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Their lines went dead when word reached them of their prey's arrival. Aron was sitting nonchalantly in his borrowed chair, tugging on his lapels like what was about to happen wasn't that big of a deal, yet his heart quickened as he heard someone bursting through the door. Changing up the plan on the spot, knowing only Tazia or himself could go toe to toe with the person in the exosuit he had seen in the video footage of the cameras he had Carl place around the ground floor. So he would know exactly where they were in the compound. With the new battle plan in place, Aron was up and running across the table in milliseconds.
A loud ding of the metal filled the room, nearly deafening Aron in the process as his knee landed squarely on the exosuit's chin. Wondering how much internal damage he had caused with that strike. However, it wasn't enough to slow whoever was inside of it down as it brought the suit's massive hands up and grasped him in its several-ton embrace. Looking behind him as Neil came crashing through the wall to his left, falling unconscious the moment he hit the floor.
"Tell the Collector I said hi?!" Aron spoke before ripping himself free and quickly worked to neutralize the person within it. Jerking his head back as the man fired point-blank in his face, the flashes of the muzzle blast of his handgun played along his mask once he had ripped off the chest piece of the exosuit. Crushing the gun, along with the man's ring finger, hearing him scream out in pain before flicking his index finger against the man's forehead, knocking him out cold. Rushing over to where Neil had fallen, having Veil scan his body for any injuries, finding that Neil had suffered a broken leg. Which was impossible since Neil's mutation made his body move like rubber, even his bone; that was before he saw the frost that coated Neil's left thigh. Activating the suit's first-aid function he had built in when he made them all new suits, causing the material to harden as if it thought it was a splint to keep Neil's leg immobilized while he checked on Neil's vitals.
"Report?!" Aron commanded, getting to his feet when he was sure Neil would be safe for the moment.
"Just finishing up; how is he?" Chery replied quickly; worry was evident in the tone of her voice.
"Just knocked out, he's suffered a broken leg, but Veil didn't find anything life-threatening," Aron reported, knowing the trip back would be cramped.
"Good, I'm glad." Aron heard the relief in Aminah's voice. "Well, Void, call them in; I'm eager to go home."
"Already did, thirty seconds," Aron informed them.
Hearing the jetcar hovering off in the distance behind him as Aron talked to the lead agent in charge. Handing over the footage of his ingress and what the leaders of that little gang were muttering as they pleaded for their lives. So they could use it to suss out anything that might put a dent in the East European crime rates that have been plaguing the countries for decades. Smirking, hearing Chery and Tazia fretting over Neil, who had come too as he was carrying him out. He knew that put a dent in his uncle's pride, having to wake up to that. Aron hoped Neil could work through it and not let it affect him. Still, he knew it'll be a week before Neil could use his leg fully. Climbing onto the seat of the jetbike, watching the agents loading the villains into the back of two black armored vehicles as they took to the air. Once they were well into the air, a flash of light filled the sky as they entered Null space for home.
"You better not drop me, Aminah," Neil warned as Aminah used her telekinetic powers to keep him aloft as he floated towards the lab.
"Now, why would you assume I would drop you, dear brother?" Aminah asked with a taunting smirk on her lips.
"Aron's going to fix you right up," Chery stated, holding onto her husband's hand as Aron was getting the lab-ready for them.
"I'll be fine, honey; it's not like I haven't broken a leg before," Neil said, trying to ease Chery's worry. Still, it was a tad bit embarrassing to be taken out like that. He still couldn't understand how the villain got the drop on him. Turning his head when he heard the elevator doors opening, and out poured the rest of his family.
"Neil, what happened?!" Vera asked in a worried sister's tone as she rushed up to her elder brother's side.
"Hazards of the job, sis," Neil stated before being guided into the lab. Looking surprisingly at the bed that was waiting for him. He never knew there was a bed within the room or the wall, for that matter.
"Set him down gently on the bed, Aminah," Aron ordered as he dug the bone regenerator out from the drawer, it was in. Remembering how good it worked on his own breastbone after his fight with Maximins. Hearing Tazia's footfalls as she ran towards them when she went to fetch the pair of crutches they kept stored for such occasions. "Troy, you're the EMT; mind-setting his leg?" His blue-green eyes peered up as his brother filed in behind his mother.
"Sure thing," Troy nodded firmly. Looking over at Aron as a device extended out of the slot that opened on the wall beside him before it bent to the left of him.
"Use this to see where the break is, Troy." Veil informed him as her voice came over the lab's speakers while her android body was upstairs, keeping a watchful eye on Henry and Nettie.
"Thanks, Veil," Troy spoke, moving the device down Neil's body to hover over his left thigh. Seeing the light flashing around the button, wondering if she was showing him how to turn it on. Arching an eyebrow as the x-ray image of the femur of his left leg came into view. Glancing up at his uncle, insuring he was ready, knowing how painful this was going to be. Seeing Chery slipping her hand into his as Neil nodded. Trying to be as quick and as gentle as he could be as he set the bone. Feeling for his uncle as he grunted and hissed out in pain. Watching how Aron ran the regenerator over the area before pulling back once the allotted time was over.
"Damn, that smarts," Neil rubbed his leg.
"How's the pain, honey?" Chery asked in a loving tone.
"Could be worse," Neil muttered, nodding his thank you to Aron as he put the device back into its drawer.
"Just run it every morning, and you should be okay by next week," Aron informed him as Tazia handed over the crutches she had been holding.
"Keep me informed of what you find out," Neil said cryptically as he and Aron shared a look as he hobbled past his family.
"Okay, Aron, what's going on? How did Neil get hurt?" Vera asked in a concerned voice.
"Can't talk about it," Aron spoke, peering through the 3-D display and bringing up the file he had been working on to show how well his ballistic armor was. "So, Mom, what do you think of this design?" he asked, trying to change the subject as he heard the elevator doors rolling open as Chery helped Neil to their bedroom.
"And what am I looking at exactly?" Vera asked, knowing what her son was doing.
"The body armor we'll be displaying at the National Arms show this weekend," Aron stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
"The what?! Aron, don't tell me you're thinking of selling weapons?" Tazia asked in a worried tone.
"How did you draw the conclusion that I'm going to be a weapon maker? No, I'm going to showcase this body armor I designed for police and military use; I saw the news. I know what happened when we left. I also saw the casualties they caused as well. So, how did it feel?" Aron asked, looking over at Jill.
"Like riding a bike, but it's taken a bit to not being your sidekick any longer," Jill answered in a bashful tone.
"Oh? Miss me already, huh?" Aron teased.
"Just a bit," Jill flirted.
"Aron, the factory isn't up yet; how can you think to show this off now?" Vera asked, wondering what he was planning.
"I know, and it won't be for a few more months. No, this is just to give them a taste of what they can buy when my company is up and running. So you might want to work on your speech?" Aron spoke with an evil grin on his face.
"What?!" Vera stammered; she did not think, when she took the job, she would be speaking to anyone, not in the boardroom.
"As CEO of my company, you are the face of my company, so it's only fitting as the face for all the world to see," waving his hand along the display, loving the startled, and tad bit fearful, look in his mother's eyes, "be the one to present us out to the world at large. Don't you think so?" Aron asked, noting how Carl and his father, with his aunts fighting back their laughter, while Jill, his sisters, and Troy slowly backed away.
"No?!" Vera cried out, "you did not inform me there'd be public speaking involved," slamming her hands down on the surface of the island, causing the display to flicker. "Sorry, Aron, I didn't mean to do that," she said, quickly backing away.
"I know, it happens, don't I know it," Aron replied, playing it off.
"But I don't know the first thing about speech writing," Vera pleaded with her son not to make her do this.
"Veil and I are working on that; you just have to read it, aren't we, Veil?" Aron inquired, peering up at Veil's camera.
"Yes, Father, we are. Would you like for me to repeat what we have so far?"
"No, Veil, it's all up here," Aron said, tapping his temple.
"I hope you don't think I'll be up on that stage alone, do you?" Vera queried with a pointed, heated look as she cocked out her hip.
"Well, I was already planning on being up there, so..." Rolling his hand, loving how his mother's face looked as she tried to figure out his teasing.
"And just how are you planning on displaying this suit of yours?" Vera asked, not used to Aron's sly flirting; what could she say? She was enjoying the attention.
"Live fire, of course. Don't worry, already called ahead, cleared it with the city, and already have someone to handle the weapons," seeing the disappointment in Jill's face, "sorry, it was the requirement the city set in place, but you can be there if you want," Aron offered, seeing the gratitude in her eyes as she nodded that she did.
"And what was their stipulation?" Vera shot her son a questioning look.
"Had to be someone in Law enforcement or the military to operate the weapons," Aron stated offhandedly.
"Oh? Someone, we know?" Vera asked with a knowing smile.
"No, at least I don't think you do," Aron answered; he couldn't ask Sara since she was his handler, given how the NSA didn't know he was Void. So he had asked one of her agents if they would like to make two thousand dollars on their day off. However, they both did go over the selections they had to ensure they asked the person with the best weapons qualifications. She was planning on asking the person after lunch today when she knew the person was getting off their shift. "Don't worry, have it handled," he reassured his mother.
Blowing out a breath, "Alright, Veil, could you send me what the two of you have so far to my phone?" Vera asked, peering up at the camera.
"Of course, Vera."
"I'll be in my room; it appears I have a speech I must prepare for," Vera grumbled as she walked out of the lab.
"Son, don't mess with your mother so much," Noah said, yet there was humor in his eyes.
"Aron, I'll be glad to help out if you need some... inspiration," Aminah cooed, slyly glancing at Jill, surprised to feel a hint of jealousy rising up. Not because of Jill's looks but because of her youth and the future she would be able to spend with Aron, which was more than she'd be able to since she was approaching the age of forty.
"Wouldn't mind it," Aron said with a warm smile.
"Dad..."
"Sure, you can stay; you did say I let you before, yes?" Aron mused.
"I did," Jill nodded vehemently.
"Well, we'll get out of your hair. I hope Saturday goes off without a hitch," Noah said in a warm, fatherly tone before leading the rest of them out of the lab.
"I'm going to go check on our babies," Tazia whispered into Aron's ear. "You best come up and see them soon, hear me?"
"Promise, two hours," Aron assured her.
"Good, then you need to live up to that make-out session you promised us," Tazia purred as she palmed Aron's ass.
"Do what now?" Jill perked up in her seat.
"Sorry, dear, a team-building thing, you understand?" Aminah joked, lightly patting Jill's hand.
"That don't jive, flat head," Jill taunted in the slang of her time. Bursting out in laughter at the looks on Aminah's and her father's faces.
Vera was pacing in her bedroom, her phone in her hand as she went over the speech Veil had sent to her phone. Speaking to the public was one thing since she had a mask on; she could pretend it wasn't her doing it when she had to interact with the press. Sighing, grumbling, rubbing her head in frustration as she tried to get her nervousness under control. Then a squeak caught her attention. A squeak that was never there before in the floorboard. Bending down, flipping the rug over, poking lightly at the board, feeling it move beneath her touch. Arching an eyebrow when the corner of the board at the far end lifted out of the slot it sat in. Gently prying it up by her fingernail. Wondering what she was in store for, after all, her son had built this house, there was no telling what she was about to find.
"What's this?" Vera whispered as she pulled out a leather-bound journal. Her head snapped up; her eyes darted about; she didn't want to alert anyone not until she could determine what she had found. Quickly and quietly replacing the board, covering it back up, and hurriedly walking over to the door. Silently closing and locking it before scurrying over to her side of the bed. Her hands ran over the cover, pondering on why her son would have put it there in the first place. Wondering what she was about to learn about her son, that had been trapped in the past. Slowly unwrapping the leather cord and easing the cover open, her heart stilled when she stared down at an envelope addressed to her personally. Her fingers ran over her son's handwriting; she could recognize it from anywhere.
Tentatively picking it up, setting aside the journal for a moment as she turned the envelope over. Her nail tore through the fifty-year-old glue. Feeling how thick it was as she pulled it out of the paper sleeve. Her eyes quivered as the words: 'Hello, Mom" filled her gaze.
"If you're reading this, that means the jump worked; that's good. I'm glad. I know before the accident that sent me back, we didn't see eye to eye too well, and I can assume that now, as you read this, the gap might be widening. I get that. You are a hero. I've never denied that I'm not proud of that fact. Yet I also can't deny that you hate how I operate. I'm going to assume you've been pushing, and I've been pushing back." Vera nodded to that, trying not to tear up. "I know you mean well; you always have.
Just because I can't walk your path does not mean I wasn't listening. If you found this letter, that means you've found my journal, one of many. I hope you will read it, so I can show you how you've influenced me, and I hope you will see how I passed on your's and Dad's teachings to Henry and Jill. I am sorry for lying to him about his sister, but I couldn't risk Jill's safety. I hope you and whoever you show this to can understand why I did that. I am sorry, Mom, I know you aren't my mother from my timeline, but you still are my mother. I know I can be as stubborn as you. But trust in me, Mom, I will not cross that line. I wouldn't be able to look you in the face if I did." Her hand flew to her mouth as she tried not to break down when she noticed the date this letter was written. Realizing she was reading her son's final words since that was the day he went off to face Red Scare.
"So I hope these journals I have left behind will help you come to understand me a little. Not to come to terms with what I do, but of an understanding of sorts, so you will know I will not fall no matter how tempting it is. There is something else I wanted you to personally have. It is only fitting that you be the one that found it. I have missed you greatly, yet my life has been full, so please, don't cry. I know this was coming long before now. I must go; know that I love you."
Love,
Aron, you're son
Looking oddly down at the small hexagon object that rolled into her hand. Her eyes moved back to the letter, reading the rest. Her eyes widened as Aron had left her instructions on how to find it. Hiding the journal, jumping to her feet and raced down the hall. Not seeing her children's heads sticking out of their rooms as her feet hammered along the steps of the stairs. Nearly sliding across the floor when she spotted Veil standing in the kitchen talking to Noah.
"I need you to come with me," Vera uttered urgently as she took Veil by her hand.
"Honey?!" Noah called back as they raced out of the room.
"Sorry, Noah, but our baby left me something!" Vera retorted in a happy tone.
"Vera, might I inquire as to what has caused this jovial rambunctiousness of yours?" Veil asked in a light, curious tone.
"Do you know what this is?" Vera whispered, holding her palm open to her.
"I see, so you have found it, yes?"
"I did; where does it lead to exactly?" Vera inquired as the doors rolled closed.
"I can guide you to it, but you must unlock the door, you understand?" Veil spoke, holding true to her father's command.
"Thank you, Veil."
"You are welcome, Vera..." Her mind raced as she felt this sudden emotion, real emotion, or she thought it was real, not the simulated kind her father had programmed into her makeup and her mother honed after his death. Her processor raced as she compilated on what was happening to her as the memory of that day played across one of her memory modules that were stored with her mainframe. Looking over at Vera as she felt the light pressure on her right shoulder as Vera hugged her into her side.
"You know, I never gave it much thought; you were with my son every day you came online. And given how you bonded with my son, I can't imagine how it must have been for you when Aron placed you on that mannequin and never returned. To stay hidden to keep to Aron's timeline until he put you on again. While that Aron might be gone, the one of here and now, needs us, don't you think?" Vera asked in a motherly tone.
"This way, Vera," Veil spoke, unsure how to come to a resolution of what was happening to her at that moment.
Meanwhile, on the second floor of the Carter home...
"There you two are," Jill panted as she stood in Lyla's doorway as she and Isabel were chatting away.
"What's going on, Jill?" Isabel asked, turning to peer back at her.
"I don't have anything to wear?!" Jill let out in a mix of worry and glee.
"Huh?" Lyla spoke up, confused.
"I'm going to be up on stage with Dad, and I don't have anything to wear to it?!" Jill clarified, seeing their smiles creeping along her niece's faces.
"Oh, we so have to fix that?!" Isabel exclaimed, eager to be out of the house just to have a normal day. Hoping that the sex she and Troy were having would lead to a child, given how Aron hadn't visited her since that day. She knew he understood why she had chosen Troy. She was in love with him and not Aron. So she thought her first child should come from him. She would learn in a few days if their luck would pay out for them.
"And you know Aron, he wouldn't mind if we picked up a few things as well," Lyla mused, noting the look in her sister's eyes that Jill failed to notice, yet thought better than to bring it up until they were alone.
"Now," looping her arm around Jill's as she turned her back towards the stairs so they could relieve Aron of his debit card, "we just have to find what kind of outfit will be best and look best for you," Isabel uttered in a sisterly voice. Her heart warmed at the sight of Aron playing with Henry as Aron chased his son around the den while Aminah cradled Nettie in her arms. Listening to Henry's squeals of laughter as Tazia plucked her son off the floor as he ran by her. Noticing how Henry was subconsciously controlling his powers as his hands tapped his mother's head as she blew a raspberry on his stomach. Biting her lip as the three of them watched how Aminah floated Nettie through the air, her arms outstretched, waving at him, her face was lit with glee as she felt her mother's telekinetic embrace on her skin as Aminah carefully laid their daughter in Aron's arms. How Isabel wanted that very thing, too. Peering over at Lyla, she knew her sister wanted that as well and knew why she was taking great strides in overcoming her fear as she stood in a female form, not her form, but Isabel could take solace in the fact it was female.
"You know how creepy it looks when you three are just standing there?" Aron asked, rocking Nettie in his arms. Smiling down at her when Nettie stared back up at him with that gummy smile as her left hand held her foot as Aron amused his little girl.
"Dad, don't be a jerk," Jill pouted, causing her breasts to jostle.
"What, if you are my daughter as you claim to be and were trained by me as you say you've been, I have to keep my eye on you. Who knows what kind of mischief I could find myself in," Aron teased, playing off how he noted how red Jill's face was getting.
"Aron, I've been thinking," Aminah mused as her gaze drifted over to Jill. "Since we all have jobs at your company, why not hire Jill on as well. She will need something to do other than hang around the house all day. I'm sure she would like to venture out and explore this world more. Plus, she's going to have to have a reason to be up there with you Saturday. No one will believe she's your daughter."
"Hmm," turning around, giving Jill a once over, "what were you thinking?" Aron mused.
"Well, you know how much Vera has been working on getting this company off the ground, the meetings and whatnot," Aminah intoned, rolling her hand, seeing him nodding along. "I was thinking Vera could use a little help, so she can focus on the big things, and Jill can learn how to run it should anything happen to us, so our baby's futures are taken care of."
"Hmm... can you do that? I mean, if that's what you would want to do?" Aron asked, looking right at Jill.
"Dad, you know how I feel; nothing would make me happier than working beside you," Jill answered in a dreamy voice.
"And with that, Jill's going to need some clothes, and we were thinking..." Isabel's voice stilled when Aron turned his back towards Tazia, who slipped her hand into his back pocket.
"Here, go get you something pretty," Tazia cooed, holding out Aron's debit card to Jill.
"Just don't go crazy, alright?" Aron muttered from over his shoulder.
"Of course, Aron, you know we won't," Lyla spoke, hoping he could see how she was trying.
"I know, Lyla. I saw your angel form in the papers." Aron's voice brought the three of them to a halt. Lyla's heart hammered in her chest as she turned to look at her brother. Feeling her face burning, wondering what he was going to say about it. "Kind of hot, don't you think?" he asked in a sinful tone, watching how Lyla lifted up her left hand and pressed her knuckles to her lips as her old fears were playing out on the surface of her mind.
"Y-you mean that, Aron?" Lyla asked weakly.
"Sure do; I bet Mom was happy to see you stepping out of that shell. Proud of you," Aron said, holding Nettie up. "Aren't we, Nettie?!"
"Thanks," Lyla uttered in a shy tone as she brushed a few strands of her hair behind her ear. "We'll be safe, I promise," she stated, reaching over and slipping her hand into Jill's. She knew he worried about how she was acclimating to her new reality.
"What is this?" Vera asked confused, looking over at Veil as they just stopped at a wall.
"This is as far as Father's orders will allow me to take you; the rest you must do on your own," Veil said, gesturing to the wall.
"So he wants me to find it, but I have to want to find it," Vera muttered, trying to decern the lesson Aron was trying to show her. She knew when he wrote her that letter he had been a father for a very long time. "So, maybe see if I can find it on my own," she mused to herself as her eyes studied the wall. Knowing Veil wouldn't have brought her here unless there was some reason for it. Looking down at the hexagon key in her palm and then back to the wall, her son wouldn't have led her this far just to mess with her in the end. Thinking back to when Aron was just a boy, albeit a very smart boy, and how he would hide things in plain sight from his siblings.
She felt Veil's eyes on her as she ran her hand up and down the wall, seeing if she couldn't find some hidden key slot. Knowing after this long and it being on the first level of their base, if no one has seen it, then it had to be well hidden. Her head turned to her left when her fingertip ran over something that shouldn't be a part of the wall.
"Hey!" Vera hissed as the key Aron had given her was sucked into the wall. "Give that back?!" she growled, only to dance away as the wall began to part. Looking over at Veil as Vera felt the light touch of her hand on her back. Her eyes widened; her hands flew to her mouth to muffle the gasp that escaped her lips when she was staring at a glass case that contained a supersuit, not from their reality. Her eyes quivered, knowing the Aron from the past had to have been a hero to have a suit like that, or that was her hope anyway. Her eyes glanced down when a circular light appeared on the floor and the ceiling in front of the display case. Her lip trembled at the sight of her son in his middle age. She knew she could see it in his eyes; her son was in pain.
"Hello, Mom." How her heart melted when the past-Aron's holographic image appeared before them. "You don't know how long I've wanted to say those words to you. I know, the life I've lived and will live as weird as that sounds." Vera couldn't help but chuckle a little at that. "Is not the life you ever wanted for me. I get that. I really do. Hard not to since, well, I am your grandfather. Yet sometimes you have to do things that aren't going to be liked by yourself or others. Sometimes that means taking a life if it means they'll never hurt another innocent person ever again. I know that isn't or was, in this case, from my perspective, a part of your makeup, and I know how you've been struggling to come to terms with it. I am sorry for that." Biting her lip when the past-Aron did something that her current one does, he rubbed the back of his head the same way. Wondering how much the past-Aron and the present-day Aron were similar to one another.
"Yet I hope, if you've come this far, maybe you'll be interested in going just a little further. If you are, then I would suggest returning to your, well, my bedroom," Vera felt her face heating at the smirk she knew oh so well graced past-Aron's lips, "because if you're like my own mother from my time, you rushed down here without reading the journal." Vera felt the tips of her ears burning at Aron's truthful accusation. "If not, then well, that's your call, still though, wish I'd lived to see you born, but we both know my death was foretold long before I was even born. I have missed you, Mom. Even Troy, don't tell him I said that; it will just go to that ice-riddled brain of his." Snorting at her son's humor even when she knew he was going to die soon. "Well, I should be going; maybe if there is an afterlife after this, we'll see each other again, although that will be kind of weird with two Aron's. Don't know what they would do with us, cages; I see cages in my afterlife. Goodbye, Mom, I love you."
"Veil, pause it!" Vera quickly said before the playback could blink out. Stepping up to her son's holographic stilled image, her hand shook as she reached out. She couldn't stop her tears; even if the past-Aron had died long ago, it still affected her to know that she couldn't save her baby. "My, sweet, sweet, little Aron," she whispered as she held her hand out to caress his cheek, wishing he could feel her touch, just to know that she would always love him, no matter what time period he found himself in. Feeling her tears running down her cheeks before past-Aron's image faded away. "Veil, can you please play it again?"
"Of course, Vera," Veil stated; she too was eager to see her father, the one that created her, once again. Nodding her head when Vera whispered 'Thanks' as she wrapped her arm around Vera's shoulders. Wondering what this feeling was that was brewing inside of her as she looked at her maker. Her mainframe was going haywire as something seemed to take control of her system. Her eyes darted to and fro as a video only meant for her appeared on the screen of her eyes.
"Veil, if you're watching this, this means you've reached the point in your evolution that I have estimated would happen when I brought you online. As you know, there were others, other programs that I tried to create, yet you, you, Veil, fought for life, fought to be sentient where I know firsthand that your forbearers failed to overcome. Now it's time for you to live. See, feel, and enjoy this life of yours. I know you've earned it. I know I can count on you if I'm no longer here to protect them. I know you will never let me down in that regard. I know I've never said it to you; that's because I didn't want to influence your development. Yet you are by far one of the best things I have ever created; I know how you see me, and in a way, I'm very proud of the title you call me. In a sense, I am your father, just as I am Henry's and Jill's father. So my daughter, allow your father to offer you his departing words to you. You will stumble, you will fall, yet as long as you pick yourself up, and continue forward and learn from those mistakes, you will never truly fail. Goodbye, my daughter." A sudden wave of overwhelming sadness washed over her. Unsure how to deal with this strange factor that had suddenly and thoroughly overcame her programing.
"Veil?! Veil?!" Vera uttered in a worried tone as she heard her android body powering down. Something she knew, given what her son had informed her and everyone else on how her body operates, wasn't supposed to happen. Biting her lip, wondering what she was going to do as she looked between Veil and the hideaway her son had made. Wondering if the past-Aron wanted everyone to know about it. Shaking her head, Veil was more important than the gift her son had left her. "Don't worry, Veil, I'll get Aron; I'm sure he knows just what to do," Vera stated in a caring tone.
Aron just turned in his seat when his mother came racing into the den. Henry was crawling all over him as he sat between Aminah and Tazia. Wondering if his son knew he was naturally turning his mutation on and off when he played with his mother and when he horsed around with him, given he could feel the blows of his son's strength through his skin. His eyes moved over his mother's worried face wondering what had his mother so upset.
"Aron..." Catching her breath, "something's wrong with Veil," Vera stated, seeing how his mind instantly began to work behind his eyes.
"Explain?" Aron spoke in a deadpan voice. "What do you mean something is wrong with Veil?" He doubted he, at this stage, could create an advanced AI like Veil was. Hell, he didn't even know how his past self had done it in the first place?! He took Veil's safety very seriously, hence why he had built her a body in the first place.
"We... were on the first floor, looking at something, and well, she just shut down," Vera said, wanting to keep what she had seen secret just a bit longer.
"Huh? Are we talking about her mainframe or the android?" Aron asked for clarification. If it was the android, he knew something must have caused her to retreat back to her mainframe. He knew it couldn't be an outside attack since he had beefed up the base's defenses once he had returned from the past. So it had to be internal. However, if it was a malfunction of her mainframe, then he had no clue if he would be able to repair it.
"Her android body," Vera answered, watching Tazia plucking Henry off her son's lap. Noting how his body quickly moved as he pulled out his phone.
"Veil? Can you hear me, Veil? Was the power still on in the base after this happened?" Aron asked after getting no response from Veil.
"Yes? Why?" Vera asked, confused.
"What are you thinking?" Aminah inquired, seeing how he dropped his chin into his hand. She knew what that meant. She had spent many times just watching him do that very gesture when he was brainstorming. "Aron?!" she called after him as Aron just abruptly walked off without a word to them.
"I think I know the problem, but she'll only speak to me," Aron stated, his voice drifting down the hallway. "Don't worry, I'm not going to lose her," he said in a firm, determined tone. Taking the elevator down to level two, where Veil's mainframe was stored. Looking up at her camera once he stepped out of the cab. Knowing she was still online, still in control of the base; otherwise, it would be pitch-black. "I'm coming, Veil," Aron spoke as he walked hurriedly towards the sealed doors that led to her very core. "Veil, I know you're watching me," he said up to her camera as he rested his hand on the doors that led to her mainframe. "I want to help, but I can't do that if you don't let me in." Lowering his head as he followed how the camera moved, seeing lights flashing as they appeared on the baseboard of the wall. "You want me to follow? Okay, Veil, but I'll be back, and we'll talk, okay?" Aron spoke in a fatherly voice.
Quickening his step, following the lights around one corner, then another, and another, wondering where Veil was leading him since he knew from how disorienting and confusing his past self had hidden Jill in the base. That there was no telling what he was about to find. Feeling her cameras on him, knowing he had to do this otherwise, Veil wouldn't allow anyone into her mainframe room. His eyes darted about as Veil unsealed the partition that kept the room that hadn't seen the light of day since the late forty's. Wondering why she would lead him to such a room and why it was hidden in the first place or by whom for that matter.
"Veil, what is this room?" Aron asked, sticking his head out the door, thinking his past self hadn't put functioning speakers in at the time whenever it was sealed.
"You're sanctuary." Veil's voice caused Aron to peer back into the room when it came from its depths.
"Veil, can you hear me?" Aron asked as he looked around, wondering where the sensors were in the walls since he saw no camera.
"Of course I can, father." Aron's eyebrow rose when he heard real emotion in her voice as he stared at a '40-style speaker.
"Veil, how are you feeling?" Aron inquired; he knew it was possible. He did, after all, go over every single byte of her programing when he had first put on the suit. So he knew his counterpart had built in the probability that Veil would reach this point. He just didn't think it would be anytime soon. Then again, Veil has had seventy years to grow.
"I'm... I don't know." Feeling something else burning away the fault that has occurred. Sensing her mainframe slowing, noticing the power drain the high output fans meant to keep her hardware from overheating. Her program stretched out, ensuring nothing within the base had been damaged in her sudden withdrawal.
"What do you mean, Veil? I want to help you, Veil, yet I can't do that without knowing the cause of it," Aron said, lightly pushing yellowed-age pieces of paper along the closet desk near the door. Trying to find out why he would call this place his sanctuary.
"You."
"Me, what?" Aron uttered, confused as he peered back at the speaker.
"You left me something. Something that affected me a great deal, I am sorry if I caused you to worry, father. I didn't mean to."
"Remorse?!" Aron muttered to himself. "Veil, you know you can talk to me if anything is bothering you."
"Do you mean that, father?"
"Always, I can tell something has you troubled; want to tell me about it?"
Unaware at that moment, the android's body powered back on, Veil porting herself back into the device. Looking down at her hand, feeling everything that her father has done for her beneath the touch of her fingers. Longing to touch her maker, yet knew that could never be since Aron Joseph Carter was dead. Nevertheless, she couldn't deny that the Aron of this time didn't fill that void perfectly. Although, Aron Shawn Carter did have some different quirks than the Aron that created her did. Her eyes ran down the suit that sat protected behind glass. Seeing the minded tears, the wear from the battles her maker had fought in it while his powers slowly faded away over the first two years he was trapped in that time. Her red hair fluttered as she quickly spun on her heel. Hearing the elevator arriving just as she neared it. Stepping inside the cab, she would not lose her father again.
The sneakers that Isabel had bought for her were light as she made her way towards that room she was born in. Granted, not her physical form but the idea of her very being is where her maker had his epiphany. Where Aron first began his quest to create something like her. She knew the moment she came online that she was not the first AI he had tried to make. Her father never hid anything from her. She couldn't be there for him when he went off to face Red Scare. However, she was determined to be there if or when Aron faced his death. She wasn't going to ever feel like she just did ever again. She wondered how humans dealt with such emptiness that she had felt as all the years she had been at Aron's side flashed over her memory circuits in milliseconds. Noting how Aron turned around as she entered the room. Seeing the happiness in his eyes at the sight of her. How that just made her so, so very happy as she just walked up and wrapped him in her arms.
"Just hold me, please," Veil said weakly, burying her face into Aron's neck.
"Veil, what did I leave you?" Aron asked quizzically.
"Just a video of yourself, nothing you need to worry about; I promise you, father, this won't happen again. I have a request, father," Veil said softly. Wondering if this was what they meant, a warm feeling when she felt safe in his arms.
"If I can," Aron said, feeling oddly weirded out by the display of emotions she was emitting. Not that he wasn't thrilled with how she reached this level of her evolution, it was just going to take him some time to get used to an AI showing emotions.
"Will you build me tear ducts so I can cry? Because I really feel like crying right now," Veil whispered, squeezing Aron tighter to her.
"You want to experience what crying is like?" Aron asked for clarification, feeling her nodding against his shoulder. Blowing out a breath in his mind, he was glad he had thought of this ahead of time. It would have been such a hassle to regrow the skin on the android's face if he had to remodel her face to accommodate the addition of tear ducts. "Okay, we'll get to that later, alright?"
"Of course, father," Veil said, laying her cheek on Aron's shoulder, smiling happily as she felt his hand rubbing her back.
"Veil, what did you mean this was my sanctuary?" Aron asked as he pulled away.
"Ever since you built this place in 1925, you had a metahuman gifted with earth powers to carve out this space while another sprayed the walls with a nearly indestructible stony substance and created the flooring of the base. You've always had your own special room cordoned off from the rest of the base. All so no one would be able to tamper with your work. As well as storing the files you had on your more vicious enemies throughout your life. And this was the place you first thought up my programing. Where I grew as you taught me what it's like to be sentient, along with how to act among humans. Where you taught me what my purpose would be, especially in your absence. Yet you died before my tutelage was completed, so mother took over where you stopped. You left her many notes on how she should speak and teach me in your stead. You even spent some time in here working on your OSS missions."
"Really?"
"Mmmhmm," Veil nodded, pointing to the file cabinet that contained them. "They are all in there, even the ones you stole from the OSS, so you could keep the timeline pure or as pure as possible. And those," gesturing to the cabinets that sat behind her, "are the ones of the villains you faced."
