The door let out a loud creak as I pulled it open.
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"Are you here to beat me some more? The first three times weren't enough? Can't you give me a break, Jordan? Listen, I'm really sorry about your friends, but I never told them to rebel against Bionic Corp, they did that all by themselves. You can't really hold me responsible for their decisions."
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I'd know that voice anywhere. That was the voice that raised me. That was the voice that used to complain about work while he made me grilled cheese sandwiches. That was the voice that would whisper comforting words in my ear after having a nightmare. I peeked through the crack in the door. My voice quavered as I spoke. "Patch?
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He glanced up to meet my gaze. "Marisa?" He shook his head. "I must be seeing things."
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I entered the room and knelt beside him. He was fastened to a cold metal chair. Bionic Corp had stripped him of all his cybernetic parts, leaving him unable to move or fight back. They'd removed his eye patch leaving nothing but an exposed empty socket. His skin was bloodied and bruised from the brutal interrogations he endured. I threw my arms around him, not caring about getting his blood smeared on my clothes. I cupped his face in my hands. "I'm not a mirage. I'm really here. I came to rescue you."
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Tears well up in his one remaining eye, "Marisa, you should've stayed away. You shouldn't have risked yourself to save me. I'm not worth it. You need to get out before anyone finds out you're here!"
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"Too late, a security bot spotted us on the way in. They already know she's here. There's no point in being noble now. You might as well let us save you while we're here," Katrina said.
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"Can't believe you did this! Don't you know how dangerous this is? Now you're at risk."
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"I've always been at risk, this isn't anything new." I tried to wipe the blood off his face, but he pulled away. "Please, let me take care of you."
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He tried to pull away from my touch. "I don't deserve your affection. How could you possibly forgive me after I left you?"
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"Because I love you. I can't just leave you like this."
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"You're not mad at me?"
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"No, I'm furious. You tried to abandon your family, and it's going to take me a long time to forgive you, but that doesn't mean I want you to die." I wrapped a comforting arm around him. "We're going to get you out of here, okay?"
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Patch nodded, then he made eye contact with Katrina and scowled at her. What the hell are you doing here, Oblivion?"
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"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm breaking your deadbeat ass out of containment, so you're welcome."
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Patch shot her an incredulous look. "Yeah, but why are you doing it? I know you never do anything out of the kindness of your heart, Katrina."
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I shot them both a puzzled look. "Wait. He knows your secret identity?"
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Patch nodded. "She removed her helmet in front of me several times."
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I scanned her appraising. "Why would you do that? What do you gain from revealing yourself?"
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"Nothing. It's just really sweaty under the helmet. You should try wearing it for a day, then you see how moist and confining it is in there."
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I didn't know if I believed her explanation, but I dropped the topic.
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Katrina shouted at one of the cleaning bots zipping through the hallway behind us. "Hey, you!"
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The robot came to an abrupt halt and stared up at her. "How may I be of assistance, Cyborg 11120189141?"
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"I need some cybernetic parts for a medium-sized adult man. Preferably two arms and two legs, but we can make do with whatever you can find."
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"Would you like me to fetch anything else for you?"
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Katrina glanced back at us. "Yeah, bring us something to cover up that disgusting eye socket. I can't bear to look at it any longer."
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The cleaning bot gave a curt nod and zoomed away as fast as its tiny wheels could carry it.
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"Sorry, my missing eye is repulsing you. It's such a shame you're forced to look at it," Patch said sardonically.
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"It's okay. I forgive you for being ugly," she replied.
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I jumped to Patch's defense. "It's not his fault he's missing an eye!"
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A frown spread across her lips. "You should be nicer to me, Marisa. You never would've found him if it wasn't for me!"
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I scoffed. "Yeah, you've been so helpful."
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"What is that supposed to mean?"
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"Face it Katrina. You're helpless. That's why you need me. Because you're not smart enough to find the Annihilation Code by yourself."
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"Let it go, Marisa. Don't waste your breath arguing with her," Patch advised.
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"Stay out of this Pedro, this is none of your damn business," Katrina snapped.
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I ignored Patch's advice and continued scolding Katrina. "The only thing you've done today is waste my time and shoot my brother."
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"She did what?" Patch seethed. He clenched his teeth and an inferno of rage glistened in his eye. I had no doubt he would've strangled Katrina right then and there if he were able.
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Katrina waved her hand dismissively. "Don't look at me like that. I wasn't trying to hit any vital organs."
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"Did you hit any vital organs?" Patch asked.
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She shrugged. "I don't know. I was too busy falling out of a window to notice."
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"Then you threw him off the edge of Ikigai II," I added.
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"He can swim."
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"Not with a gaping bullet wound, he can't."
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"Gaping is a strong word, it was merely a flesh wound. Chase went barreling after him into the icy depths. Together their chances of survival are really high, like almost 30%. I'm sure they'll be fine."
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"If anything happens to my boy, I'll hunt you down and kill you! You hear me?"
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Katrina folded her arms across her chest. "Oh gee, I'm so scared of you. I'm trembling. I don't know how I'll beat an old man without arms or legs."
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I stood in front of him using my body as a shield in case Katrina tried anything.
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Just then the cleaning bot returned to the cell holding three items.
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Katrina shot the cleaning bot a disgusted look. "What's going on here? This is only half of the stuff I asked for!"
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"You see, the problem is these are very heavy, and I am very small. I am just a cleaning bot, I am not meant for these kinds of tasks. I am only meant for cleaning."
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Katrina rolled her eyes and took the items from the robot's grasp. "It's impossible to find good help around here." She held up one of the items, which was a tie-dye t-shirt with a graphic of a cat wearing sunglasses and doing a thumbs up printed onto it. "What the hell is this?"
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"I offer you my sincerest apologies if my findings are not to your liking. I did the best I could with the information you gave me. Are you interested in filling out a survey to help me improve my programming?"
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"No! Get out of here." Katrina waved the bot away.
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"I don't see why you couldn't have gotten the parts yourself," Patch said.
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"I never do something if someone else could do it for me. That's why I bamboozled your nephew into stealing the map for me. Why should I waste my time stealing from some of the most dangerous people in the world if Atlas could do it instead?"
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"So, you're lazy," Patch said.
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"It's called working smarter, not harder. You should try it sometime."
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I rolled my eyes and yanked the items out of Katrina's grip and knelt beside Patch. I slid the cybernetic leg onto his residual limb, applying pressure until it was secure. I did the same thing with the cybernetic arm. I ripped up the cat t-shirt and fastened the strips of fabric around his head to cover his vacant eye socket. I hoisted him up and helped him stand on the rickety leg. The bionic leg was designed for a much smaller person, so Patch had a hard time gaining his footing. He trembled as he rose from the chair. He faltered, nearly toppling over. He grasped onto me for support. He threw his arm around me in a tight embrace.
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I just stood there dumbstruck. I didn't know how to react to this show of affection after his betrayal.
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"I love you, kid," he whispered into my ear. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
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I set my anger aside and returned his embrace. I clung to the feeling of him, savoring every moment. There was a part of me that feared I'd never see him again. Getting to hold him again was a comfort I didn't know I needed. "I love you, too, old man."
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He'd usually object and scold me for calling him an old man, but today he just held me tighter, and I never wanted to let go.
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Katrina picked at her claws jadedly. "Hooray happy reunion. Now, let's get the hell out of here before someone catches us."
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I caught a flash of jealousy in her eyes that I know I wasn't meant to see. For a moment, I wondered if she had anyone in her life who cared for her. She mentioned growing up alone. Did she ever find someone to support her? All these thoughts swirled around in my head until I remembered that I don't care. Her woes aren't any of my concern.
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"Seriously? I was expecting to try to make a run for it as soon as you got what you wanted."
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"It's like I said earlier, I'm not like you."
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