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Penn's hand shook as he placed it on the glass wall of the pod. He blinked. He blinked again. He shook his head, willing the image before him to change.
“Take a good, long look, Penn Zero. This is what you are. You are nothing but a tool, my dear boy, a means to an end, a pawn in someone else's game.”
The being inside was not exactly like him. It was bulkier, it was bald, it was missing so many of his father and mother's features—but he could not deny that once, who knows how long ago, he was just like it, awaiting its final set of orders and modifications before it was woken up and unleashed to the world.
“You were made to go on missions, you were made to risk your life, you were made so the real humans could go about their normal lives, safe and sound in their home dimension, while a helpful little android does all of their dirty work for them.”
Tears streamed down Penn's eyes. He wanted to pound on the glass till it shattered. He wanted to scream at Rippen till his lungs gave out: “You're wrong! I'm not one of these things! I'm not!”
But the words never came. Slowly, his hand slid down the glass, making the tiniest squeaking noise until it fell limply at his side.
Rippen descended from his hovering platform, and stepped off towards Penn, his fancy leather shoes making a steady thump on the steel floors as he walked. The villain stood right beside the hero, his grin gleaming and reflecting on the glass.
“How does it feel, my dear boy?” He asked softly. “How does it feel to learn that all this time, your whole life has been a lie?”
Penn didn't respond.
He wasn't human. He was just a tool, one whose sole purpose in life was to go on missions and save the day.
And that was exactly what he was going to do.
Rippen never saw the punch coming. Penn let go of every restriction he had been unconsciously keeping for all these years, spinning around faster than any human could, socking Rippen in the stomach so hard it knocked all the wind out of him.
But not strong enough to kill him. Penn wasn't made for that.
His eyes saw everything with new intensity. A mental map laid itself all over the area, notes and details screaming at Penn faster than the human brain could even conceive of them. His focus darted to the keycard in Rippen's front pocket—the same pocket he had put it in earlier, when he unleashed the army of his fellow androids on Sashi and Boone.
The army the two of them were still fighting, so Penn could sneak into the facility and stop Rippen.
Penn was already hopping onto the hovering platform with the key in hand before Rippen had even realized he had stolen it. Rippen wheezed and staggered forward, watching in horror as Penn slotted the card into the console, sending it up into the air, higher and higher until it reached the master control room.
Penn didn't need to study the labels or the symbols on the terminal before him. He knew what buttons to press, what sequences to begin, which slot to jam the key in.
The screens flashed red. Alarms blared all throughout the facility. Already, the ground beneath him was starting to rumble and shake as fires ignited, explosives detonated, android pods filled with corrosive liquid.
Penn calmly stepped over the edge and back to the hover platform. He looked down below and saw Rippen raising his fists into the air as he screamed.
Normally, he would have a cocky grin, a witty one-liner for him, the warmth, the goodness, the joy of knowing that he had saved the day.
Now, he only stared at him, his expression neutral. Penn turned to the nearest exit, and flew out to fetch Sashi and Boone.
Blue energy surrounded him, and he zapped out.
Penn's expression was blank as he floated back to the Odyssey. His mouth was a hard line, his eyes totally focused on Phyllis still standing in the catwalks and beside the Zap lever. The smiles on Sashi and Boone's faces disappeared, their congratulations and banter dying in their throats.
Penn's feet touched down on the MUT platform. He ran off it, faster than any human could, jumped up to the catwalks, higher than any human could, and came face-to-face with Phyllis, sooner than any human could.
Too dumbstruck by Penn's superhuman feats, Sashi and Boone stood on the platform and stared.
Phyllis expression was as stoic and disdainful as always.
“Did you know?” Penn asked, his voice monotone and disturbingly bereft of anger.
“Yes.” Phyllis replied flatly.
“Do my parents know?”
“Yes. They were ones that got you out from facility, modified you with their genes.”
“Do my uncle and aunt know?”
“Yes.”
“Do Boone and Sashi know?”
“No.”
“Are they like me, too?”
“No.”
“Why didn't you ever tell me?”
“Would be bad for mission. Performance improves when thinking is actually human; empathizes with others; believes in innate human goodness.”
“So that's all I ever was to you? A tool? Something to use to go on missions, save the day?”
“Yes.”
“You couldn't have told me before all this? No 'Oh, hey, by the way, Penn, you're not actually human, you're just a highly advanced android.'?”
“Yes, and yes. Would jeopardize missions.”
“Did you never think about my feelings once?”
Phyllis stared him down, her eyes cold, her lip curled into a hard scowl. “'The mission is what matters more.'”
Penn felt a flicker of anger inside him. It was his words.
Sashi and Boone snapped out of their haze and ran to just below the two of them.
“Penn? Phyllis? What the hell is going on?!” Sashi yelled.
“And how come Penn's suddenly got Spiderman levels of moves?” Boone continued. And where how can I get those, two?”
Sashi punched him.
“Ow! What was that for?!”
Penn and Phyllis ignored them.
“Would ask if coming back tomorrow, but already know answer.”
Penn said nothing, did nothing. He would be back tomorrow, just like every other day; he would zap in to a different dimension, and be a hero, just like every other day; he would save the day, and do it all over again tomorrow, just like every other day.
But all the joy, the excitement was gone. He wasn't doing this because he wanted to. He was doing it because it was what he was made to do, the only thing order he couldn't refuse.
Penn jumped down from the catwalks. Before Sashi or Boone could say anything, he ran out the Odyssey, and back to his house.
He didn't care that he was moving faster than any person should be capable of. No one saw him anyway, and he didn't bother to listen as bystanders pondered what it was that just zoomed past them.
Normally, he would have said hello to his aunt and uncle, but he knew that they knew the secret was out.
Normally, he would have cared about them, the looks of horror and the deep depression that fell over them, but he wasn't their real nephew.
Normally, he would have pulled the curtains over the window, but he saw no point in the action.
Instead, Penn just stood in the middle of his room, surrounded by memories and memorabilia from a life that was just all one big lie. He took in nothing, used the least amount of energy possible and zoned out, keeping only the most vital of sensory systems operating for the sake of his safety and continued operation.
Some time later—Penn hadn't bothered to keep track of time—Sashi ran into his doorway, panting and sweating hard. He hadn't closed the door, no longer feeling the need for privacy.
“Penn!” Sashi yelled in between breaths. “What the hell is going on? What the hell were you and Phyllis talking about? And why the hell won't either of you tell me what the hell is up?!”
Penn reactivated most of his systems. He turned around to Sashi, his expression blank so as to save on the miniscule amount of energy it would take to engage the muscles in his face.
“I'm not human, Sashi.” He said, his voice monotone once more.
Sashi blinked. She stared and stayed where she was, a hand on the doorway, panting and sweating. Then, fire burned in her eyes, she stormed into his room, and slammed the door behind her. She stomped all the way up to Penn, till they were face to face, and he could her hot breath on his skin.
“What are you saying, Penn?!” She screamed.
“I'm not human, Sashi.” Penn repeated. You remember those androids we were fighting earlier? I'm one of them.”
Sashi blinked. Her face fell in horror. Penn could see the realizations hitting her, the connections being made, the questions suddenly answered. She shook her head violently, scowled at him even harder.
“You're lying. Rippen got into your head, Phyllis is playing a bad prank on you, you are human—you have to be!”
“How do you explain earlier?”
His voice was flat. There was no anger, there was no sarcasm, only a simple question.
Sashi struggled for an answer. Penn counted five minutes, twenty-two seconds of angry spluttering, frowning, and shaking features before she spoke once more.
“I'm going to hit you. I'm going to hit you, and I'm going to prove you're human!”
Penn quietly engaged some of his defensive protocols.
Sashi slapped him.
Normally, he would have reeled from the strike, his skin would burn bright red from the pain, he'd yell out in pain.
Now, her hand stopped dead on his cheeks, the skin and muscle underneath hardening to deflect her blow, sinking in just enough to keep from breaking Sashi's hand from the opposing force. He felt absolutely no pain, except a dull sensation that told him he had been struck.
He didn't even blink.
Sashi screamed, and pulled her hand back. It throbbed and burned red.
“I'm not human, Sashi.” Penn repeated.
Sashi screamed in frustration. “Shut, up, you are! I'll--!”
With both her hands, Sashi unbuttoned her shirt. She pulled open both flaps, letting Penn see most of her bare chest.
Normally, he would have blushed, covered his eyes, and frantically yelled at Sashi to get dressed once more.
Now, he just stared blankly at her, his eyes never moving from where they were—it was the most efficient view of Sashi, he felt no need to change it.
Sashi's fingers curled and dug into the fabric of her shirt, slowly tearing it apart. She scowled and let go. She grabbed Penn's head, and pulled him in for a kiss.
Penn didn't resist. He felt Sashi's lips on his, felt her pulling him in harder, her lips frantically moving, trying to illicit some sort of reaction for him, feel the slightest bit of normality.
Normally, he would have frozen, panicked, before he awkwardly tried to kiss her back, or push her away.
Now, he just stood still, unmoving, unblinking, unfeeling.
Sashi pulled away with a gasp. Her lips throbbed and hurt from all the kissing. She panted hard, desperately sucked in air. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Sashi's fingers loosened their grip on Penn. They slid off as Sashi fell to her knees, sobbing and crying, her hands balled into fists.
Penn felt distress stir inside him. Sashi was depressed, her mood could seriously affect her health, and thus, their chances of winning the next mission.
He knelt down on the floor with her, wrapped her arms around him, pulled her to his chest with enough pressure and force to be comforting.
Sashi buried her face into his shirt and wept.
Penn patted her back and held her tightly.
Sashi pulled away, still crying, her eyes red and puffy. “Why are you doing this?! You're not human, right?!”
Penn nodded. “Yes, I'm not human.”
Sashi glared at him, her lips curling into a deep scowl, before she buried his face in his chest again.
“Can we just—pretend you're actually a human?” Sashi asked. “Pretend none of this ever happened? Pretend that everything's exactly the way it was, before today?”
Penn shook his head. “No.”
Sashi put her palms to his chest and pushed him off. “Well then why the hell not?!”
Penn smiled. “Because then I wouldn't be able to do this.”
He leaned in for a kiss. He felt Sashi's lips pressed up against him. He made the kiss as passionate and skilled as he could, far better than he could have done it if he were an awkard, fumbling teenager, far better than any human could have made it. His sensors keyed in on ever last reaction of Sashi, committing to memory and tailoring the kiss to every last thing that excited her the most.
His systems blared a warning. He was using an excess of resources, normally used for missions. What was the mission, it asked?
Sashi. Making her happy, specifically.
Penn pulled away. Though he could have held his breath far longer than that, Sashi couldn't.
Sashi gasped for breath, eyes wide open as she panted. Penn reached over and wiped the tears from her eyes.
Sashi smiled. “I think I could get used to this.”
Penn smiled back. “I think I can, too.”