Fucking Shit Up #2
Does he look like he wants to guess!
“To Handy!” Cat blurted with Zero’s eye roll.
“I sent him our files and demanded precision reconstruction. He owed us a favor, remember? We saved him in the void?”
“I remember,” Omnis barely whispered, his shock brimming with light-bulb revelations.
“He’s building you bodies, Omnis.” Cat informed, her own joy over it joining with Zero’s for a big smile.
“Real flesh and blood so we can step out of this machine and touch her,” Zero said.
“Whoa!” Cat blurted, stepping back. “Times up, give me my body back.”
Her hands raised in surrender then slowly lowered as the feel of him dissolved into powdered sugar in her blood, producing a full body shiver through her.
She eyed Omnis, finding his gaze locked harder than ever on her. “Yeah, about that. That… touching part.”
Omnis only stared at the impossible glitch in the program.
“There are human boundaries to be respected.”
He isn’t quite believing it yet.
“Why?”
“Why what?” Omnis asked.
“Uh… Zero says you’re not believing it yet. I wanna know why not?”
Omnis turned to the cage for two seconds then turned his back to her.
She walked around to his front side, angling her head at his face. “If dummy me can believe it, I don’t get why you can’t?”
“Because I understand how this works and for it to work is impossible,” he said to the floor.
Maybe Ethan can help him.
“Great idea!”
He looked at her and that beautiful face of his made her forget her dang name. “What is?”
“Zero said Ethan can help.”
She watched Omnis walk in careful patterns, arms crossed.
“You calculating?” Cat asked.
“Yes, I’m calculating. Calculating how stupid Zero is.”
Ask him why it’s stupid.
“Why? Why’s that stupid?”
“Are you asking or is Zero?” Omnis demanded, velvety words whipping as he faced her.
“Prove it,” Cat said, tossing her hand at him. “Prove it’s not possible then.”
Great suggestion, Kitten.
“I will not entertain Zero through your mouth.”
“That wasn’t him, that was me,” she begged to differ. “Prove to me why it’s impossible. Dumb it down. Way down. Zero managed to do it to save both of you, I’m sure you’re smart enough to know how to be stupid enough for me.”
I love your feisty side.
“Thank you.”
“I haven’t agreed to anything,” Omnis informed.
“I was thanking Zero.”
Omnis suddenly stalked across the room.
“Where’s he going?” Cat wondered.
Better go find out.
Something in his tone sent her racing across the room and through the door he entered.
Down that hall.
Cat hurried, running into that wall in her muscles.
Door on your right, Kitten.
She opened it, finding Omnis standing before an empty glass enclosure, staring.
Is he okay? What’s he doing?
Wondering where I went. My Doppelganger was here.
How do you know?
I can feel my digital signature in your skin. Ask him where I am.
“Are you looking for Zero?” Cat asked.
Omnis turned after many seconds and stared at her.
Oh, that’s a new look.
Cat swallowed, not sure she liked it. What’s it mean?
Means he’s convinced now.
Her pulse hammered as he walked toward her. He’s coming.
He is.
What do I do?
Surely not fear him, Kitten, he chided.
“I don’t,’ she whispered.
Omnis stopped before her, his height forcing her to look up.
His dark eyes were a trap she walked right into.
“I understand boundaries even if I have never experienced them with a body,” he said, his voice low and cool.
Too calm. “I also understand the power in a human bond and that Ethan will never allow this.”
“Allow what?” Cat wondered, confused. “Of course he’ll allow it, why wouldn’t he? You’re his family. Our family,” she clarified.
“Us having bodies isn’t the problem,” he said. “It’s what we’d do with them.”
Cat considered his words, not quite getting what the heck he was saying. “You’re gonna either have to get dumber with me or spell that to me another way.”
“He would never give you up.”
She drew her head back several inches. Then several more. “Pretty sure he kinda did,” Cat begged to differ, crossing her arms. “But even if he didn’t, he doesn’t get to decide that. I do.”
“You’re married, Catherine.”
Her laugh flew out sharp and loud. She clapped several times nodding at him. “Well, now we know where you got your big genius name.”
Tell him you don’t belong to anybody.
“Do not tell me what to tell him,” she snapped, turning left then right as her anger bubbled.
She snapped toward him, finger pointing.
“I belong to the good Lord and as far as I see it, Ethan broke our contract. He did it knowingly. He did it like a coward. It was clearly defined and understood—if I needed him, he’d be there, and I needed him, oh how I needed him…
” she gasped, full on pacing now, shaking her head.
“You know what, why am I trying to talk to a virtual fuckin’ line of stupid code. ”
She hurried out of the room, wiping tears from her eyes.
“Cat!” Omnis called.
“Don’t get a fuckin’ body, Omnis, that’s your choice.
” She spun around, finding him close enough to push so she did, with both hands.
“I don’t care if you do or you don’t. Get one.
Don’t get one. Zero is getting one. Good for him.
But whatever you do, don’t get a body for me.
Get it for yourself. Get it for Zero. Get it for Ethan, your brother. ”
“I doubt he’ll want to be brothers after he learns what we’ve done,” Omnis said.
Cat threw her arm toward the cage. “Well, let’s wake up sleeping beauty and find out.
” Cat hurried to the cage and banged on the bars.
“Ethan,” she called. “Time to wake up. Wake up and use your God-given heart, mind, body and soul. Time to face your fears, face your wife, face your brothers, face your problems.” She turned to Omnis.
“Open the door. Wake him up. What are you afraid of? Him killing you? Killing me?”
“I don’t fear death,” Omnis said. “And he would never kill you.”
Oh. Wow.
Fuckin’ wow.
She slowly walked up to him until he was looking down at her.
“No, he wouldn’t kill my body. He’s not that kind of man.
He’s the kind that would kill everything inside then bury me alive.
” She pushed him again. “And even still, I would never harm a hair on his head or touch his heart. Because I’m not made like that.
I don’t return evil for evil, I only ever return good because there ain’t no other way to be, not to me.
” She aimed her finger up at him. “That’s why I have nothing to do with your get-a-body-decision. ”
We kind of still need you, Kitten.
Cat stilled for a second. “I know you still need me and you got me. For that. I will make damn sure you get a body if that’s what you want.
Nobody will stop that, not if I can help it,” she swore.
“So… go ahead,” she said to Omnis. “Wake our beloved giga-chad up. We have work to do. He’s shirked his duties long enough. ”