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Agent Stone entered the lab with his usual latte. Even thought it was far in the evening, and he had already had multiple today, Stone was happy to feed into his fondness for caffeine. Setting it on the counter, he looked over to find Robotnik sitting idly while looking out of a small window.
Surprised to see him not working on a project, he asked, “Doctor, can I help you with anything?”
“That’s the thing, Agent. I’ve got nothing to work on. No robots, no drones, no new projects.”
He paused, letting out a sigh.
“All the badniks are up and running smoothly, and everything around the lab is in perfect shape.”
“Well, shouldn’t that be a good thing, sir?” He questioned.
A look in his eyes immediately told him otherwise.
“…Not exactly. I feel so bored- I feel a kind of emptiness inside, like a part of me is missing.”
He had described the same feeling to Stone many times before. By now, he should know how the man felt as if he were nothing without his projects, how he craved something to keep himself busy. ‘Free time’ were two very rarely used words in the doctor’s vocabulary.
He also knew the best way to acknowledge his feelings was not to say anything, just distract him. Sometimes they watched some of his favorite show together, sometimes they went out to do some errands, or they just talked.
Placing a hand on his back, Stone motioned to the drink with a tilt of his head.
“Here, enjoy your latte. It’ll be getting cold.”
“You’re right.”
The moment Robotnik reached out for it, a large, earth-shattering boom was heard and the lights suddenly flashed off.
They stood there in the dark for a minute, before the doctor clicked a button on his gloves and a small flashlight appeared from the fingertip.
“Good thing I’ve got a generator on standby. I knew we’d have to use it eventually.”
Shining the light to guide him, he pressed a button right beside the breaker box. It started up with a shudder, a low hum was heard from the machine as the lab regained power.
“Quick thinking, sir. You’re always prepared for everything.”
“Of course, in this unpredictable world you have to be.”
When he saw Stone blankly staring at the ground, he realized he could’ve put a little more care into that sentence, and quickly followed up.
“Er- thank you, I do my best.”
Robotnik was slowly getting better at expressing his feelings, and Stone noticed that. Still, he knew ‘thank you’ was very hard for him to say.
He grabbed the doctor’s gloved hand, feeling the rough, scratching texture against his palm, and together they walked to the door to see what was going on outdoors.
Peering outside, the two noticed that the all of the lights outside were off. As far as they could see, not a single street light or sign was lit up, even the buildings surrounding them remained dark.
Robotnik immediately brought out one of his drones to investigate further, which ascended into the night sky.
Viewing the badnik’s camera on a small handheld screen, he twisted an end of his well-waxed mustache.
“Hmmm… that’s odd.”
“What? What is it?”
“I’m… pretty far up- and not a single place has power. The whole region is pitch black.”
He hurriedly pressed some buttons on the screen. Stone watched over his shoulder as the drone began traveling at lightning speed, rocketing past all that was above it.
“Where is that thing going?”
“To GUN. If there’s one place with answers, it will be there. As much as I don’t want to admit, I’m sure they’re already trying to figure out why this has happened, you know how fast they work.”
Stone nodded in agreement.
“We can use the drones audio tech to listen in, that way we don’t even have to show our faces. I know we’re not on the best terms with them right now. Still, I need to know what’s going on.”
“It’d be better to go unnoticed, sounds like a good plan.” He replied, smiling back. It always made him happy to see the doctor so eager for a mission.
Grasping his agent by the shoulders, Robotnik guided him back inside, eyes on one another.
A camera showed the bulky outer exterior of the badnik being released, just like a rocket ship, and leaving only the simple tech underneath it. In the cover of night, the tiny drone would easily sneak into the base.
Luckily, it didn’t take much time at all before it had found itself drifting processionally right into the GUN building.
Carefully putting in earbuds connected to the badnik’s microphone, they picked up on a conversation. An audio signal, stripped of rotor noise, came through the headset with crystalline clarity.
Many different voices were heard, the only distinctly recognizable one being Commander Walter’s.
“-energy surge knocked out power across the entire Pacific northwest. What do we know?” He began.
Another man followed up. “Well, our first instinct was it was an EMP. But electromagnetic pulses don’t have that kind of power.”
“Nasa has ruled out meteor strikes or solar flares.”
“The department of energy says it’s not a power plant malfunction.” A woman’s voice speaks up this time.
“Well,” Commander Walters sighed. “Sounds like we’re really good at figuring out what it wasn’t.”
“Imbeciles,” Robotnik said, bringing out a little chuckle.
“This could be a prelude to a larger attack.” This man sounded concerned. “I’m suggesting we scramble the 5th and 6th regimen.”
“No. No, no, no, this needs a much more sophisticated mind. Someone who understands technology.”
Robotnik glanced at Stone, who stared back and raised his eyebrows.
“You want to send in a lab rat?” The voice from before Walters questioned.
“Not just any lab rat, a lab rat with teeth.” Commander Walters sounded very sure of himself.
“You’re not suggesting who I think you’re suggesting,” A voice that spoke earlier declared, agitated.
“I know…. he’s a little weird…”
“Weird??!” Someone exclaimed, raising their voice. “He’s a phycological tire fire!”
“But he’s also brilliant! 5 PHDs, IQ off the charts.”
Robotnik smirked and rolled his eyes. He knew that fact well by now. “Please, would they talk any more ingratiatingly to my face?”
“…And his… drone tech is- is revolutionary!” Walters added, in hopes to convince the room.
“You’re sure he can handle this?”
“I have no doubt,” Stone answered for him. If only they could hear the authenticity in his voice, if only all those people in there knew how great he was.
The doctor looked at him in admiration.
“He has a perfect operations record. Remember the-?”
They couldn’t quite hear how he finished his sentence, the microphone’s quality unexpectedly glitching out.
“Or the uprising-”
“What?” Both shared a confused look.
“That’s not even a country-”
“Exactly. And you can thank Robotnik for that.”
The doctor made a motion as if he were wiping dust off the shoulders of his trench coat.
Someone loudly sighed. “I can’t believe you’re bringing that freak into this.”
Stone paused, body going rigid as the insult registered in his brain.
‘Freak.’
The voice had said it with such disgust, as if it repulsed him just to even think about the doctor. You could clearly hear his disdain.
He looked over at Robotnik, who was still attentively listening, seeming to pay no attention to what he had said.
Stone had heard the exact tone, and even the same use of the word before, many years ago. Except not from a threatening government official, but from his own mother.
Hearing it from someone else brought back memories that for a lifetime, he had wished to forgotten.
In an instant, he was transported back to a time where he knew he wasn’t welcome anymore. The words blended together.
“I can’t believe you’re bringing that freak into this…..”
“Stone? Stone!” Robotnik waved a hand in front of his face. “You’ve been staring at the same spot for 3 minutes. Snap out of it.”
“Oh! Oh, sorry sir.”
He looked up from where he had been fixating on and watched as the drone hurried off through the back doors of the facility.
“Another successful mission, if I do say so myself. Now I just wait for them to contact me, for me to do their dirty work for them. Honestly, it’s not like I have anything better to do…”
When Stone didn’t follow up with his usual response of “sir” or “doctor,” his attention turned back to him again. He still stared at the ground, fidgeting with his hands.
“What’s on your mind, Stone? I can tell something must be bothering you.”
He paused before answering.
“…Didn’t you hear what they said about you?”
Robotnik laughed. “Which part? The part about me being brilliant, or revolutionary?”
“They called you a freak.”
“Agent, it’s not the first time. And it certainly won’t be the last. Besides, I take pride in being eccentric.”
“I know sir, but…”
“They call me a freak because I simply don’t fit the norms. I’m brilliant and original. Someone wishes they could be an ounce of what I am,” He scoffed. “What they say isn’t untrue.”
“I suppose you’re right.” The words had no effect on his expression, he still looked irritated.
There was a pause before Robotnik spoke up again.
“As much as I appreciate your- obsequious care for me, I get the feeling this goes beyond an insult.”
Stone hesitated.
“It’s just… my family used to call me that too, when I was younger. I guess I was too intense, too different for them to handle. Too… me.”
A quiet pause was shared between the two. Robotnik regarded him— with a look of real concern in his eyes, something rare.
With a sigh, he contemplated before he spoke.
“Stone. I’ve learned that in life, there’s going to be people who don’t accept you or believe in what you stand for. It’s inevitable. That being said, there’s also going to be people who see you for the person you really are.”
Putting a hand on his shoulder, he continued.
“Those are the people who matter most, who mean the world to have. That’s one of the many reasons I’m so grateful to have you.”
“Doctor…”
“The world doesn’t know me like you do… and neither did your family know you. You’re not a freak, you’re a treasure. They were blind not to see that.”
Stone’s eyes twinkled. “You think so?”
“Oh, I know so.”
“And, you know, “freak” doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. Like I said, they use that word for me because I’m a genius. A one-in-a-trillion mind. That’s their weird way of saying I’m smart. Maybe your parents had a terrible way of expressing that they thought you were unique.
Grasping his hand, he stared down at it.
“Though, as a child, they had no right to call you that. You didn’t deserve it. I’m an adult full of bad choices worthy of the insult, but that should not be targeted towards a child trying his best just to be himself.”
Something in Stone eased, as if a burden was lifted off of him. Surprisingly, the doctor had a fantastic job of comforting him. He had never really talked to him on this level before, and it was really nice. Knowing that in this strange world, there was one person who saw his worth and was meant just for him.
“Thank you… Ivo.”
The use of his first name caused both of their faces to turn a slight shade of red.
“Of- of course. Don’t worry about it anymore.”
Getting up from his desk with a a flourish from his hands, he clicked a few buttons on his gloves.
“Now, if they’ve truly got their minds convinced that’s what we are, let’s show them what “freaks” look like. We have work to do!”
“Right away, sir!”
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