The next day, Switch was playing tag with the children. Cama used his ability to hide while Arma rolled away from Switch. Madame Heavy was watching on the sidelines, smiling that Arma was having fun.

"I'm going to get you!"

The children laughed as they were being chased by him. He used his ability to switch with a broom to catch Arma. She giggled as he scooped her up.

"Now help me find Cama."

Arma used her nose to sniff him out and pointed in a direction. Cama scurried away and Switch heard his footsteps on the wall. He used his gift again to switch with Lagarto and Lucia and touched Cama.

"Not fair!", he laughed.

"Having fun?", his father asked.

"Let's play again!", the boy begged.

"Certainly", as he put Arma down.


Alex came into view with something on his mind to discuss with him. Switch glanced at the gravity villainess who took the kids to play elsewhere.

"You could have kept playing. There's no rush for today", Alex said to Switch.

"They make me feel young, but my body isn't what it used to be. You want to discuss the plan?"

"If you have time."

"Always."

"I know I have to leave at some point before Prime gets too suspicious. When should I leave?"

"Based on what I've seen, you have greatly improved your abilities in a short amount of time. I think 3 days from today would be fine. You will leave after we slap a collar on you. I will lend a hand if something goes wrong."

"Is that really the best idea? I want you to stay here with them", he didn't want to afford another close loss.

"No. I helped you get this far and I'm not going to abandon you if needed."

"Oh, I met Exodus. Could she be part of the plan?"

"Her power works best in a calm state. Her fear of Prime would make her power unreliable. She was only able to help us last time because of Gizmo's tech."

"I see. Here is what I found from Gizmo's teachings. It could help give us the advantage, but I need M Heavy's help."

He explained it to Switch. Switch tapped his earpiece and Alex could hear the discussion.

"Madame, are you there?"

"Oui, what is it?"

"Alex needs your help with the plan. You don't have to be there when it happens."

"What is it?"

She motioned for the kids to eat some snacks with Lucia and Lagarto. Switch explained the plan to her.

"I never did that before. But maybe Gizmo can help with that."

"So be it. Thanks for your help. Alex will be ahead of us before that comes into play."

The call disconnected. Alex thanked Switch and went to talk with Gizmo about M Heavy's involvement.

----

It had been almost a week since Alex was gone. Heavy luggage formed under Barria's eyes. She kept thinking of what those villains were doing to him. When faced with a mirror, she would look away from it. She kept thinking that if she was stronger, none of this would have happened. If she had predicted Shriek's attack....

"Alex is a tough kid. He won't give up. Once they see how stubborn he is, they will send him back", a recovered Quickness half-joked to alleviate her fears.

Barria cracked a grin from that bad joke. She needed to hear that.

"Once he comes back, we will protect him better. Switch and his crew will never get the upper hand again."

"You've changed", she thought out loud. The speedster was always the one to joke around.

"I just wish it was sooner. If I was more serious, Madame Heavy wouldn't have stopped me. It was going to happen at some point, but it shouldn't have been this way."

Barria couldn't respond to that since she felt as guilty as him.

"I checked out all the old hideouts for villains, but he's not in the country. Let's hope he comes back soon."

He gave her two soft punches to the shoulder before leaving. She appreciated this side of the speedster. Always a jokester, but with a good heart.

Meanwhile, Prime was flying around looking for Alex's whereabouts. His eyes darted around for any sign of him. He flew rapidly to different parts of the world. He scanned buildings, restaurants, abandoned warehouses, etc. It had been a while since he expressed an emotion like that. He remembered something in his past about Switch. An image of an airship.

He flew high up in the air and found a large jet. He used his super vision, but nothing was out of the ordinary. He kept flying around, but he couldn't find him.

"Where are you? Please be safe, Alex. If they killed you..."


He kept on his search.

—-

Within the three days, Gizmo set up some tech that had suction pads on it for M Heavy. They started testing out its capabilities in secret. Shrink approached Alex during this time.

"I'm sorry about what I said", he uttered reluctantly.

"That's okay. Exodus explained what you did."

The minimizing villain left him after saying his piece and Alex let him be. He went to M Heavy for additional training.

Madame used her gravity power to push Alex's physical limits to the next level. He kneeled down as the pressure intensified over time. Over the next two days, he eventually stood up on both legs with veins striking across his body.

Brooke saw how much work he was putting into everything and she's a little concerned. Everyone here expected so much out of him. She and him spent more time together after he told her when he would leave. It would happen in the afternoon the next day.

"Let's have you take a break from training. We're going to watch a movie. Hang out with us", she offered without accepting no for an answer.

"You're right. Let's have some fun."

All the villains he met were watching a Spaghetti Western.

"You have an old taste in movies, Switch", Lagarto told him.

"I'm more partial to the old cowboy movies. Check this scene out."

It showed a scene of a train being robbed by a gang. The gang demonstrated full cohesion as their movements were calculated.

"Your inspiration?", Madame guessed.

"You can say that", the retired villain smiled.

Brooke laid back against Alex and he held her close as they watched the movie. They finished it and they all started to leave the room.

"Can I see you leave tomorrow?", Arma asked Alex.

"I don't see why not."

Arma embraced his leg and she let go to be with Madame Heavy.

"You two love birds don't get into any trouble", Shriek teased the couple.

"I will try not to", he laughed.

"She is a bad influence, Alex", the lizard joked.

"He's more of that than I am", Brooke shot back.

The villains laughed as they went their separate ways. Alex turned Brooke's face towards him and kissed her lips. Brooke reciprocated and whispered in his ear.

"Come by my room later. I will let you know when I'm ready."

She left him to prepare for their special night. Alex made a quick stop to the pharmacy inside the hideout. He took the item in a bag and went to his room to wait. He got a notification from Brooke on his nightstand computer.


"Could you help me with something?"

That was an excuse for him. He took the bag and knocked on her door. "It's me."

The door slid open. Her long dark legs peeked out from the white robe. His heart raced, but he kept himself calm.

"Y-You look great", he gulped.

Brooke timidly smiled which puzzled him. "Thanks. I'm fine. Just nervous."

"We'll take it slow and stop when you need to."

She let him into her room. Her room was about the same as his except for the framed pictures on her nightstand. There's one with her, Cama, and Arma. Her with Exodus trying on dresses. And one with her parents that he noticed a close resemblance to her mom.

He looked at her bed and noticed special bedsheets. His touch told him they're tougher than usual.

"It's all fireproof. Just in case I ever lost control", she explained while sitting down close to him.

"That reminds me. I came up with something to help us."

He brought out some metal and "wrapped" it around his hands.

"This can withstand extreme heat temperatures so we will be okay."

Brooke appreciated that and had him sit on the bed. She took a remote and pressed a button. The window changed to a starry night and Alex was thinking back. It seemed familiar. She pressed the button again. The window changed to a beach setting and then back to the starry night.

"You remember this?"

"Your dating profile", he guessed correctly.

She motioned with a finger for him to kiss her lips. He didn't hesitate. He took his time as he cupped her face. Brooke reciprocated but had her eyes open. She saw his hand leaving her face to touch her neck, but she had him touch her breasts under the robe.


Alex started soft which turned to fondling her supple breasts. She rubbed his inner thigh to get him more excited. He was going to kiss her neck, but she gently pushed his head back. He stopped.

"Is everything okay? Should we stop?", he asked with an exhale.

"I don't want you to stop."

Something was off to him. Maybe it's related to her past?

"You can tell me anything, Brooke. I won't judge you."

She reluctantly shifted her robe a bit to the side to show off what she's hiding. Alex was shocked to see a power collar around her neck.

"I wore this on our date. I also chose to put this on so I wouldn't have to worry about hurting you. I know you had sex before, but I don't want to ruin our time together.....I understand if you want to call it off."

Her collar shut down and her eyes widened as Alex threw it in the trash. He then gazed with softened eyes into hers.

"Te amo, Brooke Rodriguez. I love you, powers and all."

Her jaw almost dropped to the floor.

"B-B-But I can hurt you if my hands are in the wrong place."

"Then I will apply metal there. I don't mind a little pain with pleasure."

"What if I don't live up to your last time?"

"First, do you love me?"

"I love you."

"Then this will be ten times better than that. This will be the first time I make love to someone who loves me back."

"My first time as well. Te amo, Alex Perez", her eyes sparkled.

She got up from the bed and took off her robe with her back towards him. She heard Alex let out an audible "wow" from seeing her. He stripped down as well. She turned to be aroused by her lover's body. He took his time visually taking her body in. He approached her and they kiss passionately. Her hands quickly touched his face, chest, abs, and below the waist as she kissed him. Alex moaned from her touch as he did the same to her.

"Don't stop, Brooke."

"I won't. My body is all yours and yours is all mine", she happily moaned.

Her hands began to glow, but she saw that the metal is withstanding the heat well.....

Her shaky breaths encouraged him to hear more of those sounds.

"Oh, Alex. Don't you dare stop!"

Eventually, sparks came out of her hands. Her hands gripped the sheets as Alex was below her waist.

"Mi amor. I don't want our night to end."

"Me neither."

She then flipped him onto his back....

Her glasses almost fell off her face as she bounced on top of him. His right hand groped her firm butt while using his other hand to keep her glasses in place.

"I love you, Brooke!"

"I love you too!"

Sparks flew out from her hands. One of them landed on Alex's shoulder which made him wince. She was concerned, but he seductively smiled at her.

"It's worth it."

He brought her down and they exchanged a few kisses before he turned her over. "Yo quiero mi morena", he whispered.

"Muestrame."

She had one of his metal hands pin her hands that laid behind her. She squeezed her eyes close and bit her lower lip.

"Are you okay?"

"I am. It's just been a while but keep going."

Alex went slow and gentle to avoid hurting her. She showed her appreciation by wrapping her legs around his waist. He wiped the sweat off her glistening dark skin.

"I already had a reason to fight Prime, but you gave me something I never knew I needed on top of that."

"What-ah- is it?"

"A reason to live. A possible future for us. If I'm going to fight, I don't want to die. I will survive so I can be with you again!"

Brooke ecstatically locked lips with him as his body shuddered. They rode the waves until he settled.

"This morena is all yours to love", she whispered.

"Good. I love me some dark chocolate."

They kept going throughout the night. Their bodies melted into one another as sparks kept flying from her hands. Their sounds gave them company and the encouragement to expel whatever left over tension was between them. She held him close to her bosom for some time before their bodies gave out.

She let go of her hands as fireworks flew off from her fingertips. As Alex lied back, he saw a nice light show that accompanied his wonderful woman. Brooke settled down on his chest after she was done. Their sweaty bodies shuddered from their intense lovemaking. Brooke's hand trembled as she wiped sweat off Alex's forehead. Alex took her hand and kisses it.

"How was that?"

Alex shakily motioned with his index finger. The metal formed an infinity symbol before he put it away.

"I give you the same rating. I love you."

"I love you too."


After resting, they groggily walked to the shower to clean up. They returned to bed with Alex bringing the sheets over them. She wore a purple silk cap before resting her head on his chest. He held her close with hope that the plan would work.

The morning he had to go, he woke up from his alarm, but he didn't want to get out of bed at the moment. He saw his lover lightly snoring with a peaceful look on her face. She stirred awake from the alarm as he "silenced" it. He caressed her face.

"Morning, mi morena. How did you sleep?"

"I slept great. You?"

"Better than before because of you."

"You don't mind my snoring?"

"I find it cute", before kissing her cheek.

She touched his chest and made numerous circles around his heart with her index finger. Alex massaged her head in response.

"Hmm. Thanks, mi amor."

"Everything will be okay, Brooke."

"I hope so too."

They got dressed and headed down for breakfast while holding hands. M Heavy and the others were waiting for them in the cafeteria. The group was happy to see them.

"Bonjour!"

"Morning, everyone!"

Alex put his food down and pulled out a chair for Brooke. She sat down and he scooted her in.

"So something did happen between you love birds", the banshee smirked.

"We just stayed up watching movies", Brooke bluffed in front of the children.

"Like a sleepover?", Arma asked.

"Just for adults only", Alex quickly interjected.

"I actually stopped by Alex's room last night and well...

"Not in front of the children", as Lagarto hit Shriek in the shoulder.

"Right. Still, I love to see happy couples. Ah, love."

"I did tell her I love her."

"I knew you had feelings for each other!", Cama exclaimed while pointing his fork at them.

"Does that mean you will get married?", the little girl asked.

Alex and Brooke looked at each other lovingly.

"One day in the future."

Brooke agreed with him.

"Can I be the flower girl?"

"Of course you can", Brooke responded.

Switch saw how happy Alex and Brooke were with each other. He hoped that they will have a long and healthy life together......


Alex was taken into the hangar bay where he will be sent in a small ship set for his destination. Gizmo was making some last-minute adjustments.

"Are you ready to be back with them?"

"I am. I found what I'm fighting for, Gizmo."

"That's good. Let's get going."

"I will make sure the pressure doesn't affect you", Madame assured him.

"Okay. Thanks for everything! I didn't imagine us being at this point, but I'm grateful."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't make it too long", Gizmo brushed off. The level 5 technopath was putting up a front as he had a good time during his training.

"I will send you what you need to expose him. Exodus will drop it off in your hotel room so be on the lookout. We can't do it too soon though."

"Right. It would be too soon if I came back and that happened."

"I will make things right. Be good to Cama", he crouched to embrace Arma.

"I will. Be safe."

She didn't want to let go out of fear.


"This man is tough and smart. He will expose Prime without fighting him", Shriek reassured her.

She slowly let go. Cama and him do a handshake while Lagarto pulled him in with his tail.

"Maybe we will meet again. I will make flan next time."

"Got it. Continue to keep them safe."

"Be safe!", Lucia added.

Alex offered his hand to Exodus and they shook hands. Alex went to Brooke and took his time burning every inch into his mind and to do one more thing. He pulled her in and dipped her for a deep kiss. Lagarto covered his son's eyes and M Heavy did the same with Arma. He pulled her up and broke the kiss.

"When it's done, come to me", he confidently told her.

"It will be worth the wait just to be with you again."

"It's time", Switch announced.

Alex knew what's going to happen and sat down as Brooke backed away. Switch slapped the collar on him and activated the knockout gas as he backed up. Alex passed out. M Heavy sprayed a regular scent spray all over his body to hide Brooke's scent. Gizmo blasted the fans at the highest setting to remove the scent before sending him off.

---------

Barria was jogging in the park to relieve some stress. A heavy thud from behind made her bring out her barrier infused fists.

"Show yourself!"

She checked out the source of the noise. She dropped her fists and quickly attempted medical aid to an unconscious, collared Alex Perez. She felt a pulse under his jugular. She tapped on her earpiece.

"Everyone! I just found Alex!"

"You did?! Is he okay?", Aqua asked with concern.

"He's bandaged up. I'm going to take him to the medical bay", as she made a portable barrier to transport him. She jumped on top and moved it quickly. "Please be okay. Please."

She checked him into the medical bay of the company and the medical staff took off the bandages. Barria almost shuddered from what they had done to him. She took his hand and stroked it.

"How is he? How is he?!", she repeated louder this time.

"We haven't done a full test yet, ma'am. But we will let you know of any updates. Please wait outside."

Leaving him alone was what happened last time. "No. I'm going to stay right here with him."

They let her stay as they do their jobs. Some time passed and Alex opened his eyes slowly.

He lowered the brightness of the lights to his liking. He put it together that his collar was removed. He opened his eyes to see Barria holding his hand while sleeping in a chair. He squeezed her hand which woke her up. He saw the dark bags under her eyes as she got up to embrace him. Tears ran down her face.

"I'm glad you're okay! I'm sorry for what happened. I shouldn't have left you alone like that."

"It wasn't your fault, Barria. I was stupid for going after them alone. I must have worried you."

"You did. Never do that to me again", she demanded.

"I won't."

He embraced her back and she held onto him for a while.  It was good for him to see a familiar face when he woke up. The door opened and the other heroes come in. Aqua was holding a bouquet of sunflowers with a get-well card on top.

"There's our man of the hour. Yeesh. They did a number on you", the speedster joked.

"Be serious, Quick!", Aqua smacked him on the back.

"Sorry. We all heard from the medical team that you just had some bruises, but nothing is broken."

Aqua set the bouquet on the table near him. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and an embrace.

"We missed you so much. We're glad you are home!"

She teared up as well and Alex patted her hand. "It's good to be home again. I learned my lesson."

Marks tilted his head down to show that he's glad that Alex was alright.

"Barria, where did you find me and what time is it?"

"I found you in the park 15 minutes away from here. It's 3pm right now."

He deduced that Exodus had sent him away and accepted it.

"I stopped by there, but there is no evidence of who dropped you off. The park's cameras were playing on a loop so they couldn't catch who did it", Quick added.

"That's too bad."

"Just rest for now and leave that work to us. They took your phone so you will have to get a new one. They will release you in the morning", Barria informed.

Prime then walked in. Alex's heart rate shot up on the monitor. The nurses were concerned, but he remembered his training and buried his anger. He clutched his head to fake his pain and his heart rate went back down to normal. Barria had him lay down.

"She's right. You have gone through a terrible ordeal. You need to rest. Please listen to us. We made sure to keep the reporters away, but they will be waiting for you outside", Prime told him.

"You're right. Rest sounds good. I'm famous now."

Aqua laughed. "Not the right kind of fame. Are you hungry by any chance? I mean did they feed you?"

"They did feed me, but I'm a little hungry now."

"I will come back up with some food", as Aqua left the room.

"It's good to see that you're alive. We will make sure that Switch and his crew will go to prison for the rest of their lives", Prime assured him.

"I know you will", he hid the venom behind his words.

"Alex, you will be questioned later today by a government psychoanalyst to get any details that are still fresh in your mind. Maybe that can help us find them", Marks added.

"And to see if they brainwashed you in any way. No offense. It tends to be a normal thing", the speedster spoke with experience.

"I understand. I'm just grateful that I'm still alive."

The heroes, including Prime, smiled at him.

"We are going to celebrate as soon as you leave the hospital. Just name the restaurant and we will reserve it just for us", Barria enthusiastically offered. 

"And throw in some liquor for you too", the speedster added.

"He's not old enough, but we will let it slide for once", Prime chuckled.

"Looking forward to it."

Aqua brought up a big tray of food to Alex's surprise. "Oh, no. You said you were a little hungry and I went overboard."

"I will consider the rest to be dinner for later. You got me the good stuff too. Those brownies are the bomb!"

They laughed as his appetite hadn't changed too much. He ate good portion of the food before the doctor walked in. The Chinese man is sharply dressed in a gray suit and tie in with a black briefcase.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Dr. Henry Lin. You must be Alex Perez, am I right?"

"That's me."

"I will need some privacy with my patient."

The heroes left the room. Prime covered his ears, but Barria and Quickness stood by the door to peek into the room. Their eyes didn't leave the doctor, not even for a second.

"A lot of people assume that I'm not a psychoanalyst because of my professional attire. I just choose to dress like this."

"That's no problem."

"Let me show you my license."

He brought out his license and Alex was partially startled. It said Level 4 Telepath.

He can- No. Let's get through this.

The doctor opened his briefcase and took out some paperwork with a ready pen. "We will begin with some basic questions just to verify. First question: What is your full name?"

"Alexander Gabriel Perez."

"When is your birthday?"

"October 22nd."

Dr. Lin checked a box confirming the right answers.

"How tall are you?"

"5'10."

Dr. Lin checked a box for that: "Your age?"

"18."

"Superhero name?"

"Techno."

"Okay. It's good that you still remember that. No signs of memory loss which will make this next part easier. Do you remember seeing this woman?", he brought out a picture of Brooke.

"Yes, we went out on a date that day that my family died."

"I am very sorry to hear that."

"Thanks."

"Did you see her again?"

"I did. She is part of Switch's crew and she attacked me before they took me away."

"Did you see her after you were kidnapped and what were your feelings?"

"Yes. I was so confused and mad at her for lying to me like that. I told I didn't want to see her again."

That was the truth of what happened. Alex lowered his eyebrows and Dr. Lin could feel his betrayal.

"I see. Did she stay in contact with you?"

Alex kept his mind and heart steady. "No. I never saw her again until I got dropped off here."

"Who is responsible for your bruises?"

"There was another technopath, but he was a Level 5 user. His name is Gizmo."

He wrote down these notes while keeping an eye on him. Alex kept calm.

"Did you tell them anything about your team or the company itself?"

"Not what they already know. They kept talking about their battles with Barria and the others."

Another lie.

"Did they try to brainwash you?"

"They tried."

"How?"

"They claimed to have a video about the "truth" of Prime's battle with Switch. Like they were trying to persuade me to their side."

"Did you believe the contents of the video?"

"Not at all. Prime would never do any of the things in that video."

"Hmm. What was in the video?"

"That Prime killed innocent people on purpose, but I know that Switch is the one responsible. Prime was there for me so I know he wouldn't do those things."

A mix of truths and lies to throw the telepath off guard.


Dr. Lin scribbled some things down. "Did you have any indication of where you were?"

"No. The room was padded with AC. They just fed and beat me for answers." 

"Okay. I sense no brainwashing. I will let the others know."

"That's good."

Alex hummed a theme song in his head just in case the telepath was using his powers.

"Between you and I, I did sense some deception from you."

Alex kept humming. "What?"

"Memory does tend to get fuzzy after being held prisoner. Some pieces may be missing. You were angry at Brooke and yet there was something else there."

"How would you feel if a potential lover betrayed you like that? I didn't hide anything about my contact with her and I'm glad that I'm away from her. She used what I told her against me."

The Level 4 Telepath saw that he's still dealing with some residual anger and lets it go. "I'm sorry. It must have been hard for you to deal with. My questions are done."

You creep me out. Just leave.

"As you wish. Telepaths are considered a little creepy since they can invade a person's mind. But I did all that with the consent of your team. Quickness was brainwashed before, but I helped him get through that. I'm here for you as well."

"Sorry. I just don't like being questioned like I'm on trial. I could have been killed at anytime."

"You're right. My questions tend to get invasive, but I got what I needed. Welcome back, Techno."

The telepath left him as Alex hummed a loud tune in his head. The telepath gave his notes over to the team before departing. He waited for him to get out of sight and he relaxed his mind.

"Are you okay? You got a little confrontational with him", Barria came back in.

"I was a victim of torture and yet he thought I gave something to them. I would never hurt our team. Do you believe me?"

"Of course I do. Honestly, he creeps me out too. I guess that telepaths are natural at that, but some of them mean well. I know he helped Quickness after what happened."

"He mentioned that too. Who brainwashed him?"

"It happened a couple of years before you joined us. He was brainwashed by Memento to attack the company. It was hard to fight him like that, but it had to be done. Lin helped him out afterwards."

"That's terrible. Is he okay?"

"I'm not sure. It seems like he let it go, but who knows?"

"What happened to Memento?"

"He was killed the night of the prison riot."

"I.....didn't know. Have there been any villain attacks since I was kidnapped?"

"A few robberies, but no supervillain attacks like last time. I don't know why they are not stepping up to assert their roles. Well, at least you are here. I will stay and keep you company. Is that okay?"

"I would like that. Has there been any changes tech wise?"

"I got your tablet. I think a new phone came out and that was about it."

"Interesting. Let's look that up."

He spent time researching the new phone and anything else he could have missed.

----

Dr. Lin stepped into an alleyway away from the hospital. Two masked ninjas drop down to him. He brought out a photo of Alex.

"Here's the client."

"Do what you did the last time."

They nodded and they jumped up the walls. The government doctor walked away.