver's message seemed to register to him, as his expression of anger changing into one appearing hurt, as if his words pierced through him like a sharp knife to someone's chest.

"I guess you're not as tough as you make yourself to be," Oliver couldn't help but taunt. "I had a feeling that I would eventually find a way to break you, Reginald. I didn't think that a reminder of your shitty past was key to getting you into a state of compliance. So, what are going to do now?" he started asking. "Are you going to shoot me, smite me where I stand? Or are you too busy comprehending the fact that you'll never be wanted in a world that actively rejects the likes of you? And that you'll never be-"

Before he could finish, he was kicked to the ground by a furious R-29, letting out a cry from the attack worsening his injury. He struggled to get back up as R-29 began attacking him in his current state, Oliver being in too much pain to muster the will to fight back.

"Shut up, shut up!" he could hear R-29 scream in the midst of his assault, realizing that he might've pushed it too far in breaking his experiment. So now he had to pay the price for it by enduring the attacks dished out by the rage-filled hybrid.

"Wrench!" the other hacker said in a hoarse voice. "The door!"

And just like that R-29 stopped, him and Oliver looking to find the door sliding open, and the other hacker somehow now standing up, keeping his body leaning against the wall to maintain balance on his fidgeting legs.

"Finally," R-29 said, most of the anger in his tone replaced with that of relief.

"And a little help here?" the other hacker then asked, pointing to the arm wrapped around his stomach wound for emphasis.

"But what about him?" R-29 added, pointing to Oliver.

A roar bellowed from close by.

"I think that answers it for us," the other hacker suggested.

"Good idea." The hybrid gave Oliver one final glare. "I already shot you twice now. Might as well let them finish you off."

R-29 left Oliver's beaten body behind to walk over to the other hacker, putting an arm over his shoulders to help him walk through the doorway, the steel slab of a door sliding shut as soon as they entered the tunnels. And all Oliver could do now was lie on his side and stare at his fuzzy reflection on the door with anger and frustration boiling inside him.

"Fuck," he muttered, already feeling blood entering his mouth as he spoke to himself. "I can't believe it has come to this. First, they actually escape, and I didn't do shit about it, and now I'm reduced to this. I can already imagine my tombstone reading "Oliver Henderson. Grew up a laughingstock, ascended to become a bright scientist, but lost his son and failed his company before dying at the hands of his own experiments.' But I guess that's what I deserve as much as I hate to say it."

A growl approached from behind him, Oliver knowing that it was one of the feral specimens coming to finish him off. Closing his eyes he could hear the growls coming closer, already bracing himself for his final, likely agonizing moments.

Please make it quick.

Until he heard the creature's howls of agony, which was drowned out by the sound of gunfire, both ceasing as soon as they came, followed by the footsteps echoing close to him.

"Oliver Henderson?" someone said to him, Oliver hesitantly opening his eyes to find an armored man bent down and offering a hand to him.

"You must be one of the security task force guys, aren't you?" Oliver replied, the man nodding as Oliver took his hand to be helped up, the man acting as support to help him walk down the hall. "About time you showed up, as my situation is very urgent."

"Don't worry, sir. We'll get you out of here and into immediate medical attention in no time," he assured as they walked.

"As much as I appreciate being patched up after being left for dead, that's not what I'm concerned about."

Chapter Text

Wrench found it difficult to help support an injured Marcus as they walked farther down the dimly lit maintenance tunnels, the only other noise coming from the rusting pipes jutting through the walls as he kept an eye out for the elevator Josh mentioned would be their ticket to escaping this hell.

Marcus suddenly fell forward, Wrench having to stop tp help keep the other hacker upright without being pulled down himself.

"You better not be dying on me, Marcus," Wrench said.

"I'm not going to die," Marcus tried assuring, Wrench only picking up the uncertainty in his voice.

"That's not very convincing of you. You look like you'll drop dead at any moment."

"I was only trying to lighten the mood," Marcus replied.

"Then you're doing a very shitty job at it. And can you even still walk at this point?"

"Of course I can!" Marcus began arguing, immediately losing most of his balance when he tried stepping forward again. "Or not," he then admitted. "I think I need a moment."

"No duh."

Wrench helped lower him to the floor so he could sit down, Marcus leaning himself against the wall for support.

"Marcus?" Wrench could faintly hear Josh say out of Marcus' earbuds. "Are you still there? Can you hear me?"

Without asking, Wrench took Marcus' phone and earbuds, ignoring his protests to reply,

"Josh?"

"Wrench? Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me alright."

"Are you guys still in the tunnels?" Josh started asking. "And where's Marcus?"

"We just got in some time ago. As for Marcus, he's not doing so good."

"Why, what happened? Is it related to those gunshots I heard?"

"Marcus got shot." He glanced back to see Marcus was still where he sat, his breathing getting worse based in what he could see in this lighting. "I don't think he can make it any farther."

"Thankfully for you two, the elevator is just up ahead according to your current location. And while I'll be waiting for you guys at the surface level after moving the car to be close to your location, I'm afraid you'll be on your own in helping Marcus out of there."

He looked back again to Marcus' slumped form, unsure on if he could make it at this point, but knew that he had to try, even as his doubts were telling him it'll be all for nothing.

"I can try," he finally told Josh. "Just promise you'll help in case...you know."

"I will."

He returned to Marcus to put his phone in his laptop bag, shoving it next to where Marcus stored his mask after escaping Oliver's office, before helping him stand back up, Marcus letting out a pained groan in the process.

"Alright, M, I'm gonna need your help if we want to reach that elevator. All you have to do is walk a few more feet for me, alright?"

Marcus gave a weak nod.

"Good. Let's get going."

They began walking forward,  Wrench finding it even harder to keep Marcus supported with the slower steps he took, or with the way his body constantly swayed and his legs were beginning to tremble as they moved.

After what felt like the longest walk in their lives, they saw the rusted doors of the elevator at the end of the tunnel.

"We're gonna make it," Wrench said. "We're actually going to make it...Marcus?" He looked to find the other man's eyelids were fighting to stay open, his movements more sluggish. "Please hang in there for a little longer," he told him more worryingly. "Please." 

Wrench didn't hesitate in pushing the elevator call button once they stood in front of the doors, which opened after a few overly long seconds. When they did, Wrench practically carried Marcus inside with him, checking over the panel of buttons to find just two of them, one with a symbol pointing up, the other with a symbol pointing down. He pushed the one representing up, the doors sliding to a close as the elevator buzzed with life, the shaking it made and the flicker of the lights as it rapidly moved upwards making him anxious about its state of functionality. But in desperate times like this, he didn't protest it in spite of him being convinced it would give out at any moment.

Checking on Marcus, he appeared to be losing the battle to stay upright and conscious, his head drooping while his eyelids kept up their fluttering.

"Come on, Marcus, don't you do this to me!" Wrench begged him. "If you die before these doors open-"

The elevator came to an abrupt halt, almost bouncing as the doors slid open, Wrench having to use a hand to shield his eyes from the harsh sunlight as they quickly stumbled out, failing to notice the figure running towards them at first.

"Marcus! Wrench!" Josh's voice shouted. "You made it...no. Oh no no no no no."

Wrench moved his hand away once his eyes adjusted to seeing the sun for the first time in forever, a panicked Josh being the first thing he could see more clearly.

"Help?" he asked Josh.

"Yeah," Josh replied. "The car's just that way." He moved over next to Marcus, putting his arm over his shoulders to help carry him. "And we'll need to hurry, as they'll surly investigate this part of the compound shortly."

Wrench looked around, noticing how the small building for the elevator they left in was farther away from the others, and on the other side of the fence surrounding the rest of the compound to boot.

"I can see why. And who thought putting an elevator for a secret lab on this side of the fence was a smart idea?"

"Probably as an easy way in for their maintenance staff," Josh suggested. "That, or because of poor taste in security measures."

"Probably the latter." 

"Likely," Josh couldn't help but agree.

With the extra help from Josh, they soon made it to the car, helping Marcus lie down on the backseat before Josh returned to the passenger seat, Wrench taking the wheel and starting the car.

"Where's the nearest hospital?" he asked Josh, who was typing up directions on his laptop.

"There should be one up ahead, and farther away from here." Josh checked behind him to find Marcus on the verge of passing out. "And please hurry."

"Oh I will."

With that he slammed on the gas, Josh clutching the grab handle above the passenger's seat for dear life as they sped through the city, Wrench ignoring the honks, yells, and many middle fingers of the angry drivers he kept dodging and speeding past as he followed the directions Josh was reciting to him.

"Look!" Josh eventually exclaimed, pointing to the tall hospital building ahead of them.

"Got it."

He made a sharp turn to enter the parking lot, feeling the way the car nearly tipped over as he drove to the entrance of the emergency room, slamming on the brakes once they were close enough.

"You get Marcus inside," Wrench ordered Josh.

"What about you? Aren't you coming?"

Wrench pointed a thumb to the obviously large wings on his back that were squished against the driver's seat, along with gesturing at the hospital gown he was currently wearing.

"Oh," Josh realized. "Right."

"And in case they're following us, I'll try diverting them away from here."

"Good idea. Before you go, though," Josh began adding. "Take this." He pulled off his green hoodie and handed it to Wrench. "You'll probably need this to hide your wings before heading back to HQ."

"I, uh..." He didn't know what to say about the offer, not even bothering to resist Josh taking a hand to shove the garment in it."

"I insist. I can always get a new one later."

Wrench glanced at the hoodie he now held in his palm, then to Josh. "Thanks," he simply said to Josh after some hesitation.

"You're welcome. And is that a port-wine stain birthmark?"

Remembering that he wasn't wearing his mask, Wrench looked away to hide his face, feeling embarrassed that Josh had to see what he considered a hideous birthmark.

"I think it's cool," Josh said more enthusiastically. "I never actually seen one before..."

Wrench briefly looked back to face the younger hacker. "Aren't you supposed to be helping Marcus?" he reminded him.

Josh's enthusiasm quickly faded. "Oh. Yeah. Sorry for getting carried away there. And I forgot to give you this." Josh handed him his phone.

"You don't have to do that either."

"How else will you inform the others on your whereabouts while we're here? And the password's 1995."

He didn't have time to counterargue as Josh was already out of the car and helping Marcus step out and walk to the emergency room entrance, Wrench tossing the phone and hoodie on the passenger seat before driving away, looking back once in the rearview mirror to see the group of hospital workers rushing outside to aid the duo, one of them wheeling out a stretcher. This left him alone to drive out of the parking lot and find a way out of the city, not caring about just where he was going as long as he was far, far away from that lab, which he hoped was now a decimated shell of its former self, and wishing he had his good explosives on him to blow up what remained of it to kingdom.

He kept driving until he was sure he wasn't being followed, looking in the rearview mirror again to find no cars were following him or deliberately keeping their distance. He then decided on driving farther into the city outskirts, away from prying eyes and ctOS connected cameras, before parking the vehicle on the side of the road. And after one final check of his surroundings, he let his forehead rest on the steering wheel, closing his eyes and losing focus on the world around him as the events that led up to this replayed in his mind, including the moment where he finally had the chance to make Oliver pay for what he did to him, questioning himself on why he left the bastard for dead instead of finishing him off right then and there.

You had one chance. ONE chance at revenge, to make him feel the pain he put you through, and you fucking blew it. He let out a frustrated groan. On the bright side, you at least left him at the mercy of those abominations in search of something to slaughter.

There was buzzing coming from next to him, Wrench opening his eyes and moving his head in the sound's direction to see Sitara's caller ID on the phone's screen. He reached over to pick it up and answer.

"Hello?"

There was a momentary silence coming from the other end.

"...Wrench?" Sitara eventually said in an almost questioning tone.

"Yeah. It's me."

He moved the phone away from his ear when she loudly asked him many questions at a rapid fire rate.

"Slow down, please," he said to her. "I won't explain if you're gonna bombard me like that."

"Sorry," Sitara apologized. "But will you tell me what's going on, and why Josh isn't the one answering his phone?"

"Well, Marcus and Josh actually did it and busted me out of that lab, but not entirely unscathed..."

***

A few days later...

"You sure you want to do this?" Sitara asked him once they arrived to the hospital in her car that morning. "I'm pretty sure spending time in a lab must've made you fearful of anything and anything clinical."

"I can handle it," Wrench replied. "Besides, I owe him a visit after having to lie low these past few days."

"I hear you. But if you need to leave for any reason, just know that I won't say anything and let you be, got it?"

He nodded.

"Then let's not keep them waiting any longer."

"Think Ray won't burn down HQ while we're gone?" he added.

"What kind of question is that. Of course not...hopefully."

They got out of the car, Wrench adjusting his oversized black sweatshirt, which was too large on his skinny frame but did its job at concealing his wings and most of his lichtenburg figures, before taking along Josh's hoodie and phone and followed Sitara inside the building. Once the hospital receptionist gave them the directions to Marcus' room, they walked down a hallway until they reached the door farthest from the waiting area, Sitara opening it to let them in.

"About time you guys showed, they heard Marcus say as they entered the small room, Marcus doing his best to sit up in the hospital bed, the blanket that was over him falling off to reveal the bloodstained bandage wrapped around his abdomen.

Without thinking Wrench set Josh's items on a bedside table and threw his arms around Marcus for a long, tight hug, not paying attention to the other hacker's surprise as he held him against his chest.

"I think you're gonna pop one of my stitches," Marcus then told him, Wrench realizing what he was doing and let him go to back away.

"Sorry," he hastily apologized. 

"No need, man. I get it, you were afraid I was dying. And you haven't hugged me like that since the Bratva left me to die in that car crusher."

"Well this is different than that, M. I was afraid that you were actually going to die before we could escape the lab."

"But you got me here in time," Marcus replied.

"But I didn't do it alone. Speaking of which, where's Josh?"

Marcus pointed towards a small sofa close to the room's window, a sleeping Josh lying on it.

"How was he?" Sitara asked Marcus. 

"Good. He refused to leave my side and ensured I was given proper care the whole time, but I think he needs a break after staying with me here for almost three days straight."

Hearing a yawn, they turned to see Josh was waking up, exhausted eyes looking around the room as he sat himself up on the sofa.

"Oh, hey guys," he tiredly greeted to Wrench and Sitara. "Glad to see that you showed up." He gave another yawn.

"Glad to see you too," Sitara replied, grabbing a hand to help him up. "Come on, you probably need a break after what you did for Marcus."

"But who'll look after him?" he asked her.

"I'll take it from here," Wrench said. "And I'm guessing you'll want these back." He gave Josh his hoodie and phone.

"Thank you, Wrench."

"No, thank you for letting me borrow these."

"Anytime."

Once they left, Wrench turned back to Marcus.

"So," he began, unsure on what to talk about at first. "How's the stay been so far?"

"Fine. I mean, this isn't some five star luxury hotel, but it works," Marcus replied. "What about you?"

"I could be better. At least I'm not sitting in some shithole cell right now. And the others haven't given me crap about what I look like unmasked, so there's that."

It was then Marcus remembered something. "I almost forgot." He tried reaching for his laptop bag on the other bedside table, but couldn't get far without hurting himself. "A little help, Wrench?"

Wrench retrieved the bag for him, Marcus opening it to pull out Wrench's mask.

"I figured you'd want this back." He handed the mask over to Wrench, who gladly accepted it, giving it a look over before putting it over his face. He couldn't help but feel more calm, more secure now that he got to wear it again.

"Thanks, M," he said, the voice changer giving him back his mildly digitized voice, a glance at the mirror on the wall showing the two bright Xs appearing on the mask's LED visor. "For everything."

"No problem. We gotta look out for each other."

"Yeah. So, what to do now?" he asked Marcus.

"I dunno. Watch TV? Or maybe..."

He pulled out his laptop and placed it on his lap. "I might've pirated a few Jimmy Siska movies on here long before this, which I can now use for a hospital stay long binge-a-thon. Wanna join in?"

"Well duh! This is a fellow Siska fanboy you're speaking to!"

Marcus chuckled before moving to the other side of the bed, patting a hand on the empty spot next to him. "Well come on then. Saved you a spot."

"I could just pull up a chair, you know."

"I insist."

Even though Marcus couldn't see it behind his mask, Wrench rolled his eyes. "If you so insist."

Wrench took his spot on the bed as Marcus pulled up and played the current Siska release Cyber Driver.

"Really? That one?"

"Why not?" Marcus suggested. "Plus, think of this a commemoration of how our little stunt with their not-so-smart car boosted the film's publicity."

"I guess."

They went quiet as the opening scene began to play, Wrench's eyes too glued to the screen to notice how he leaned his body against Marcus at first, quickly scooting away in embarrassment once he did. He was then surprised by Marcus wrapping an arm around his shoulders to pull him back, two exclamation marks glowing on his mask's visor when they were close enough to be in an almost cuddle.

"Uh, M? What's the meaning of this?" 

Marcus shushed him, looking back to the movie as the current scene started to get more intense.

"If you're gonna play the quiet game with me, then fine. But don't think I won't drop this once the movie is over."

Marcus seemed to ignore his warning, Wrench deciding to continue watching the movie and save the lingering questions for later, even if he really wanted to know the meaning of Marcus' action, especially when considering how their usually subtext rich banter and interactions have been getting more overt in the time since Dusan's arrest. But then again, it was probably nothing and he was just overthinking things...maybe.

Chapter Text

Two Weeks Later...

"Another round?"

"Yeah," Oliver told the bartender. "But give me something a little stronger this time."

"Getting brave now, are we?" he teased.

"Look, John, it's been a rough couple of weeks for me, so I need the drink."

"Whatever you say, man." John grabbed a bottle of the strongest whiskey the bar had and poured the requested shot. "And here." He took out a new glass and filled it up, passing it to Oliver. "This one's on the house."

"Thanks, John. What will I do without you?"

John gave a shrug before tending to the other bar patrons, Oliver downing one of the shots as a news report played on the TV nearby.

"No other word has been made on the reported glass leak at the Phoenix Industries' Berkeley Laboratory that prompted a mass evacuation. While outside sources and former employees have claimed that the leak was a cover up for the company's long string of unethical experiment allegations, no evidence to support those claims have been made."

Oliver ignored the rest of the broadcast as he downed the second shot, not feeling the lightheadedness from having one drink too many kick in.

"One more," Oliver told John, raising his glass for emphasis.

"Are you sure you want to? That's some strong stuff."

"Again, rough two weeks. I need the booze."

John had to keep himself from rolling his eyes as he poured another shot, walking away to let Oliver down it when the scientist sensed the presence of someone sitting in the barstool next to him.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

He looked over to find a young woman in an oversized grey hoodie, moving the strands of jet black hair off her face before making eye contact with him.

"Oh, it's just you, Matilda," Oliver said to her. "I guess it's been a while since we've seen each other here, hasn't it?" He moved the shot glass close to his lips to resume his drink.

"I know about Henry," she simply stated, causing Oliver to slam his drink on the bar counter, ignoring the dark liquor spilling everywhere and the web-like cracks that formed on the glass.

"What?" came his shocked reply.

"You heard me," she continued. "Or, my informant knows in this case."

"Well, where is he?"

"Conveniently, he's still wandering around the Bay Area. They didn't specify where exactly, but it's a start in finally finding his sorry ass."

"Did they say anything about DedSec's antics after they infiltrated our lab?"

"Sadly, no," she answered. "Wait, it's about that anarchist guy you snatched off the streets who escaped, isn't it?" Matilda then guessed.

"Yes," Oliver admitted. "Any news on his whereabouts by any chance?"

"Zilch. And despite having his name and everything on our files, he's been doing a good job at covering his tracks so far."

"What do you expect, he's part of a hacker collective," Oliver added. "The same hacker collective who destroyed the experiments I devoted my life's work to."

Matilda placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'll do what I can to find him."

"Don't burden yourself with tracking two individuals at once," Oliver said. "It's Henry you should prioritize. I'll deal with the hacker."

"And how will you do that?" she questioned. 

"Well, let's just say I know how to pull a few strings. As for Henry, he's probably more likely to listen to his beloved sister." 

Matilda appeared doubtful of his plan but nodded regardless. "I hope you're right on this, father," she said with some uncertainty.

"Maybe a drink will help?" he then offered. "I'll pay as my way of celebrating you finding about Henry's whereabouts."

"Sure," she agreed. "I could use a few after another hell of a day."

***

They waited until nightfall to sneak onto the rooftop of 555 California Street, Marcus checking behind him one last time to ensure they weren't being followed before walking with Wrench to the edge of the roof, the duo watching the busy city streets far below them.

"Are you sure I should do this?" Wrench asked almost nervously.

"You were the one who agreed to jump off something taller complaining that the abandoned warehouses you've been practicing with weren't high to your liking," Marcus pointed out. "And birds jump off places as high as this when they learn to fly."

"Assuming they don't plunge to their deaths."

"Really, man? Don't be thinking like that. I'm sure with all the flight practice I've helped you with this past week you'll be fine...maybe."

"Not helping me here, Marcus."

"Enough talk, are you gonna do this or not?"

Wrench looked back down, knowing that if he was going to learn how to remain in the sky now that he mastered the basics of takeoff and landing, he was going to have to jump, even though, as he won't admit, that he might've been way over his head when he agreed to this.

"Well, here goes nothing," he finally said.

"I'll be right here," Marcus added, moving away to give him room.

Wrench looked at the world  beneath him, wings twitching from within his sweatshirt while anxiety was building up in his chest, glancing back to Marcus to find him giving a reassuring smile and two thumbs up. Looking down again, he took in a long, deep breath, letting his arms stretch out and wings unfurl as he looked downward one last time.

He then jumped off the edge for his leap of faith.