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Melissa has been living with the rebels for a while. She has been on a few missions- small ones, with Milo and Zack. She has been learning mechanics with Phineas and Ferb, and slowly getting to know everyone. Has slowly been recovering, relaxing. She doesn’t feel right, human, not at all. But she feels better.
She is on another mission today. Destroying power boxes, to disrupt a propaganda showing. She has been put on guard, to make sure that Milo and Zack know if anyone is coming. Standing guard is easy, something that she is used to. She stands straight back at a street corner, watching the comings and goings. Everyone who walks past is scanned with her eye.
“V-Cyborg! V-Cyborg!”
Melissa flinches. She turns to see the source of the noise. A young woman, rushing towards her. She looks frightened, upset. “There are rebels just around the corner, I saw them! I think they’ve been destroying power boxes!”
Melissa just stares. She knows that, she is with them. What is going on?
“You need to catch them! Hurry, they’ll get away!” The woman continues. And Melissa knows what is going on. Her eyes are drawn upwards, to the metal V that is her ear. Downwards, to her arms. To the Vs inscribed on every metal part.
This woman thinks that she is a V-Cyborg. Because that’s all she is, that’s all she will ever be. Even when she is away from Verliezer, out from under his thumb, she has been changed so much that she will always belong to him.
“What are you waiting for?!” The woman really is panicking.
“I- thank you, citizen. The situation will be handled. V-Tech is grateful for your intervention.” She says, neutral and professional. Like she was taught to be. She turns and runs in the direction the woman pointed, heart racing.
She dashes around the corner, to find Milo and Zack crouching over an electronic box. “We’re going to break it.” Milo explains when he registers her. “Either we’ll break it with these tools, or Murphy’s Law will kick in. Whatever comes fi- you alright?”
She stands stiffly, trying her best to calm down. “Someone saw you. They thought that I work for V-Tech and reported you to me.” She says. She shouldn’t be upset. It gave them early warning, that they have been spotted. She shouldn’t be upset that someone saw what was obvious.
She is upset. She doesn’t want to be a V-Cyborg. She hates that Verliezer was able to change her body, and her mind, and she can never escape from that even if she is technically free.
“Oh, shoot.” Zack mutters. “Should we bother with this last one?”
The box explodes. Milo and Zack dissolve into coughing as smoke covers them. When it disappears, Milo stands and smiles. “We’re done, it’s fine. Let’s go!”
After several explosions, a chase scene and jumping off of a building, they arrive back at the base. The other rebels congratulate them, ask how it went. Melissa stands stiffly next to the door, hands behind her back. She can’t relax and celebrate.
She has been slowly getting used to spending time around the rebels. Sitting with them, listening to them talk. Even joining in or laughing sometimes. But now she can’t seem to settle into the present, with such a jarring reminder of the all too close past.
She creeps away, leaving the other rebels to it. They don’t supervise her anymore, Milo and Zack aren’t expected to escort her anywhere. Because she’s a real rebel, one of them. She doesn’t belong to V-Tech, she doesn’t. Not anymore.
She shuts the door behind her and crouches on the floor. She brings her legs up to her chest and wraps her arms around them. Lowers her face onto her knees. If she belongs to anyone, she belongs to the rebels. Not to V-Tech, not to Verliezer.
She can see the V inscribed on her arm. She knows that there is one on her other arm. And her leg, and her foot. And her face, and her ear. And her ear is V shaped anyway.
The V-Cyborg.
That’s what she is. What she still is. What she will always be.
She can’t get away from it. She can try to fit in with the rebels, she can help them fight back. But in the end, all she’ll ever be is Victor Verliezer’s weapon. His tool, his cyborg.
“Melissa?”
Melissa’s head shoots upwards. Zack is standing in the doorway, staring at her with concern in his eyes. She immediately wipes her eyes, praying that he doesn’t notice. She doesn’t cry around the rebels. She has taken her lesson to only cry alone well. Usually the rebels knock, giving her time to hide it.
“Melissa, are you hurt?” Zack immediately comes closer, crouches next to her. “You just ran off, I was worried. If you’re hurt or broken, you need to tell me. No one will be mad.”
And the truth is so much more pathetic. She is upset because of the truth. “I’m not hurt. I just got a bit freaked out.” She assures him. “I’m sorry for leaving without permission.”
“You don’t have to ask for permission.” Zack says. “I’m just worried about you.” She isn’t used to that. People being worried about her. “What freaked you out?”
She sighs. She is struck both by an urge to straighten up and act professionally, and an urge to shrink into the ground and disappear. “Someone thought that I’m with V-Tech.”
“Oh yeah, you did say.” Zack says. “That upset you?”
“It’s stupid, I know.” Her cheeks burn. “But I don’t like that it’s so obvious who I…” She trails.
“Not stupid.” Zack sits down next to her. It still feels strange, a proper human sitting on the ground next to her. Like they are equals. “I can see how that would be upsetting, after everything they did to you.”
She self consciously touches the V of her ear. A visual reminder of the contract that she signed all of those years ago, in a moment of hungry, frightened weakness. She belongs to V-Tech. A contract sealed in the blood of everyone she killed under the orders of the man she hates the most. The man that owns her, every part of her. Who replaced parts of her body to make that clear.
“I’m sorry. Is there anything that I can do?” Zack asks. So considerate, so gentle. Tears start prickling in her eyes and she swallows them down.
“It’s ok.” She brushes him off. She can’t meet his eyes.
“Melissa,” Zack begins, serious and gentle, “you know that it doesn’t matter, right? We all know that you’re not with V-Tech, and even when you were forced to be, you weren’t really with them. What you look like doesn’t matter to us.”
“I still belong to them.” She blurts out. “And I always will.”
“You don’t belong to anyone.” Zack grabs her metal hand. She tenses, but doesn’t pull away. “You don’t belong to V-Tech, you don’t belong to us.”
“I signed a contract.” She admits, shame burning within her. “Giving V-Tech complete ownership of me. They own me, I’m not even a real person anymore. I don’t have rights or anything, I’m just V-Tech’s weapon.”
When she risks a glance at Zack, he looks furious. “That’s crap. That’s utter crap.”
“I know I shouldn’t have signed it. I was desperate, they starved me. But I shouldn’t have signed it, I shouldn’t have given in.” She bows her head.
“What? No, I’m not mad at you. I’m definitely not mad at you.” Zack says, squeezing her metal hand. She can’t feel it, but the feeling gets through. “I’m mad at them, for doing that. Forcing you to… god, that’s awful. I’m sorry, Melissa.”
“It’s fine.” She manages a smile. Whenever she smiles, it seems to make them happier.
Zack doesn’t look happier. “That doesn’t mean anything, ok? You still don’t belong to anyone, horrible contracts or not. That’s just a bit of paper- an illegal bit of paper, probably, you can’t sign a contract under duress. You’re a person, you can’t be owned.”
Of course she can. V-Tech can do whatever they want. They never break laws, after all- just make sure that the laws work in their favour. “It’s V-Tech. You think that’s ever stopped them?”
“Maybe legally. Maybe it’s all totally watertight, legally. But when have laws ever mattered to us? We’re rebels. We don’t follow the laws, we don’t obey V-Tech. And you’re one of us, so V-Tech’s stupid contract doesn’t matter to us.” Zack glares furiously, but he just keeps holding her hand gently. “You’re my friend. And you’re a rebel, so you don’t belong to V-Tech.”
“I-“
“Or us. You don’t belong to anyone.” Zack says firmly. “Do you wanna join the others, or wanna stay here?”
“Stay here.” Melissa says quietly.
“Ok. Do you want me to stay, or should I go?”
She hesitates. “Can you stay?”
“Sure.” He settles down next to her. He stays, sits in silence with the upset mess of a cyborg that he took in. Because he wants her to feel comfortable, because she asked him to.
“Thanks, Zack.”
“Anytime.”