10 Years Ago

#

A young child with dirty blonde hair up to their waist looked around their city, their dark brown eyes locking onto candy shops and other kids they can play with. They didn't play with these kids due to how shy they were, but they did still look at them. They noticed liquor stores and rum and other things that they found either gross or interesting, such as one particular candy store that they passed all the time on their way back to where they were going.

But that wasn't what caught their eye on this fateful day. They noticed someone, a man in a lab coat, that was watching them from the front of the candy store. They tilted their head in confusion, stopping in their tracks on their way back to the orphanage. They hadn't noticed this man before, and they hadn't told the preschool they were enrolled in that they were an orphan, so this man was concerning for them. They looked around before looking at the man in the lab coat, their face full of confusion, before the man approached them. They felt off about this man, so they turned to walk back into the crowd, but the man grabbed them by the arm before they could get too far. This young child was swearing up a storm in their own head as they tried to get away from this guy, but they were yanked back and pulled into a white van. They went to say something, but a bar of chocolate was shoved into their mouth. The van door was slammed shut, and they felt the bumps in the road as the van moved.

They didn't know it yet, but this was the last time they would see the real world for a long while.

#

Over in Germany, a similar lab to the one that the child in the Czech Republic was grabbed by, a stasis chamber was being set up to transport a new project, one that was supposed to bring God to life on Earth. They had been working on this project for about 5 years now, and the child they had grabbed at 1 year old was asleep, waiting patiently to be put in the stasis chamber before he was sent to America. He had been prepared and genetically modified for this moment. For the past 6 years, the lab has waited patiently on end for any sign that project Suntix would be a success, but the site in Germany was being shut down by the government due to insufficient funds. The donations had stopped pouring in when the public found out what the lab was doing to the orphans that they "adopted" from the orphanages around Germany, but no matter how much the citizens tried, the government would not shut down the lab without any evidence, and even when they provided it, they still refused to shut it down on the offchance that it was the public trying to frame them for something that didn't happen.

The lab workers knew that they were getting shut down once the donations stopped coming in, and the government wasn't helping out anymore because of the civil unrest within the country, so they did what they thought was best and sent all of their experiments to other sites across the world.

Project Suntix, specifically, being continued in America.

He wouldn't know the truth about anything for another 10 years, but this was the day that his life changed forever.

#

PRESENT DAY

#

Eli and Suntix glared at each other from a distance, having been separated by X, Evil X and DOOM Guy after they slapped each other. Out of the corner of his eye, Suntix noticed Amelia, Ben and Storm leaving the lab peacefully, and neither of them noticed the lab workers chasing after them to try and bring them back. He turned his head and stopped glaring at Eli as he saw the three of them exiting the lab, and he didn't know what had come over him, but once he laid his eyes on those lab workers, heat flooded his veins before the lab workers caught on fire. As the screams drew from their lips, the little family of 3 finally realized that they were being followed. They turned and looked at the two burning lab workers before looking at everyone else at the sound of Eli laughing maniacally. Ben and Storm looked at each other, each holding onto one of Amelia's hands, before covering Amelia's eyes as she turned to look at the burning men. Suntix looked at them, his eyes wide with shock at the fact that the men started burning with his anger, and as the shock set in, the fire was replaced by ice, which covered them completely. He didn't know what was happening, or why it was happening, but it was. Everyone watched as the fire turned to ice, everyone except Amelia, who still had her eyes covered by Storm and Ben. Storm felt her legs starting to give out, but she just turned Amelia around so that she didn't have to see the frozen, burnt and frostbitten men in the doorway of the lab. Ben helped her stay steady and Suntix slowly walked over, just staring with wide eyes at the bodies, the ones he had been the cause of. Everyone looked as he examined the bodies, before looking at his own hands.

"Suntix... Are you alright?" Storm's voice broke through whatever trance Suntix was stuck in, and he just looked over at her before shaking his head no. "What's wrong?"

"I did that..." He whispered, but barely anyone picked up on what he said, and upon realizing that no one heard him, he spoke up a little. "I did that... To them... How did I do that?" Ben and DOOM shared a look before realizing that this was part of Project Suntix.

"OH FUCK YEAH, THAT WAS AWESOME!" Eli shouted at the top of their lungs, and Storm covered Amelia's ears as soon as she realized where Eli was going with that.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST DO!?"

"LANGUAGE! BOTH OF YOU! MY KID IS RIGHT HERE!" Eli and Suntix shared a look, and Eli just looked at Amelia with a smile.

"Sorry, Stormy." Ben looked right at Suntix, who also looked at Amelia, tilting his head in confusion.

"How is she your kid when you're a blueberry???" He asked, and Storm's words got caught in her throat for a second, shocked by the random question on top of Eli calling her Stormy.

"She's not a blueberry- Suntix, where did that come from!?"

"HER HAIR IS COLORED LIKE A BLUEBERRY, HOW IS SHE NOT A BLUEBERRY!?"

"Just ignore him, Stormy, he doesn't understand hair dye." Eli chuckled at their own joke, and Suntix glared at them, just barely missing the glare that Ben was now giving him. Storm noticed the glare that Ben was giving Suntix and elbowed him lightly, forcing him to look away from Suntix and at her, his gaze softening.

"Ben... Do you really not trust him at all...?" She whispered, and Ben shook his head no, guilt and shame showing on his face. Suntix looked at the two, tilting his head.

"Why do you two look like you're going to kiss?" He asked out of nowhere, and Storm's face turned beet red.

"KISS KISS KISS KISS-" Xisuma slapped a hand over Eli's mouth, muffling the next few instances of them shouting "KISS" at the top of their lungs. Ben immediately turned and death glared both Eli and Suntix for embarrassing Storm before holding onto her tightly. She noticed the death glare and elbowed him again, and he immediately stopped before kissing the top of her head.

"Only I get to embarrass you, that glare was deserved!" Storm chuckled softly while shaking her head no.

"No, babe, that was not deserved." She smiled at him, and as he went to say something, she stopped him by pulling him into a kiss, one he immediately melted into, and Eli cheered as they pried off Xisuma's hand. Then they suddenly just stopped and looked at them, smiling a bit.

"Ew..." They whispered to themselves after a minute, but they were still happy for the two. Ben eventually broke the kiss and looked into Storm's eyes, a wide smile on his face.

"That death glare wasn't deserved," She started before smiling. "But it means I have my Benny Boo back." Ben chuckled before grabbing her by the hands.

"Yes, you do, Stormy." Eli immediately pulled Ben away and glared at him.

"My Stormy." They pulled her into a big hug, and Storm gave Ben a look that asked for a little help.

"Excuse me," He gently pulled them off of her. "But last I checked, she was my fiancéé, not yours." Everyone immediately looked at Storm and Ben, and it was then Ben realized what he had said. "... I just said fiancéé, didn't I?"

"Um... Ben..." Ben looked at Storm, who looked startled and confused at the sudden use of the word "fiancéé." Everyone looked at the two, even Amelia, and Ben slowly reached into his back pocket.

"I, um... Yeah... I said it on accident, but-" Before Ben could even pull his hand out of his back pocket, he was shot in the leg. "ACK-"

"BEN!" Storm immediately caught him as his leg gave out, and they all looked at the man who shot them, only to see Dr. Embers standing there.

"CAN I JUST CHOP HIS FUCKING HEAD OFF!?" Storm glared at Eli for the language, and Dr. Embers walked out of the lab, walking over to Storm, Ben and Amelia, standing over them. "THAT'S IT-" They grabbed a nearby axe and ran at him, swinging, but he grabbed the axe before it could touch him.

"Don't, Eli." Storm buried her head in Ben's chest, and he held onto her with one arm, holding the bullet wound in his leg with the other. "You're just as much a part of this lab as they are. Ben, stop being so dramatic, it was just a bullet to the knee. It's not like you're dying." Eli snarled before teleporting behind him, but he must've been expecting that, because two other lab workers were behind them, and the lab workers tased them before they could do anything. Eli collapsed, and Dr. Embers looked at everyone else.

"OI! Leave them alone!" All eyes turned to Xisuma, who clenched his fists. "These kids didn't do anything to you. Leave them alone." Amelia held onto Ben's arm tightly, and Evil X pulled a gun on Dr. Embers.

"Or else." As soon as those two words left his mouth, he realized that Jeremy had run over to make sure that Eli was alright. "! DAMMIT JEREMY, GET BACK HERE!" Storm gently grabbed a hold of Jeremy and pulled him into her little group, and the two lab boys ignored Xisuma and Evil X's threat, dragging Eli into the lab before they could get back up.

"I'm afraid I hold the high ground here. None of you hold it. I DO! I'M TAKING THIS HAPPY LITTLE FAMILY, AND ELI, AND PROJECT SUNTIX, AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!" Storm and Ben shared a look, and DOOM's face twisted into malice behind his mask. Dr. Embers threw down a smoke bomb, and when the smoke cleared, Storm, Ben, Amelia and Suntix were gone.

#

Amelia squirmed in the lab worker's grip, trying to pull herself away from him. Dr. Embers watched, smiling at the memories of Storm's first day in the lab, which were a lot like what Amelia was going through now. He walked over and grabbed the doctor by one of his shoulders, giving him a look that told him to sit Amelia down on the ground. The doctor obliged and sat her down, and Dr. Embers gave him another look, telling him to leave the room. Amelia looked at him, her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

"Where's my momma...?" She asked him, and it was in that moment that he got a better idea than the one he already had.

"Your momma... I'm sorry, kid. Your momma's gone." Amelia didn't understand what he meant, and so he knelt down in front of her, his face full of sadness and despair. "Your momma's gone, Amelia... And she's not coming back. She's... She's dead." He was lying directly to Amelia's face, but there was no way she would've known that unless she saw otherwise. Her eyes went wide, and she pulled her knees into her chest.

"And... My dada...?"

"Your dada's gone, too... I'm sorry." He was once again lying to Amelia, but he said it with a tone that sounded so believable that even he didn't know if he was lying or telling the truth. Amelia buried her head in her knees as she started to cry, and Dr. Embers, for once, felt the tiniest ounce of empathy. He didn't feel any empathy towards his own creation, but maybe because it was his creation's daughter, something changed.

A margin of error, he thought.

"I want my momma..." Amelia whispered, and Dr. Embers suddenly pulled her into a hug, looking at the door behind her.

"I know you do," He started. "I do, too. But she's not coming back, I'm so sorry..." Amelia started crying into his shoulder, and he slowly looked down at her, not used to this from any other child in the lab. He gently let go of her and carefully sat her down on a nearby sleeping bag. "You should get some sleep. I'll check on you tomorrow. Okay?" Amelia slowly nodded before getting in the sleeping bag and curling up. Dr. Embers smiled before leaving the room, letting it drop as he went towards the other part of the lab. "Keep an eye on that kid. She could be useful." The other doctors guarded the room Amelia was in, and Dr. Embers walked into the cell Storm was in, watching her and Ben from the doorway. He smirked and closed the door behind him, walking over to the two with a determined look on his face. Ben guarded her, and she just backed up to the wall behind her, looking at the two nervously.

"Why are you doing this to us, Dr. Embers? Huh?" Dr. Embers grabbed a hold of Ben's wrist, yanking him up to his feet, harshly. Ben yelped but stood his ground.

"Ben, I don't have to explain myself to a failure of a creation like you." His voice was laced with venom as he spoke, and a hint of disappointment was also audible. "You were supposed to keep her in line. You failed to do that, and you left with her! You were not created to fall in love with her. You were supposed to break her heart." Ben's eyes widened at the realization that Dr. Embers was about to tell Storm the truth about him, and he was scared that she'd hate him for it. "I BROUGHT YOU TO LIFE TO BREAK HER HEART, AND YOU DEVIATED. YOU FELL IN LOVE. YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO FALL IN LOVE. I BROUGHT YOU TO LIFE! I CREATED LIFE FROM NOTHING! YOU WERE NOTHING BEFORE I CREATED YOU! YOU MAY BE HUMAN PHYSICALLY BUT GODDAMMIT, YOU'RE NOTHING!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Storm shouted, and both Ben and Dr. Embers looked at her. "HE'S NOT NOTHING. HE'S HUMAN BY ALL MEANS. I DON'T CARE IF YOU MADE HIM TO BREAK MY HEART. HE DIDN'T. HE DID WHAT YOU COULDN'T AND FIXED MY BROKEN HEART. HE WAS THERE FOR ME INSTEAD OF TRYING TO HURT ME! YOU FAILED! YOU MADE HIM TO BREAK ME, BUT INSTEAD, HE DID THE EXACT OPPOSITE!" Dr. Embers let go of Ben and slowly approached her. "YOU. FUCKED. UP. HE'S NOT YOURS ANYMORE, HE'S MINE!" All that was heard next was a loud SMACK as Dr. Embers slapped her, and Ben's hands flew over his mouth. He wanted to help her, but he couldn't stand on his own, not until his leg healed.

"Shut. The FUCK UP!" Storm held her cheek in pain and just looked at Dr. Embers, angry tears forming in her eyes.

"He's not yours... He's mine... He chose me..." Ben slowly nodded at her, confirming what she was saying. She screwed her eyes shut. "And I choose him." Dr. Embers grabbed her by the throat before pinning her up against the wall. She started trying to pry his hand off, but he moved it and pinned her wrists to the wall.

"LET HER GO!" Ben fought against the pain in his leg and charged at Dr. Embers, who turned and faced him, before ramming into him, the force sending him into the wall behind him.

"Ben!" Ben's leg gave out again, and Storm quickly caught him before holding him in an iron grip. "Ben, we- we gotta get out of here...! Did you get the key?"

"Y- Yeah, I- I did!" Ben held it up, and Storm smiled widely before picking him up and making a break for the door. Dr. Embers sat up in time to see them leaving the cell, and he made a break for the door.

"NO! GET BACK HERE! YOU'RE MINE! BOTH OF YOU!" He shouted, but Storm slammed the cell door in his face, and Ben locked it before he and Storm ran off. They were finally getting out of the lab and leaving it behind for good as soon as they got everyone else.

Or so they thought. A gunshot rang out, and Storm collapsed, her leg feeling like it was on fire. She slowly pulled herself up to her feet and ignored it, but she only made it to Eli's cell before it gave out again. She got it open as she collapsed a second time, and Eli ran over before teleporting all 3 of them to Suntix. Once they grabbed him, they got to where Amelia was, and they finally got out after she was in her mother's arms.