Chapter Text
"Hey Colette can you bring me that box of spike plushies" Edger yelled
"Coming" Colette yells back coming out from the back.
"What time is it?" Colette asked
"3:45 We're about to get off why do you ask" Colette stiffens.
"I have a doctor's appointment. Yeah, so I should probably get going." Colette nervously laughed as she rushed to get her stuff. We hear the door open and Colette walks up to the counter before realizing who it is.
"Hey welcome to Griff's gift shop how can I help you-" Colette's skin went completely pale.
"Please don't run like last time," Edger throws his scarf and wraps Colette up.
Rosa grabs her before she hits the ground, and quickly covers her to stop her from screaming.
"It's so weird doing this in public," Edger said.
"Yea let's just hope no one thinks we're kidnapping her," Rosa responded
"Yeah just hang on," Edger said.
-Max pov-
I need to hurry up I said that I was going to sleep over with Meg and that is what I am going to I round the corner to see Rosa restraining Colette Frantically flapping around trying her best to get out of Rosa's grip.
"Bea. BEA HELP" Rosa yelled.
"Coming," Bea Yelled back. She we up and put a gas mask-looking thing on Colette's face and after a few minutes, She fell asleep.
"We need to find a better way to do this," Bea said.
"Yes, yes we do" Rosa Responded.
"Yo Griff I can go with them?" Edger said
I pull back around the corner and start texting Meg.
Max: Meg might need your help.
Meg: Y
Max: Just meet me at Griff's shop.
I took a deep breath and walked up to the group.
"What are you doing?" I asked
"Oh Max hey what up with you?" Edger said
"Oh, you know just on my way to Meg's house, and ended up stumbling over here to find you all loading up Colette so my question is what are you doing to Colette?"
"She has to get-
"SHE HAS A DOCTOR APPOINTMENT!" Bea Butts in before Edger can finish.
"So you wrapped her up and put her to sleep Why?" I ask
"Colette has the mind of a child and is terrified of the doctor," Rosa said getting in the car alongside Edger and Bea. They ask me to step aside before pulling off.
"Max" Meg calls from the roof
"Why are you on the rooftop?"
"Quickest way here"
She said climbing down, I kneeled.
"Get on we have a car to chase."
-Rosa's POV-
"She has the mind of a child?" Edger said.
"Edger don't start with me," I respond.
"Bea, what's Colette's status?"
"She stable,"
"Edger inject yourself with this" I hand him a needle injection kit.
"What is this?" Edger asked
"It's a vaccine to protect you from the air and sleep gas mix that we blow into the building," I respond
He injected himself without another question.
"Rosa the fuck did this do to me," Edger started looking uneasy before passing out.
"You want any music"
"Sure" We roll through radio stations until we find something we both like.
-1 hour later-
Max pov
"They're they're pulling in" Meg called, we jumped into the bushes outside where they were going.
"Max are you ok" Meg walked up to me.
"Yea I'm fine" I respond.
"Come on"
We sneak to the underbrush in front of the biodome.
"If we don't get in now we'll be locked out." Meg points out.
"Then we better make sure that doesn't happen, "I respond I put Meg on my back and I dash into the building.
"What is this," We hear Edger's voice echoing through the building.
"The Bio-Dome." We find our way back to the main road of the dome.
"This is the place where we make The plant on the maps and the Bugs that I use." Bea continued.
"And a few other things" Rosa added
"What happened?" Edger questioned
"I may have turned Rosa into a human beetle hybrid," Bea responded a distressed look grew over his face. They stopped at a place that looked like a command center.
I felt Meg grab the back of my shirt.
"Hey," The second I open my mouth I get hit with a wave of tiredness. Meg blacked out I did as well.
I woke up I don't even know how long later with sore muscles and a headache to boot.
"ugh"
"Max"
I sit up.
"Surge, Are you ok? Where's Meg? How long have I been out?" I stopped myself when I was about to pass out again.
"Jittery as always. Don't worry Meg is at her house with her parents"
"Also you've been out almost a full week."
He handed me a note.
"When I came back and found you Two in the shop you had this stuck on you."
'Sorry about our less than polite gas you're going to be sore and a slight bit tipsy feeling for the next few days.' -Rosa
"That little." I got out of bed a little too fast and my vision and hearing blurred I felt like throwing up. Surge picked me up and put me back in the bed.
"You not good to move until all the toxins are out of your system" And there I had to wait for 3 more days God it was so boring but, finally it was over. I got a Physical exam and they said I was fine and I ran straight for Rosa, and Bea's lab. On my way, I went to the Grief shop.
"Hey welcome to Grief Shop with the best Brawler toys and accessory's how may we help you?" Colette said.
"You ok?" I said when at the register.
"Yea? Why do you ask?"
"Just cause of what happened last night"
"What happened last night" I was caught off guard by this response
"Y-you sure?"
"Sure about what?"She said
"last night"
"To Rosa, you must go for the answer you seek," A voice said from one of the other parts of the shop.
"Edger you're trying too hard" Colette called.
"So sorry" Edger walked up to me.
"Yeah about what happened you just need to go to Rosa's lab." He said and without another word, I dashed to Rosa and Bea's lab.
"Ok I'm here no walking in the plants here we go." I walk into the lab armed and ready for a fight if need be.
I make my way through the building slowly getting lost a few times. But finally, I made it to the computer room.
"Rosa? Bea?" I call
"She has to be here she left her computer open."I walk up and sit down in her chair.
She even left a video on her PC, so I played it and it was a video diary.
"OK, so I just got hired on this new job at a facility for improving the human condition. I am so excited to get started and I'll be documenting as much as I can in this dairy but, Ah I am so excited."
She ended the short diary there but, There was one that was dated 3 months later.
"The girl I can't remember her name right now I can't get her under control, Her mental and emotional health Is unstable like all Hell. She looks like some sort of demon. her skin is red and her eyes have become distorted don't know how the hell that happened. Oh, wait it may be from how many scientists before me just pumped drugs into her to calm her a bit then left or died. Now the amount of vital vitamins is vastly out of balance. I'm already too deep in this I will help that girl." Now I started getting curious.
'Who is she talking about?'
I started digging deeper but, there was only one video file left titled 'The end' and it was dated Almost two years from the last entry.
"Ok so update It will be short I did it by making a serum To stabilize her." 'In only two years? Did she do any safety trials?' "I'm going to do live tests now so umm here we go." The camera scrolls to the test. There was no doubt it was a demon Collette. I paused the video still trying to wrap my head my head around what I just witnessed.
"So You have no care for privacy."
My heart skipped a beat. I turned to see Rosa.
"So what you going to attack me where's Bea?"
"A simple hello would be nice, no I'm not going to attack you, and Bea's asleep we had a long week." An awkward silence built between us.
"So I'm assuming you want me to explain what you just saw" Rosa finally broke the silence.
"This was six years ago," She said
"From what I was able to learn Collette was a government experiment to see if they could make a super soldier" I was completely silent.
"Unfortunately they made something that was easiest to classify as a monster, I was able to calm that monster for a while".
"For a while? What do you mean?"
"It started to resurface" Rosa walked to the PC and pulled up some images of Collette's skin turning red.
"Look I'm pretty tired so I'll just let you go through these images and." Rosa paused for a second.
"Please don't tell Collette"
Now I was even more confused.
"Wait so Colette don't even know about this? Why??"
"The amount of physical and mental trauma she would never be able to live a normal life." Rosa snapped
"So if you have a better idea I am here and open to hear it." She opened up a file and walked away.
"Go ahead find as much about Colette as you want.
-The next day-
"So Max what was with Rosa and Colette?" We were back at the shop and Meg was helping me with some injuries I got while fighting a villain on the way home.
"It was nothing just me being paranoid sorry." And yet I still hear Colette's screams. With every needle being jabbed into her body, she cried and begged for her parent's help. I could feel myself shaking,
'What do I do? A hero saves everyone and serves justice for the villains, right?