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esp_dragonFandom: Motorcity
Summary: Chuck has a secret – the thing is, even he doesn't know he has it.
Rating: PG-13
Contains: Nothing.
Notes: Vague spoilers for 1x11 'Off the Rack'.
…I have way too many italics again.
Genre: General/Friendship
Word count: 1,056
Status: Complete?
Chuck came to in a daze, before panic kicked in a second later, his attention sharpening to his surroundings because fire. There was fire everywhere and Mikey – Mikey looked dead, a thick trail of blood leaking from somewhere underneath his scalp. Chuck lunged over to Mike's side, not caring about the bite of his seatbelt, the need to know that his best friend was still alive far far stronger.
And there was a heartbeat, a little slow, but still there. Chuck took a second to just slump in relief against Mike's shoulder before shaking himself, one hand undoing each of their seatbelts – it was great he was still alive, but if they didn't get out soon, they were both going to die, one way or another.
One of those deaths being from Mutt tipping over the edge of the road, Chuck realised as he saw that the view from Mutt's windshield was looking up instead of over flat ground. They had to get out now.
Very gingerly, Chuck reached over and opened Mike's door, keeping his hand on the handle. Okay, he had to do this quickly, because he really wasn't calculating the odds of them both surviving in his head (but he clung onto the hope that they'd had a zero percent chance of survival before and still lived through it – except Mike had been in control then and really! Not thinking about it right now!).
Clamping down on a whimper, Chuck gave the door a push, knowing it would swing open completely, and he scrambled across Mike; before he was out completely, he whirled around and grabbed Mike from under his armpits, hauling them both out of Mutt. He didn't care that he landed on his back, Mike on top of him, especially when there was a metallic groan and Mutt's green nose went high in the air as she shrieked out of view.
Chuck knew he was hyperventilating, but it was like his mind was detached from his body as he pulled Mike's limp body away from the burning remains of Kane's new bots, trying to get to the cover of any of the nearby buildings. The only thing that mattered right then was getting to safety. Panicking could happen later - or acknowledgement that he was panicking now could happen later.
They made it inside and Chuck had holed them up in an empty room that didn't have any windows when Mike started to regain consciousness. Chuck practically laughed with relief, wanting to hug him, just to make sure he was all right and still there.
Mike winced, putting a cautious hand to his head before blinking up at him. "Chuckles?" he slurred.
"Right here, bro; we had a bit of a crash." Understatement. Such an understatement, and he'd probably tell him what happened to Mutt once he stopped being elated Mike was okay.
"Heh, no kid…ding…?" Mike trailed off with a confused tilt to his words, and Chuck saw he was staring at his hands.
"I'm fine," he said, waving them. "Much better than you anyway – I'm surprised I got out without a scratch, really."
"Uh, Chuck?" Mike flicked his gaze up to Chuck's eyes before slowly reaching over to grasp the hand he'd used to open the door. He flipped it over carefully and Chuck blanched at the sight of his skin – okay, wow, he hadn't realised the adrenaline had kicked in that hard because his palm was a mess, an angry red scorch mark going right across it, some of his top's fibres fused in it. It was going to be a problem programming if he couldn't even…
Chuck frowned as he flexed his hand, its movement nearly the same as ever, his pinkie responding sluggishly. That was weird. There wasn't any tugging or -
That wasn't a fibre, it was a wire and Chuck stopped breathing as his eyes tracked where it went. Right into the centre of his palm.
It…was a part of Mutt, right? Bits of her had to have been… With a sick morbid fascination, Chuck pinched the wire and pulled.
His skin split open, revealing a network of wires crammed underneath it, metal shining at the edges.
Chuck fought the urge to be violently sick. His hand was robotic? But when had that happened and how far up did it go?
"Woah there, Chuck," Mike said, his voice soft, stopping Chuck's hand from pulling the wire further.
"I'm not going to take it easy!" Because he knew what Mike was going to say. "I – for all I know, I might be all robot and then-!" What if he had no control over his actions, like Julie in the suit? But this wasn't the same - what if even his thoughts could be controlled? "I could betray you and not even know it!" he burst out, scrambling away. He could be broadcasting their position right now, Kane coming to pick them up personally.
"You wouldn't," Mike said as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.
"Mikey – if Kane can control-"
"But that's assuming it goes higher than your wrist."
"I don't remember getting this." Even if it was just his hand, what else didn't he remember? Or maybe something he remembered never actually happened? What if everything he knew was a lie?
That quietened Mike, but only for a second. "Look, we don't know how far it goes, if it's your entire arm or much more than that. What I do know," Mike continued, over the beginning of Chuck's protests, "is if you were were…built by Kane –not saying you are; just saying there might be a possibility- then he would have called you back by now – you know all our faces, where our hideout is. Everything. Kane could have destroyed the Burners months ago if he could control you."
Chuck stared at Mike, his mouth hanging open. That – oh. At a loss for words, Chuck ducked his head, poking at the wire.
"Hey." Mike's hand closed over his, making sure he didn't worry the wound too much. "Once we get back to Jacob's, we'll find out what happened."
Yeah, they would. Chuck let out a shaky sigh, smiling back at Mike. He just had to hope all his worst fears were just his imagination and wouldn't be confirmed there.
______________________________________________
Influenced by the prompt, 'Chuck is a robot but is completely unaware of this, looking exactly like a human.'
…
I think I'm really failing at filling prompts at the moment.
Summary: Chuck has a secret – the thing is, even he doesn't know he has it.
Rating: PG-13
Contains: Nothing.
Notes: Vague spoilers for 1x11 'Off the Rack'.
…I have way too many italics again.
Genre: General/Friendship
Word count: 1,056
Status: Complete?
Chuck came to in a daze, before panic kicked in a second later, his attention sharpening to his surroundings because fire. There was fire everywhere and Mikey – Mikey looked dead, a thick trail of blood leaking from somewhere underneath his scalp. Chuck lunged over to Mike's side, not caring about the bite of his seatbelt, the need to know that his best friend was still alive far far stronger.
And there was a heartbeat, a little slow, but still there. Chuck took a second to just slump in relief against Mike's shoulder before shaking himself, one hand undoing each of their seatbelts – it was great he was still alive, but if they didn't get out soon, they were both going to die, one way or another.
One of those deaths being from Mutt tipping over the edge of the road, Chuck realised as he saw that the view from Mutt's windshield was looking up instead of over flat ground. They had to get out now.
Very gingerly, Chuck reached over and opened Mike's door, keeping his hand on the handle. Okay, he had to do this quickly, because he really wasn't calculating the odds of them both surviving in his head (but he clung onto the hope that they'd had a zero percent chance of survival before and still lived through it – except Mike had been in control then and really! Not thinking about it right now!).
Clamping down on a whimper, Chuck gave the door a push, knowing it would swing open completely, and he scrambled across Mike; before he was out completely, he whirled around and grabbed Mike from under his armpits, hauling them both out of Mutt. He didn't care that he landed on his back, Mike on top of him, especially when there was a metallic groan and Mutt's green nose went high in the air as she shrieked out of view.
Chuck knew he was hyperventilating, but it was like his mind was detached from his body as he pulled Mike's limp body away from the burning remains of Kane's new bots, trying to get to the cover of any of the nearby buildings. The only thing that mattered right then was getting to safety. Panicking could happen later - or acknowledgement that he was panicking now could happen later.
They made it inside and Chuck had holed them up in an empty room that didn't have any windows when Mike started to regain consciousness. Chuck practically laughed with relief, wanting to hug him, just to make sure he was all right and still there.
Mike winced, putting a cautious hand to his head before blinking up at him. "Chuckles?" he slurred.
"Right here, bro; we had a bit of a crash." Understatement. Such an understatement, and he'd probably tell him what happened to Mutt once he stopped being elated Mike was okay.
"Heh, no kid…ding…?" Mike trailed off with a confused tilt to his words, and Chuck saw he was staring at his hands.
"I'm fine," he said, waving them. "Much better than you anyway – I'm surprised I got out without a scratch, really."
"Uh, Chuck?" Mike flicked his gaze up to Chuck's eyes before slowly reaching over to grasp the hand he'd used to open the door. He flipped it over carefully and Chuck blanched at the sight of his skin – okay, wow, he hadn't realised the adrenaline had kicked in that hard because his palm was a mess, an angry red scorch mark going right across it, some of his top's fibres fused in it. It was going to be a problem programming if he couldn't even…
Chuck frowned as he flexed his hand, its movement nearly the same as ever, his pinkie responding sluggishly. That was weird. There wasn't any tugging or -
That wasn't a fibre, it was a wire and Chuck stopped breathing as his eyes tracked where it went. Right into the centre of his palm.
It…was a part of Mutt, right? Bits of her had to have been… With a sick morbid fascination, Chuck pinched the wire and pulled.
His skin split open, revealing a network of wires crammed underneath it, metal shining at the edges.
Chuck fought the urge to be violently sick. His hand was robotic? But when had that happened and how far up did it go?
"Woah there, Chuck," Mike said, his voice soft, stopping Chuck's hand from pulling the wire further.
"I'm not going to take it easy!" Because he knew what Mike was going to say. "I – for all I know, I might be all robot and then-!" What if he had no control over his actions, like Julie in the suit? But this wasn't the same - what if even his thoughts could be controlled? "I could betray you and not even know it!" he burst out, scrambling away. He could be broadcasting their position right now, Kane coming to pick them up personally.
"You wouldn't," Mike said as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.
"Mikey – if Kane can control-"
"But that's assuming it goes higher than your wrist."
"I don't remember getting this." Even if it was just his hand, what else didn't he remember? Or maybe something he remembered never actually happened? What if everything he knew was a lie?
That quietened Mike, but only for a second. "Look, we don't know how far it goes, if it's your entire arm or much more than that. What I do know," Mike continued, over the beginning of Chuck's protests, "is if you were were…built by Kane –not saying you are; just saying there might be a possibility- then he would have called you back by now – you know all our faces, where our hideout is. Everything. Kane could have destroyed the Burners months ago if he could control you."
Chuck stared at Mike, his mouth hanging open. That – oh. At a loss for words, Chuck ducked his head, poking at the wire.
"Hey." Mike's hand closed over his, making sure he didn't worry the wound too much. "Once we get back to Jacob's, we'll find out what happened."
Yeah, they would. Chuck let out a shaky sigh, smiling back at Mike. He just had to hope all his worst fears were just his imagination and wouldn't be confirmed there.
Influenced by the prompt, 'Chuck is a robot but is completely unaware of this, looking exactly like a human.'
…
I think I'm really failing at filling prompts at the moment.