[Nicholas Acker Villin]

It was a dark and stormy night. The mansion was devoid of life besides a mad scientist working in his laboratory, like Dexter in that cartoon. The Dexter's laboratory in question wasn't the one underground the mansion, the one he used to experiment on the Gifted, but it was located in one of the many rooms in the mansion. After all, building robots was part of his known job as an inventor, so he didn't have to hide it.

Acker's family was worried, especially Emilia. His son had cancelled all the appointments for the week, even family appointments, and closed himself in that mansion, away from anyone. Emilia had tried to contact Acker's assistant, the only friend his son seemed to have, but with no luck. Emilia couldn't know that the Acker had sent the assistant away on some private business.

Sure, the Villins knew that Acker would just disappear for awhile when working on something, but this had been so sudden. That was why Kara, one of Acker's many cousins, was parking the car in the driveway. Emlia had demanded that the family had the gate's code, that was why Kara had managed to get in the driveway. The gate was still closing, giving enough time for, let's just say, an intruder to get inside the property.

Kara got out of the car. Seven days. A week with no contact whatsoever, a welfare check was well overdue. Emilia didn't want to involve the police right away, better check personally first. Kara knocked. No response. Kara tried to open the door with her set of keys. No luck.

"Nik!" Acker hated that nickname because that was how some of his family called him "It's me, Kara! Open the door! Are you okay? Aunt Emilia thinks your are sick or something! If you don't open then I will have to call the authorities for a welfare check!" Kara let out a long sigh. She was wearing a brown expensive coat, her black hair in a ponytail, also jeans adorned with boots. The nights were getting colder already.

"I'll never understand why you decided to come live here all alone, instead of living in the family's mansion with everyone else..." Kara let out another sigh. Meanwhile, in the mansion Acker let out a satisfied scream "Si può fare!" he yelled, a reference to a certain movie about a certain mad colleague.

The dogs blinked and jumped on their fours, their tails wagging. The dogs had been improved, better technology and material, but they still looked like his two Dobermann. Acker patted them "Welcome back, boys!" however, the joy of the moment was cut short when one of the screens in his lab showed someone at the door.

Acker rolled his eyes, he didn't want to deal with authorities, so he had to push a button on his dashboard "I'm fine Kara, now leave me alone! You did your duty! And stop calling me Nik!" Acker noticed Kara's relieved expression which made him feel loved, that kind of love that one could only feel from a loving family, it almost made him feel guilty for snapping at Kara. Almost.

"Snappy as always, you are okay indeed" Kara smiled "Keys don't work...of course...let me in, Aunt Emilia wants me to check on you, you know you have no choice, if you don't let me in then Aunty will come next" it was true, so Acker pushed another button and the door opened.

Acker only had time to get rid of his oily work gloves and pass his hand through his hair in an attempt to fix it. He had forgotten that he was wearing a cover, like an apron made of plastic, it was stained with oil.

Kara looked up at his cousin "You are going through something, and not only because you have some oil on your cheek, but your moustache...is unkept!" Kara said it with an exaggerated tone which Acker rolled his eyes at "I was working, I am fine, just a bit tired, you can go now" Zeus and Apollo trotted towards Kara, waiting to be patted.

The door was still open.

Noah St Cloud

[Noah St Cloud]

(OOC: sorry this got kinda rambly >.<)


Noah hadn’t planned it.

He’d promised a certain mad scientist that Blackstorm would leave him alone, and the organisation had been true to his word. Noah, despite his private decision to not leave Acker alone, had ended up keeping his distance too; there simply hadn’t been the time nor opportunities to fuel the feud. Acker wasn’t the kind of person he could ambush in a shady alley or tackle in the street. He was a Los Eurosian celebrity. He tended to draw eyes. And his renown served as an annoyingly efficient shield against guys like Noah who just wanted to punch him in the face and tell him to stop wearing sunglasses indoors.

Consequently, Noah had done the very mature thing and put it behind him. He’d dealt with his mess from that unfortunate night at the movie theatre (i.e. made the corpse unidentifiable and hidden the remains out of state) and decided, after some careful consideration, that holding a grudge against Acker for the decidedly ‘not chill’ way he’d asked for space was more effort than it was worth.

So yes – Noah hadn’t planned it. He’d been coasting around Grey Pebble in his convertible. Nothing devious in mind, simply driving because he liked going out in storms. Liked to lift his face to the rain and feel it drench his skin and clothes while gales buffeted his body and thunder rumbled through his bones. If it weren’t for the glaring fact he couldn’t control the weather anymore, he could almost pretend he’d stepped back in time. Nostalgia wasn’t something he thought he could experience but… whatever he felt when he was out in a storm, he imagined it was pretty close. And as he was reflecting on this concept he spotted Acker’s private mansion.

The gates were wide open. A car was headed inside.

Noah’s own vehicle slowed to a crawl, then a complete stop. He blinked, stared at the gates, expecting them to close immediately.

They did not.

Going in would be… enormously reckless. He expected the fancy mansion of a tech genius would have cameras everywhere, along with henchmen or guards or whatever they were – like the trio who’d turned up to collect Acker from the cinema. Squinting against the rain and darkness, Noah watched a figure get out of the other car. Not tall enough to be Acker. Even from his distance he could see them open the front door to the building, leave it carelessly open behind them after they ducked inside. A maid? A family member? One of the aforementioned henchmen? If he followed, it wouldn’t be breaking and entering. But it would still be trespassing – a crime which, in California, was usually punishable by up to six months in county jail. That wasn’t something Noah felt like doing.

But wouldn’t it be funny?

He didn’t think of himself as an impulsive person. He liked to think he was a careful, cautious sort, one who thought of all the risks and options before making decisions. But he was starting to think that maybe – just maybe – he sometimes did things for the sake of doing them. Because now he couldn’t stop wondering how Acker would react if the guy he’d committed murder alongside casually showed up at his residence. Strolled right in like they were old pals. In which case, he supposed it would be more accurate to call himself cautious in the sense that he’d clean up his tracks afterwards. He made some wild decisions, sure, but usually only when there was an excuse he could make. A cover up. Possible defences for entering Acker’s mansion could be: he had no intent to commit a crime, was concerned that someone else had forced their way in, or thought it was someone else’s house entirely. And Acker couldn’t tell the police he’d seen Noah kill a person without outing himself in the process.

The interior of his car was already beyond soaked. Regardless, he still bothered to hit the button that put the roof back on, locking the vehicle after he climbed out and closed the door. He didn’t want to get his car trapped by driving in; leaving it outside felt sensible, especially if he needed to make a quick getaway.

Oh shit, now the gates were closing.

Noah broke into a jog and slipped through the narrowing gap before it could close entirely. Glancing back at the connected fence, he reckoned he could climb it easily enough if he needed to make a hasty escape, and a few seconds later he was indoors, met with an expansive and expensive-looking entrance hall that felt very Bond-Villain-esque. Water ran down him, puddling on the floor. He shook himself like a dog, spraying the floor and walls around him, and tracked muddy footprints across the room as he started wandering around.

The obvious next step was to announce his presence.

“Hello?” he called, his tone light and genial. His voice echoed. Damn, Acker had more unnecessary space than Noah did. A slow grin spread across his face. “Nikki, baby, it’s me! Your boyfriend! You left the door open again! Do we have company? I saw a new car in the driveway!”

Maybe if Acker wasn’t home, maybe if some maid or family member was lurking alone in the house, Noah could have some fun by spinning wildly inaccurate stories about the mad scientist. It wouldn’t be as fun as beating the hell out of him, but it sure would keep him smiling for a few days.


Nicholas Acker Villin

[Nicholas Acker Villin]

(OOC: That is perfect!)


The fact that the dogs wanted to be petted by Kara said something about Acker's relationship with Kara. If Acker didn't genuinely like his family, then the dogs would act accordingly by staying away. Instead, the dogs always wanted to be petted when around the Villins.

Sometimes family knew about the dogs, sometimes they believed the dogs were actual animals which was a compliment to his design "Zeus, Apollo!" Kara smiled and scratched the dogs behind their ears "You have them around at least" Acker rolled his eyes again, but let Kara pet his dogs, meaning that he wasn't really annoyed. The dogs liked to be petted, so Acker was glad that the Lads received that type of attention from his family.

Something that looked like an Apple watch started beeping on Acker's left wrist. He checked it and let out an irritated sigh "Just...wait here and close the door!" while walking away he stopped when he passed in front of a mirror. He walked towards the mirror and checked his moustache, but then left the room when the watch beeped again. The Lads followed the mad scientist, leaving Kara by herself.

And that was how Kara met Noah. There weren't any maids or Alfreds in this mansion because Acker used technology to keep his home clean, but Kara was alone with Noah now. She turned around with an incredulous and surprised "WHAT?!" leaving her lips. Her cousin had a boyfriend?! He had never been in a relationship before, as far as she knew!

Kara had noticed that Noah was soaking, but she didn't care because she needed to know more! She approached him, looking him up and down, assessing him. He was very attractive, but also younger than her cousin, although that assistant of his was younger too, apparently he had a type "Sorry for sounding so surprised, but...his boyfriend?! We all believed that he was secretly seeing his assistant, but it's you!"

Kara reached out her hand for a handshake "I'm Kara Gwyneth Villin, your boyfriend's cousin, it's so nice to meet you!" she smiled, clearly excited by the gossip. She totally believed him, her brain didn't even go that maybe this man was being sarcastic. After all, he seemed familiar with Acker, he even knew the nickname.

"Sooo...tell me everything! How long have you been together? How did you meet?" Kara was genuinely happy that Acker wasn't alone anymore.

Meanwhile, in the lab. The watch had beeped for a reason that needed to be dealt with quickly, so it gave enough time for Noah and Kara to talk a little. The dogs were helping Acker, so they wouldn't be a bother either.

Noah St Cloud

[Noah St Cloud]

Noah was not left on his lonesome for long. A woman came out to meet him – presumably the person he’d seen entering the mansion, the reason he was able to get inside in the first place. He blinked at her approach, noted her sparkling eyes as she appraised him and gushed about the mystery of her cousin’s relationship status. Huh, okay. Noah could totally match this energy.

“Oh don’t be silly – come here!” he laughed, playfully swatting her proffered hand away in favour of drawing her into a hug. His clothes squelched when he squeezed her. She did a remarkably good job at covering her surprise – or at least, she didn’t squeal or make a noise of annoyance. Rich people manners were probably too instilled in her for that, or maybe she couldn’t feel it through her expensive-looking coat, or maybe if she was ditzy enough to leave the front door open, she was clueless enough not to notice when someone was shedding water all over her.

He pulled back, resting his hands on her shoulders for a brief moment while he grinned. Her face was vaguely familiar. Whether it was because of her own claim to fame or because of Noah’s casual ten-minute research session after the theatre event, was uncertain. “It’s so nice to meet you! I’ve been asking and asking for months – ‘when can I meet your family, Nik? Why are you keeping me hidden away?’ But you know how he is, and he’s just so shy about our age gap and how we met. For what it’s worth, I don’t think it’s embarrassing at all!”

He clasped his hands together, nodding eagerly as if he were as thrilled to tell the story as Kara was to hear it. While mostly playing up his delight for his audience, the situation did stir some genuine enjoyment in him and his expression wasn't entirely faked; this was the perfect opportunity to embarrass the mad scientist, after all. “Our two-month anniversary is next Tuesday! We met at a strip club, it was so romantic – he hired me for a private dance and refused to leave unless I came home with him! That place was open twenty-four-seven y’know, so he sat in that booth for days. Paid off my student loans, begged me in every way possible to treat him as more than a customer…” He gave a happy little sigh, running his hand through his hair as he shook his head, as though he couldn’t believe his luck.

A new idea swam to the forefront of his mind. Stifling a smirk, he made a show of slowly looking Kara up and down, and tilted his head. “Are you single? He did say he wanted to watch me with others but – oh, I suppose he didn’t mean family. I shouldn’t have told you that.” He waved her off, trying to look embarrassed himself as he averted his gaze and bit his lip. It was a miracle he wasn't cackling. It was all so perfect. The only way it could be better was if Acker’s virtuous mother was stood with them.

Noah cleared his throat, dragging his gaze back up to meet Kara’s with a smile much shyer than before. “Is Nikki home? Has he offered you anything to drink since you got here? He tends to forget his manners when he’s so swept up in his work.” He was content to stay with Kara and feed her some more lies (each one more outrageous than the last) but he had to check they were truly alone first. Needed to know if he could get comfortable or if Acker was hiding behind a wall somewhere, waiting to jump out.


Nicholas Acker Villin

[Nicholas Acker Villin]

Kara was so surprised and excited for the gossip and the news that her cousin finally wasn't alone anymore that she didn't care if her expensive coat got all wet "Weeelll, his assistant his younger than him too, sooo age gap seems Nik's thing...although Nik keeps saying that there has never been anything between them" Kara shrugged, although the assistant was a little bit older than this young man.

"TWO months!? Oh my..." Kara was eating up every word. However, Kara's expression became less and less excited the more she heard "Oh, really? A strip club? Nik at a strip club waiting for a dance? I thought you were more like some kind of super genius or something, maybe met at the university? Nik is into intelligent folk, he fangirled over Einstein when he was eight" Kara giggled.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you are not an intelligent man because you worked at a strip club, after all he paid for your tuition meaning that you went to university" Kara corrected herself "It's just that...Nik doesn't really like strip clubs...trust me, I know from experience...if he went just for you then it means you must be some kind of genius!" Kara obviously wasn't one, but she was a nice person, a Villin through and through contrary to Acker.

Then Kara took a step back "Oookay, I didn't want to know that about my cousin, although as long as it is consensual then I shouldn't judge" Kara cleared her throat, clearly embarrassed. Then she shook her head "Nah! But I didn't expect him to! He is always so grumpy, but we all love him!" she was sincere, the family loved him despite his flows and Acker loved them, although he showed it in his own way.

"He was working on something when I came here..." Kara pointed behind her and in that moment Acker appeared. He was in a hurry. He had seen everything from the security cameras. He clearly wanted Kara out of the mansion before she got hurt or worse.

"Why didn't you tell us about him? He is so nice!" Kara patted her cousin on the arm in a mocking manner, but Acker walked towards Noah and put an arm around his waist. The mad scientist's face was clean now, his moustache brushed and he wasn't wearing the protective apron anymore, but wearing his distinctive black clothes "Would you mind Kara? I'd like to talk to Noah in private and...please don't say anything to anyone"

But, Kara didn't move an inch, she was too mesmerised. She had never seen Acker with anyone and he was in his forties! No one for forty years and now THIS?! Acker had dreaded this moment, but he needed her to leave before it was too late so he had to do something drastic, impulsive. Acker grabbed Noah's jaw and kissed him on the mouth. Of course, Noah still had the time to avoid the kiss if he wanted to.

"Oh...Yeah...I should leave...ehm...sorry...ehm....yeah I won't say anything!" Kara trotted towards the door I'm so happy for you, Nik!" she yelled before closing the door behind her, a few seconds later and the car was heard moving in the driveway. Kara had left the premises.

As soon as the door closed, Acker stepped away from Noah and tried to punch him the same way Noah had done at the cinema. A punch for a punch.

Noah St Cloud

[Noah St Cloud]

Seeing Kara’s expression slowly falter and become increasingly strained (visibly desperate to stay elated for her cousin despite her growing concern) was glorious. Interestingly there was mention of an assistant again, apparently someone whom Acker’s whole family believed he had a thing for. Huh. Maybe an opportunity for blackmail? Perhaps Acker could be convinced to do one or two Blackstorm jobs after all, and perhaps if this assistant reciprocated Acker’s feelings Noah could have a little fun driving a wedge between them.

With how much Kara was emphasising Acker’s attraction to intelligence, Noah was torn between whether he should act smarter to make his story indubitable, or whether he should start leaning heavily into a bimbo persona to further distort the image Acker’s family had of him. And yet – seeing Kara spin excuses and explanations for her cousin, claiming that they all loved him no matter what, Noah wasn’t sure doing so would achieve the desired result. He felt a prickle of… annoyance, that Acker’s family were so openly accepting of him. He would have to try harder. There had to be something his family would consider ‘too much’. Something to stoke disapproval yet wouldn't reveal the both of them as criminals.

Acker chose that moment to enter the room. Noah beamed. “There you are, honey-bun! I was just offering Kara a drink –” Acker’s strides didn’t waver as he swept straight towards him, and for a moment Noah thought he was going to get decked in the face regardless of Kara's presence.

What happened instead was so much worse.

Acker moved close, wrapping his arm around Noah’s waist in an action that immediately made Noah want to snarl and bristle and injure. He held himself still, his clenched fists and too-sharp grin the only allusion to his discomfort, and reminded himself it was his own fault that he was in this position; he’d spun this story.

“Nikki,” Noah sighed, trying to look very putout by Acker’s request to keep their ‘relationship’ quiet. But then Acker grabbed Noah’s jaw. And leaned in.

He wouldn’t. He wasn’t, was he? Oh shit, he was. Acker was committing.

No. No, no, no, no –

But Noah couldn’t lose this game of chicken. He couldn’t back out and undo all his work on Kara, nor could he just passively let it happen like some lily-livered wimp. The only real option was to kiss back furiously, refusing to let tongue enter the equation but pressing hard against closed lips while he gripped Acker’s shirt collar, feigning uncontrollable desire when really all he wanted to do was draw his knife and get to stabbing. Christ he was going to murder him. Noah was going to have nightmares for weeks, fucking moustache –

Understandably, Kara left. The door closed behind her a little too slowly for Noah’s liking, but as soon as it did a disgusted, disbelieving laugh ripped from his throat as he jerked back and shoved away from Acker’s body. “Eugh! No! Why the fu–”

Quick as a flash, Acker’s fist landed a glancing blow against Noah’s jaw. His teeth clacked around the end of his tongue. “OW!” He staggered back, tasting metal. Pinched his tongue between his thumb and forefinger and pulled it out as far as he could, going a little cross-eyed trying to inspect the nip before he jabbed an accusing finger at his assaulter. “'Ou ma’e me bi’e my ‘ongue.” Honestly, Noah would’ve allowed himself to be punched ten times over if it meant he wouldn’t have been kissed by the other man. The punch had distracted him for only a second, and once he remembered, he released his tongue back into his mouth and harshly scrubbed his lips on his sleeve, face scrunched like an angry little boy who’d been forced to give his vaguely creepy grandmother a peck.

“Not cool, man. Not cool.” He glared, watchful for another assault. He put a hand on his hip and waved the other one about as he spoke. “I came all this way to say ‘hi, how you doing,’ and you treat me like this?” He gestured loosely to his face, referring to both the punch and the (ugh) kiss. “So hot and cold, what’s the word – tsundere? You gonna call me a ‘baka’ now?”

“Anyway, let’s get our story straight – I’m thinking my stripper name should be Noel.” Grinning again as if nothing untoward had occurred, he threw some jazz hands. A little ta da. “Cute, right? It’s half my real name and it’s Christmassy so we can say you had to unwrap me like a present – oh, nevermind.” A sigh slipped from his mouth and he shook his head, hands returning to his hips. “I said we met two months ago. Doesn’t make sense to be all Christmas-themed when we met in summer – but then, maybe ‘my thing’ could be that it’s Christmas all-year when I’m involved? Strippers tend to have a ’thing’, right? These are important factors we have to consider, Nik!”

He lunged, aiming to rugby tackle Acker to the floor and hopefully get a few sporadically thrown punches in while they tussled.


Nicholas Acker Villin
OOC: if it's unclear, Noah was trying to say 'you made me bite my tongue' lmao

[Nicholas Acker Villin]

The mad doctor had become successful by never backing away from adversity. If Noah wanted to toy with the boyfriend persona then Acker would fight back. It was Noah's fault. If the younger man believed that he could toy with a madman then Noah got another thing coming.

However, Acker always appreciated a worthy opponent and Noah wasn't backing away. The madman didn't physically like that Noah was reciprocating the kiss, luckily the both of them univocally decided that no tongue would be involved. But, the madman appreciated that Noah wasn't a wimp otherwise the younger man would have been a very boring opponent not worthy of a madman.

"Consequences of your own actions that unfortunately I myself too had to pay" clearly Acker hadn't enjoyed the kiss either since Noah's intelligence wasn't stimulating enough to even incite a whiff of interest. Although, it was not Noah's fault, after all the mad scientist had high standards for intelligence. His assistant had to be a genius if he still worked for Acker, a type of intelligent person who would never fall for any wedge.

"Look at you whining because of your own actions like a child...what's next? Tantrums?" the madman pointed at the door "Just leave" Villin's tone implied that he was being benevolent because clearly the mansion wasn't a safe place for Noah, especially with the Lads in the house because they still remembered Noah killing them which was a very unpleasant memory. If it had been a videogame then the "The Lads will remember this" reminder would have popped up on the screen the moment Noah had killed the Lads back at the movie theatre.

Noah couldn't say that Acker hadn't given the younger man a chance to leave all of this behind. Even though benevolence had been shown by the Villin, the mad scientist was kind of happy that Noah had decided to stay because Acker wanted to hurt the other man very badly.

"It should be Doofus, it would match your personality" Acker couldn't hide relief in his tone because he was looking at a screen on a wall behind Noah that showed Kara had definitely left the premises with no intention of coming back "And stop offending strippers by stating that you were one of them" Acker didn't have anything against strippers contrary to what Noah might possibly believe, Acker appreciated more someone who worked for their money instead of heirs who only spent money gained by others.

Since Acker's attention had been on the screen, he had noticed too late Noah tackling him against the ground. Acker felt his back hit the floor. Noah was on top of Acker, the older man's face punched a few times. Although, Acker reacted promptly and tried to chock Noah by trying to quickly hit the younger man in the middle of the throat where the Adam's apple was.

A little trickle of blood on the side of Acker's mouth caused by Noah's punches. But, the pain just made the madman's need for violence grow "You are sending me mixed signals" the mad scientist sarcastically commented on the tussle because Acker was pinned down against the floor with Noah on top. However, Acker was painfully aware that he could pass out at any moment if he let Noah keep punching him.

Meanwhile, the Lads had finally reached the couple and Acker ordered them to attack Noah by using his power. Perhaps, the mad scientist was about to face a new discovery, although at his expense.

Noah St Cloud

OOC: Thanks, the translation was needed xD Also, tell me if I need to edit the part where I wrote that Noah is on top of Acker, I imagined that you meant for Acker to be pinned against the floor by Noah, however I apologise if I got it wrong!

[Noah St Cloud]

OOC: Sorry for the wait! And for the length of this – Noah has a lot of unnecessary thoughts lmao, and let me know if it’s too soon for him to steal the gift and I can cut it down :3




Noah tackled Acker to the ground, eagerly taking advantage of whatever had distracted him. Without wraps to protect his knuckles each blow delivered a faint, corresponding ache to him as well, but his punches landed with satisfying dull thuds and the discomfort was nothing compared to the pleasure that roused from knowing Acker was hurting. It brought a soft smile to Noah’s lips, contented and far more serene than the violence merited. At least – until Acker retaliated by aiming a fist at his throat.

He flinched back, halting his assault in favour of snatching Acker’s wrist. “Woah there, buddy,” he chided, smile morphing into a sharp baring of teeth. “You could really hurt someone like that.” Acker wasn’t playing games; hitting such a spot with force had the potential to kill. The audacity of the move had Noah fiercely tempted to break a few of his fingers and he decided – actually, yes, perhaps he would. “But since we’ve stopped being gentle with each other –”

The skittering of paws on marble stopped him. Noah whipped towards the sound, eyes narrowing into a glare as he watched the lads’ approach. Evidently, Acker had taken the time to put them back together. How sentimental of him. And annoying, since Noah had no gun to blast them to pieces with this time. He cursed and rolled off from Acker’s body into a crouch, putting distance between the two of them as he identified the robo-canines as the bigger threat. It would be wise to run. He should run, slam the doors of Acker’s mansion behind him to cut off the machines’ pursuit. The odds – bad enough had they been actual dogs – were even worse considering he had no idea if the robots could tire or feel pain. Or whether they had the same weak spots as a living dog; there would be no tendons to slice or arteries to sever, that was for sure.

He hastily pulled his sweater over his head and wrapped it around his left forearm. Sodden as it was, it didn’t offer as much padding as he’d hoped, but it was better than nothing. He wondered, briefly, if killing Acker would put a stop to the machines’ attack, or if their programming was complex enough that they would execute their orders regardless. Yet unfortunately Noah wouldn’t be able to test that theory – not when Kara had witnessed his presence in the mansion and knew his name. He doubted a murder investigation would go on for long before she suggested Acker’s ‘secret boyfriend’ could be the culprit.

He withdrew his switchblade from his back pocket, flicking the knife out from the handle with a practiced flick of his wrist as he stood and readied himself for impact. Part of him mourned the idea of plunging it into metal and consequently dulling the blade, but he figured having a ruined weapon was better than having a torn-out throat. Aiming for the dogs' heads appeared to work during their last scuffle and hopefully this fight would end no differently, just needing to hit certain circuitry to put the whole thing down.

The dogs reached him. History repeated with one aiming low and the other aiming high. He kicked hard at the one closer to the ground (again – like kicking a car door) to send it off course, but unfortunately doing so left him unbalanced enough that the weight and momentum of the second dog (which had leapt at him, jaws closing around the padded forearm that Noah had held up in preparation) toppled him over. The air left his lungs in a rush and the smack of his head against the floor sent stars bursting into his vision. The plan had been to drive his knife into the back of a dog’s skull as soon as it had a grip on him, but as he felt its jaws tighten, cutting through the fabric to draw blood from his skin –

He felt something else.

“Stop!”

The creatures froze. Noah, too, fell slack, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling while he processed the feeling of what could only be electronics reaching out to him and registered the taste in his mouth – not like blood, more like how it might taste if he licked a circuit board; plasticky, the colder side of lukewarm, a bit metallic but more like steel rather than copper. He could feel the dogs. Their presence in the room, hovering around him. And in his head were thoughts that were not his own, first whirring in confusion before turning sharp. Accusing. Appalled as they realised they were now connected to Noah rather than their creator.

Huh. Fun. Time to experiment.

He thought at them to back off. They did, though Noah sensed a heavy reluctance and an anger he didn’t expect, almost as if they were alive. They remembered how he’d taken them apart before, and they scampered away to pace near Acker as if the proximity to their true master gave them comfort. Noah sat up slowly, a dull throbbing ache in his skull and across his back from where he’d fallen. His stare flicked between the aggravated beasts as he tried to identify which voice belonged to which. And how did they have their own tones? Had Acker coded them in? Or was it the result of gifted magic, giving them voices in a language his brain could understand?

He tried to make ammends. ‘You realise I had to do that at the theatre because you attacked me, right?’ He had nothing against the canines, seeing them how he might regard a knife or a gun in Acker’s hands; simply weapons, obstacles for him to work around and – now – to use for himself. He tried his best to convey this to them, tried to send a general sense of affability and assurance over their mental connection that he had no need to destroy them again. It didn't work, or else they remained unconvinced, their mental hackles as raised as their physical ones.

‘Fine, we don’t have to be friends,’  he decided, a little disappointed despite himself. Even robot animals didn’t like him. Stifling a sigh his glare fell upon the mad scientist. Some irony would cheer him up. ‘Attack him.’

Immediately there were protests. Snarls and refusals snapped at him like he might expect from a human if he’d asked them to hurt a loved one. “Are you kidding me?” He scoffed quietly. He thought the whole point of Acker’s power was that he could control technology? Why couldn’t he? ‘Attack,’ he commanded again, pouring as much force into it as he could.

Again they whined and objected. To him it looked like their limbs were shaking as if it took a lot of effort for them to do so, but still they refused to obey. One of his nostrils suddenly felt wet. It dripped, and he glanced down to see a crimson splash land on his grey t-shirt.

He sniffed and wiped his nose unceremoniously on the back of his hand as he stood once more. “Wow. Isn’t this all very interesting?” he drawled, looking down apathetically at Acker. He had so many questions. Wanted to dissect the gift and use it to its full potential the same way he would when any other gift fell into his hands. But he sensed Acker would be as forthcoming as his dogs – more likely to bite than indulge him. “So interesting that I think I’ll take a look around, if it’s all the same to you. Maybe we’ll find some gadgets that’ll actually listen to me.” Noah picked a random direction and started walking, keeping his ears alert in case Acker tried to attack when his back was turned. “Let’s go, boys.” The dogs, though clearly unhappy, were much less stubborn against an order that didn’t directly threaten their owner.


Nicholas Acker Villin