Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Marcus wasn’t aware of how long had passed until he was told. It had been months. Years, actually. He still remembered everything.

He remembered everything from when he was created until he had died. Except he hadn’t really died, because a robot can’t die. But it can be crushed. It can also be rebuilt. Which was the only reason Marcus wasn’t dead. Boy, was he glad to be an android sometimes.

He remembered how he’d been sent to school. Not to learn anything (he already had super intelligence), but to become friends with three specific kids.

Three kids that dad was dead set on capturing. He claimed they were his kids, Marcus’ older siblings that their uncle had taken away, and that he wanted them back.

Marcus didn’t know wether or not this was true, after all he only had his father’s word on it. He wasn’t sure how much of his fathers words were lies, but he knew it was a lot. It didn’t really matter to him. If he had to capture them to prove himself to his dad, then that’s what he would do.

Besides, it couldn’t be that hard. He had all of their bionics combined. If you were to ask him, bionic humans were a waste. Androids could withstand a lot more than some weak human.

Marcus didn’t get why his dad needed them. If he wanted a bionic army, he already had one. His dad didn’t agree.

So he decided that he’d just have to prove it by finishing the mission on his own. (Dad claimed they worked together, but in reality Marcus was the one who did all the work).

They had finally managed to capture the three bionic kids. They had been so close to finishing their mission. And they would’ve,

if only the ceiling hadn’t collapsed.

.

He had woken up in a lab. One that was in way better condition than the old, suburban basement that was his last home. This one was filled with brand new technology, stuff Marcus hadn’t even seen before.

The lab was well lit up with white walls and bright lights. It lacked the clutter dad kept everywhere. It reminded him of a hospital. Not that he’d ever been to one, seeing as he couldn’t get injured. Not in the traditional sense at least. And if he got damaged, his dad would fix him at home.

The next thing he noticed was the lady standing next to the operating table he was lying on. She was smiling, obviously pleased that she had managed to put him back together after he’d been crushed.

She had short, dark hair, and she wore a leather jacket that immediately reminded him of Douglas. He sat up. Where was the guy, anyway?

He soon learned that the woman’s name was Giselle, and that she wanted to capture the bionic triad as well. That was a mission he’d already started, so he figured it wouldn’t hurt to finish it once and for all.

The difference in their plans was that she wanted them gone. She, like Marcus, believed that bionic androids were superior. She wanted to get rid of the humans, and create her own bionic army. And she wanted his help.

What really got him, though, was the fact that she didn’t seem to like Douglas. They had apparently known each other in the past, and it had ended badly. Like most of the relationships his father had, tended to do.

Giselle told him what had happened, how his creator had left him with no plans of coming back for him. It wasn’t hard to convince him to join after that.

The plan didn’t seem too bad either.

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Chapter Text

“It’s me! Your dad!”

Dad desperately begs him to stop, unable to do anything else from where he’s tied to a chair.

Marcus hadn’t though of him as dad in a while. Not since Giselle. Douglas didn’t care for him, so why should Marcus?

Still, his lip quivers when he thinks about it. Thinks about how he’d been left, crushed beneath the rubble, and how dad had turned good. How he had changed for the better after Marcus was gone.

How he had joined his brother’s family. He hadn’t taken on the role as Adam, Bree, and Chase’s dad, although in reality he was. He had still been a better half-uncle-half-dad to them than he’d been a dad to Marcus.

He quickly gathers his composure. His hold on his newly discovered brother tightens, and he tosses him to the side. Finding out that dad started caring about his older siblings, and now also this random kid, hurt.

He could learn to care about the three siblings, not just as weapons, and then another kid he didn’t even know, purely based on the fact that they were related. Yet he couldn’t care for Marcus?

He had built Marcus himself! He had programmed him to do exactly as he said, and be exactly as he wanted, and still left him to die. Marcus didn’t get it.

He wasn’t going to get it either. He was going to destroy everything that was left of the precious Davenport family.

“I promise you, Marcus, we can fix this! I’ve changed!” His dad continues to plead. Marcus tunes him out as his bionics lights up in his hands and he marches over to Daniel.

His brand new little brother is still on the floor, weakened by the force that Marcus had used when he threw him across the room. The kid had actually put up a pretty decent fight considering his age and how new his bionic abilities were.

Too bad Marcus was stronger. It was a real shame that dad hadn’t treated his strongest child the way he should’ve. The glowing ball of power brightens in his hand as he curls it to a fist. It spins around shining a blue light on the closest surroundings.

He’s about to fire it and take him out for good, when he stops mid-movement by his creator’s ramblings.

“I can be the dad you wanted. We can have the family you should’ve had from the beginning!” At least he recognizes his mistakes, but it’s too late now.

“Marcus, I know you don’t want to do this! I made you, remember?” Marcus looks over his shoulder, back at dad. Giselle answers for him,

“I’ve reprogrammed him, Douglas. He doesn’t listen to you anymore! You’re not his dad, he’s a robot!” She exclaims.

Marcus can’t deny that Giselle is smart. She’s good at technology, and way better at making plans than his dad ever was. Her biggest flaw is probably being to cocky.

She was of course aware that Douglas was a way better programmer than her. She just hadn’t known how good he was.

“I’ll reprogram you! You don’t have to be evil!”

In fact, Marcus doesn’t think dad got enough credit for his work. Was his inventions weird, off putting, or probably lethal most of the time? Yes, but that didn’t mean they weren’t brilliant.

Not only had he made Marcus, a bionic android with more abilities than the others combined, but he’d also managed to make him human-passing. He’d been made to be able to blend in with normal people for his mission to capture the three others.

In order to do so, he’d been given emotions. Well, not real emotions, as he was an android and couldn’t really feel things in the way people did. He could act like a normal person with normal feelings, he could even cry.

The thing Giselle didn’t know, was that this ability was more complex than she thought. Not only did dad manage to give him fake emotions, but after a little while he’d been able to feel them.

He was basically an assassin robot with feelings. It wasn’t a great mix.

It was also the reason Marcus paused for a split second. “I know I wasn’t a great dad before, but now I can be!” dad ignores her.

His mind works fast and in a split second he’s got a new plan.

Dad had been right about him wanting a family, wanting a real dad. It was one of the downsides about his emotions. They made him weak.

Giselle wasn’t very family material. She had no interest in being his family, he knew that. He’d called her mom once with the hope that she could replace Douglas, but she’d shut him down quick.

She didn’t want a son, she wanted an army. He knew that all the time, but now he’s changed his mind. The plan wasn’t all that great anyway.

He registers that Daniel clings onto his leg, but ignores it in favor of turning around and focusing the blast on Giselle.

The energy ball hits her in the chest and she falls to the ground. His dad stops his rambling in shock, and suddenly the room is quiet. The only sound being an electrical buzz that Marcus might be the only one hearing.

“What happened? What did he do?” Mr.Davenport asks, trying to turn around in his seat, where he’s tied to Douglas’ back.

Marcus looks at Giselle’s body on the floor to scan her with his bionics. She’s out cold. Her heartbeat is weak and her breathing slow.

Daniel has stood up behind him. Marcus let’s him move past to release their dad and uncle. He turns towards them, making eye contact with dad.

“Okay,” he says, “Let’s fix it.”

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Chapter Text

After taking out Giselle, Marcus helps free the bionic kids from the academy. He knows the other Davenports doesn’t trust him yet, it’s very noticeable by the way they look at him, like they’re ready for him to switch sides again.

He supposes it makes sense, given that the last time they saw him, he had tried to kill them, and had once again tried to do so.

He notices a lot. Sometimes he thinks they forget he doesn’t just have Adam and Bree’s bionics, but also Chase’s. He has the same bionic senses, like hearing.

As he takes them to where Giselle had locked up the students, he can hear his uncle whispering dads ear off. He can hear the doubt and fear as Donald tries to change his brothers mind, and in turn dad being unaffected.

Marcus had worried that dad would change his mind right after he turned on Giselle and let them free. It didn’t seem like that was the case, judging by how he was assuring his brother that he’d reprogram the android.

In his peripheral vision he can see his siblings. They’re wary of him, fight stances ready just in case. Leo is standing with them. He looks more pissed off and mistrusting than the rest combined.

He knows Leo hates him, and the feeling is mutual. If the roles were switched, which they’re not, he would do anything to make sure Leo didn’t join them. He was sure Leo wanted to do the same.

But he doesn’t. None of them do anything apart from being skeptical of him as he helps them all out of the lab.

Chase and Donald stay behind to check out the lab. They want to make sure all the threats are eliminated and that there’s no way for anyone to continue Giselle’s mission.

Bree speeds Giselle to the infirmary at the academy. She hadn’t died from Marcus’ blast, he hadn’t powered up that much, so she’d just been weakened. Afterwards Bree returned to help look through the lab.

Marcus had looked at dad when the rest left. He raised an eyebrow, and without a word asked ‘what now?’. He knew dad understood. He could feel Adam and Leo glaring at him, but he paid them no attention.

“Let’s go back to the academy and we’ll figure things out there.” Dad says, obviously not a clue what to do in this situation. “I’m sure everyone wants to say their bit, Donald already made that clear.” referring to earlier.

So they go back to the academy. No one says a word on the way there. Adam drops the glare, but it’s clear that he’s still a bit on edge.

Leo, with the lack of tact and same amount of manners as usual (which is none at all), stares at Marcus the whole time. Marcus doesn’t look at him once, and he’s sure that it pisses him off.

.

Once they’re all gathered at the academy, they start to discuss what’s happening. The students have been sent to bed (well, to their capsules), so it’s only the Davenports left.

And Dooley, annoyingly.

“We can’t just let him join us! He’s evil!” Donald states. “But I can change him! I’ll reprogram him!” dad answers back.

It’s clear they’re siblings from the way they bicker the same arguments back and forth as the rest waits for their turns.

“Oh! I have an idea!” Adam interrupts, making the adults shut up and everyone turn to look towards him. That didn’t happen often, so they weren’t sure what to expect.

“Let’s do a vote!” He tells them. “We’ll all say if think Marcus should be allowed to stay,” he motions towards Marcus with his hands, “or if he should leave.”

It’s quiet for a second as they all think it over. “Adam, that’s stupid. This is important, we can’t just vote. We need to look at all the facts and decide what’s best based on the information we have.” Chase bores on.

“But it’s so much easier this way.” Adam counters. “Let’s do a vote!” Donald decides. Chase rolls his eyes. “So, who’s for Marcus staying?” Mr. Davenport asks his kids.

“I am.” Dad says then. Good, he wasn’t just lying when he said so earlier. “I’ll reprogram him and everything will be fine.”

“I think he should leave.” Leo states, not surprisingly. “I mean, let’s try to remember that he tried to kill us all!” He ends the sentence shouting.

“I think he should stay.” Chase says, and this one catches them a bit more off guard. “ I mean,” he starts as he walks over to Douglas and Marcus, “everyone deserves a second chance!”.

Chase was always the most trusting of them all. It had really helped Marcus when he’d tried to befriend them back in high school, and maybe it would help him again.

“I’m with Leo.” Bree says as she moves to stand next to her younger brother. She looks at him with a pointed look. Marcus doesn’t return it. He just looks back with no expression on his face.

So far the votes were equal. Leo and Bree against Douglas and Chase (and Marcus, but he wasn’t sure if he got a vote).

“He’s obviously not evil anymore. If he was, then he wouldn’t have helped is defeat Giselle, and free everyone.” Chase argues. “Unless it’s just some part of a bigger plan we don’t know about.” Leo retorts.

“Where would he even go? It’s not like we can just send him out on the street to live by himself!” Chase argues then, but gets a quick response from Leo, “Yes we can. I’d love to do that!”.

“Chase is right. There’s nowhere else for him to go.” Donald says, considering all the point being made. “What? Mr. Davenport, you can’t seriously think this is smart!“ Bree says, and he looks doubtful.

“Wait, I fell off. Is he staying or not?” Adam asks, his confusion showing on his face.

“I used to be evil, but you gave me a new chance! Marcus didn’t even have a choice. I made him to be evil, it’s not his fault.” Douglas says.

“He’s my son and he’s staying. End of discussion.” He states determined, and that’s that. No one argues any more (as long as you don’t count Leo’s constant complaining and whining about it).

Marcus hasn’t said anything yet. He’s been watching the others, looking between them as they discussed it. His hands have been behind his back, standing in a military-like pose. He was made to be a soldier, and even now as he is joining the heroes, it shines through.

He doesn’t say anything as he follows dad to the hydra-loop.

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Chapter Text

The rest stay behind at the academy when they leave. As the doors to the hydra-loop closes behind him, Marcus can hear Leo trying to argue with Mr. Davenport.

Using his bionic hearing, he can make out that Mr. Davenport brushes him off. (“You heard Douglas. He’s family, and he deserves a new chance.”). He can also hear Leo’s frustrated groan before the hydra-loop takes them to the mainland.

“Come on, my car’s parked over here.” He follows dad to a parking lot not far from where they got off at the dock. He gets in the passenger seat of the old car.

Neither of them say anything more on the drive. The only sound being some almost concerning noises from the shitty car, before dad turns on some music.

The rest of the ride Marcus has to suffer through dad’s horrible taste in music. It’s the same jazz mix that he listened to back when Marcus was fourteen.

Dad parks the car and Marcus follows him out. His house is small and looks worn down. Marcus doesn’t really get why dad didn’t just live at the academy. It was much nicer than the cramped, messy place he had.

.

It’s only once they’re inside Marcus asks “So, what are you gonna do with giselle?”

Douglas waves his arms around a little, as if he’s thinking of a way to dumb down the explanation. He doesn’t have to, given Marcus’s bionic intelligence, but it was something he’d always done.

“I’m working on a gadget that will reset her memory, kind of like what happened to the students before the academy.” He settles on a short and easy explanation, without going too much into detail.

“And then what?” Marcus asks, “You’re just gonna release her into the world like that?” Seems pretty irresponsible. Dad just nods a bit, “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Isn’t that kinda risky?” He tries to reason, but dad shrugs him off. “Nah,” he drags out, “She won’t remember being evil and all that, but she’ll be fine.”

“Wait you’re not gonna kill her?” Marcus swears he’s not trying to be difficult, but he can’t help pushing it. Wouldn’t that save them a lot of time and effort?

“No. I’m not evil anymore, so I try not killing people if I don’t absolutely have to.” Marcus doesn’t think he’ll be able to get used to that. But then again, dad still hadn’t reprogrammed him yet.

He wonder when that was gonna happen. Would he feel any different? He didn’t feel very evil right now.

Or maybe he did, and wasn’t aware. Well, maybe he still was evil, he just hadn’t gotten a mission yet. Dad wasn’t going to give him a mission, though. He was going to make him good.

But would he let them make him good if he was evil? He didn’t know, feelings were still very confusing to him. There was no logic in it. It pissed him off.

He wondered what would happen afterwards. If he wasn’t going to get a mission, why would he even have to be there? Was dad just gonna keep him around for company?

Marcus didn’t know. They hadn’t actually made a plan for what would happen forwards.

.

“I don’t have a capsule.” He states. Dad looks at him, and furrows his eyebrows. “Huh, I didn’t think of that.” he says, “maybe I should’ve left you at the academy.”

Marcus is glad he didn’t. He couldn’t stand the others. Being with dad again was more than enough.

“I have enough power to last at least a day and a half.” He says, “I can just go into standby.” He could turn off to save some power. It was almost like sleeping.

“We’ll go back to the academy tomorrow and we’ll figure out a system for you.” Dad says, “If you need me, I’ll be down the hall to the left of the bathroom.”

He walks down the hall, and leaves Marcus alone. It’s an open kitchen that connects to the living room. Marcus doesn’t go to sleep right away, instead searching through all the cupboards and shelves.

Not to take anything, just to see. His dad is just as messy as before, papers and bits of technology he’s working on is cluttered around on every surface.

Marcus stands in one of the corners of the room and goes into sleep mode.

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Chapter Text

The next morning they head back to the island. Douglas has to finish his memory-resetting invention and, well, Marcus doesn’t have anything else to do.

When they get there the students have already started their day. It’s the first time Marcus gets to ser what it’s like at the academy he’s heard so much about.

Dad is busy, and didn’t tell Marcus what to do or where he had to stay. So Marcus slips away as soon as dad gets in his zone and probably won’t notice until a couple hours later.

.

He checks out the cafeteria first, and then the students’ capsules. They’re not very exciting. He moves on to some other rooms, mist of them pretty boring. Until he gets to the weapons room.

It’s filed with different types of high-tech weapons that no doubt was made by Mr. Davenport.

He’s just about to grab one to check it out when he hears someone talking not far away. He concentrates on the voice and realizes that it’s another class, in a room down the hall.

He can tell it’s Leo’s voice talking. Not just talking, but teaching. So Leo was a mentor, huh? An interesting choice if you asked Marcus (if interesting meant idiotic).

Suddenly he realizes that being in the weapons room might not be the best idea. Not when they’re all still divided on whether he should stay or not, and certainly not while Leo is only a couple rooms away.

If Leo for some reason would find him here, he’d no doubt convince the rest that Marcus was still evil. He didn’t need that right now. Especially since he actually wasn’t trying to trick them this time.

So he carefully peaks outside before he leaves , making sure no one sees him. As long as they didn’t check the cameras he’d be fine.

.

The next thing he does is sneak into the back of a class. He stands to the side by the wall so that he won’t be noticed.

Bree is teaching a group of girls some self defense moves, while Adam seems to be joking around with a group of boys that look just as big and stupid as himself.

Marcus watches for a bit, but he doesn’t stay long. He slips out just as smooth as he slipped in earlier. Then he walks around the academy a bit, following voices he can hear down the hall.

They lead him to a room where Chase is leading a class. They’re not doing anything like the class Marcus had just been in. In this room all the students are sitting and listening to a lecture.

It’s almost like a normal school class, except normal schools don’t teach how bionic chips are made. He hasn’t been there for a minute before he’s tired of it, and judging by the looks of the students they feel the same way.

Marcus decides to move on. No reason to stick around while Chase bores them to death about a subject Marcus already knew by heart. Well, maybe not by heart (he doesn’t have one, remember?).

He leaves unnoticed once again.

.

He doesn’t really have a plan for mapping out the academy, he just walks down the hallways at random.

There’s not a lot of rooms, and those that are there doesn’t have anything interesting in them. Just a couple training rooms and work areas for Davenport’s inventions.

And then there’s one room that’s just filled with mirrors. (At least there was no doubt that dad and Donald were brothers).

The next interesting room he finds is in the end of an hallway. It’s a big room with a couch, a mini fridge, a fireplace, and three capsules.

So this was Adam, Bree, and Chase’s room then. Luxurious.

He walks into the room, checking it out. It was a nice room. It was almost like a full apartment, with an area that resembled the living room, a kitchen-like counter and an opening to a pool.

He turns around at the sound of the door opening behind him.

.

“Look who I found in your room sneaking around!” Leo exclaims as he marches into the open area by the hydra-loop, where everyone is gathered.

“I wasn’t sneaking!” Marcus walks in behind him. “Oh, so you were just in their room for no reason?” Leo asks, accusingly.

Marcus can’t help but roll his eyes. “I was just looking around, I didn’t know it was their room.” He defends, and Leo nods his head sarcastically. “Mhm, sure.” he drags out.

“What? I thought you were right here, when did you leave?” Dad asks confused. “Over an hour ago.” Marcus says and dad makes a face. An ‘oops-I-didn’t-notice-my-kid-disappeared’ face.

This takes away the focus on what Marcus were doing in their room, and none of the three siblings mention it. Kind of weird, but also convenient as he didn’t have any real reason as to why he was there.

“Right, well. I finished my machine.” Dad steers the conversation in another direction. "This thing will make Giselle forget all about being evil, and we can send her out to live a normal life.” he says as he holds up the gadget he’s been working on.

It doesn’t look like much. It’s not very big or fancy, and it looks a bit like a taser. But Marcus knows that what’s inside is very complex. His dad was very good at creating powerful inventions.

Then Leo speaks up. “Why cant we do that with Marcus?” he says, “It would be a perfect opportunity to get rid of him.”

Douglas rolls his eyes, at the same that Chase does, and Marcus can’t help but notice how similar they are.

They’re around the same height. They’ve both got their hair spiked upwards in the same style. And they’re both nerdy geniuses, with little to no friends.

It makes Marcus’ stomach twist uncomfortably. He shakes the thought from his head. Gross.

“We’re not going to do that with Marcus.” Davenport says, dismissing Leo’s idea.
 “Why not?” Leo complains, “Giselle will be fine, and so will Marcus.”

“He’s a kid!” Davenport responds, furrowing his brows and shaking his head. Leo raises his eyebrows and widens his eyes, the same way you’d do if you were explaining someone something that was very obvious.

“So? Just make them think he’s her kid, and let Giselle deal with him.” He says, and they all look over at Douglas at the same time when he answers.

“He’s not her kid.” He says, his voice firm. “He’s my kid!” Douglas points at his own chest when he says it. He’s not yelling, but he’s raised his voice a significant amount.

Even Leo, as dense as he can be, understands that there’s no arguing with him. He’s made up his mind about it. “Okay. Calm down, old man.” Leo says quietly.

Mr. Davenport and dad starts talking about what they’re going to do with Giselle. The kids just listen, but don’t really say anything.

Marcus fights against a smile. Dad really wasn’t planning on getting rid of him. He’d finally get the family he’d never had before.

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