Defender Scarlet Shadow in the Robots of Heart: Part Four

      Sopherie closed her eyes and waited for the pain to come. But it never did as right at that moment she heard somebody burst into the room and she opened her eyes just in time to see Warren give Sinis an almighty tackle, sending them both a few feet away. Elizabeth came up beside the table and quickly began undoing Sopherie’s straps.

      “Elizabeth? How-?” Sopherie began, but Elizabeth raised her hand to stall her.

      “Warren and I got worried when you never returned. We knew Sinis had gotten you and we wondered what we could do. We arrived that the decision that we would save you ourselves.” Elizabeth said, undoing the last of Sopherie’s straps. Sopherie slid off the table, rubbing her wrists. The straps had chafed them with her struggles to escape.

      “I’m bloody glad you did. That was way too close! Thank you.” Sopherie said. She remembered how scared the two had been of Sinis, so the fact they would do this for her touched Sopherie.

      “You treated us like people, not robots. It’s the least we could do.” Elizabeth replied. Suddenly Warren sprinted up to them, grabbing their hands.

      “Save the talking for later! Director Sinis is steamed and we don’t want to hang around!” Warren said hurried as he pulled both out of the room.

      “But what about my stuff?!” Sopherie asked, then she noticed a red and black bundle tucked underneath Elizabeth’s arm. “Is that everything?” Sopherie asked.

      “Yep! We found it all in the control room before we came to get you out.” Elizabeth said. “We were able to get in because I have the capability to remotely control security systems and this place doesn’t have gear that is immune to me like back at the lab.”

      Sopherie’s admiration for the two grew, especially since they were doing this all for her. The three slipped into a room that had robot parts scattered everywhere.

      “We should momentarily be safe here. I figured you would want to be dressed your Defender uniform again, Scarlet Shadow.” Warren said.

      “Do I ever!” Sopherie replied and took her uniform and her other belongings from Elizabeth.

      One quick clothing change later, Sopherie was back in her familiar uniform. They exited out the room and checked for androids. “They must currently be searching other parts of the facility.” Sopherie said as they found that the coast was clear. The three continued towards the exit. But just as they were only a few metres away from the exit, they found Sinis and a bunch of his androids blocking their way.

      “Alright, that is quite enough of your escapade. I never guessed that Warren and Elizabeth would come to save you, but no matter. You’re not going to escape! Get them!” Sinis said, looking rather ruffled. The androids rushed towards them and Sopherie was witness to how truly destructive Warren and Elizabeth really were. Warren gunned down his share of the androids by transforming his arms into twin machine guns and Elizabeth was taking out throwing knifes from a sheath inside her right hip and was throwing them with pinpoint precision into the weak points of the androids. Soon all of them were dispatched and only Sinis was left.

      “Useless ‘bots! Fine, it is as they say. If you want something done right, you do it yourself.” Sinis said and a pulsing blue energy suddenly appeared around his hands. The energy suddenly sprung forth from both hands and the energy from each hand wrapped around Warren and Elizabeth. Then it lifted them both effortlessly and pinned them to the sides of the hallway. Warren and Elizabeth struggled but they couldn’t break out of the energy wrapped around them. “Aura is a force, an energy that surrounds all living things. It is affected by three things, mentality, physicality and emotion. There are some like me who can use this energy in their magic and make things like shields, weapons and the like among other things. It is my own inherited magic.” Sinis said with a hint of pride. Then he began to move towards Sopherie. “But I still need someone else to perform the experiments on. I can’t simply do them on myself.” Sinis continued. Sopherie quickly drew a paralysis arrow and aimed it at Sinis.

      “Come any closer and I will shoot! It won’t kill you, but the paralysis wouldn’t be enjoyable either.” Sopherie growled. Sinis stopped in his tracks.

      “There’s no need for that, Sopherie. If you surrender quietly, I’ll let these two go. They don’t concern me anyway.” Sinis replied. “But if you don’t, I can have more androids here within a few minutes and your arrows wouldn’t do anything against them.”

      “Why would you summon them in the first place. Couldn’t you just raise a shield with your magic?” Sopherie asked him. Sopherie watched Sinis’s eyes as darted between his two hands and saw that he looked worried. “Unless you can’t because your hands are full with pinning those two down?” Sopherie questioned. The worried look on Sinis’s face intensified, telling Sopherie all she needed to know. “Well, Sinis. I only see a few options available to you. You could let go or either Warren or Elizabeth to have a hand free to erect a shield, but that won’t do. You could call your androids, but I’ll shoot you and that will make you let go of both and that won’t do either as they’ll beat the androids and we’ll be able to go unopposed. Really, the least painful one for you is this last one which is you let all of us go and you’ll have a head start on running from all the Defenders who will be after you. Oh and if you keep me waiting, trying to stall, I’ll shoot you anyway.” Sopherie said. Sinis seemed to think for a bit, then he released both Warren and Elizabeth.

      “Go. I thought I would outsmart you but I underestimated your intellect.” Sinis said, his head bowed. Sopherie put the arrow back into its quiver and helped Warren and Elizabeth up.

      “Come on guys. We need to go to Defender Tower ASAP.” Sopherie said to them.

      “They’ll arrest Director Sinis, won’t they?” Elizabeth asked as they walked out the exit. But before Sopherie could answer, a blue tendril of energy wrapped around her arm and pulled her backwards. They all turned, Sinis was standing in the doorway and was pulling Sopherie towards him.

      “But while I underestimated you, it’s not a mistake I’ll make twice! Also, I wonder what part of “You’re not going to escape” you didn’t understand. And you two androids better not bother. I’ve got a hand free so I can erect a shield.” Sinis said with a mad grin on his face. Then there was a loud bang and Sinis was hit with a plasma bullet which stunned him which made him let go of Sopherie and from behind her, two Defenders came to apprehend him. Sopherie turned to see Director Plato Redford behind her with a plasma stun gun.

      “Well, I see we were just in time. If Elizabeth hadn’t sent out a distress signal describing the situation, you would have been in trouble.” Director Redford said.

      “Director, I think I owe you another favour.” Sopherie said.

      ~~~

      It was a complicated mess for a while, between Sinis’ secret laboratory and Warren’s and Elizabeth’s nature as androids. But soon, the laboratory was destroyed after being stripped of useful equipment by the Defenders and the two androids were okayed by the higher-ups as long as no more like them were mad and that they behaved themselves. Sopherie had no doubts that they would since the two were kind and gentle souls from the start. As for the androids that Sinis was making in laboratory, they were going to be machines that could use magic. Weapons were one thing, but the result would surely be horrific if a machine both had weapons and magic. But no one could get out of Sinis why he had wanted to make them. So for now it was a mystery. But what mattered toSopherie was that Warren and Elizabeth would never have to face their torment again.

      “We’re actually going to travel the world with Redford!” Elizabeth had told her excitedly.

      “Oh really? That’s great! When! I’ll have to see you off!” Sopherie asked.

      “Tomorrow.” Warren said.

      “We have to pack first.” Director Redford said. “But I must thank you and say that we are even, Scarlet Shadow. You have given them the freedom to do this. Something I could not have done. Thank you.”

      “It was my pleasure, Redford.” Sopherie said. They exchanged good byes afte telling Sopherie where to see them off. As she watched them go, she hoped they would show the world how they were robots of heart. Sopherie also wondered what would be next for her. At least whatever was next, it couldn’t as scary as Sinis, could it? Sopherie wasn’t sure as Defender life was unpredictable, but she sure hoped so.

      The End.