Chapter 14: A Promise Made

~Third Person P.O.V~

Piper managed to carry the boy all the way back to his lab, halfway through she felt as though her legs would have given way. Pushing the door open to his lab, the pair stumbled in.

Ezra's labored breath and wistful eyes began to worry Piper, the blonde girl breaking the silence. "Relax, it's just me and you now." She began "I won't let them hurt you.. not again. I promise."

"Really? And how do you suppose you are going to pull that off?" Ezra spat, the pair reaching his workbench, Ezra pushing her hands away, forcing her to watch him struggle to prop himself up with what little strength he had left.

"Didn't you see what happened?" Ezra gritted his teeth, his eyes welling with tears, threatening to break and mix with the blood dripping down from his still-open wounds. Piper stepped closer, Ezra raised a hand to stop her.

"People like us... compared to them? Ants to be stepped on." Ezra said, limping towards something covered by a white sheet, suspended above the floor of the lab. Though the sheet obscured the finer details from view, one could assert that it was about the size of a man, what little of it managed to peek out from under the sheet made it look to be still in the process of being assembled. This was the same device that she saw suspended and covered the first time she awoke in his lab.

"He humiliated me.. in front of our new friends, in front of miss Krystal..." Ezra paused, his voice was shaky now, he turned around, his blonde hair mixed with splotches of crimson red. "In- in front of YOU!" At that moment, Ezra's confident exterior broke down to reveal the scared, insecure boy hiding underneath.

"For as long as I can remember, people like Jared would insult, berate, and belittle me for being.. different. For not having any magic. For being WEAK as he so gently put it." Ezra managed to blurt out, steeling himself, he turned around, his hands grasping onto the white fabric. "I saw the way he looked at you. The same way he looked at me. He wants to hurt you." Ezra's words sounded like venom, this side of him.. he always seemed so calm, cool and collected. Like he always had a plan, always had just the right words to say. But now? Piper saw just how emotional Ezra could get.

"Like HELL I'll let them lay a finger on you." Ezra pulled off the sheet, revealing what looked to be.. a mechanical suit, still in the process of being built. "All of their abuse ends the moment I complete this." Ezra spoke, a projector lighting up, showcasing the various capabilities of what was revealed to be some form of a performance enhancer.

"Physical enhancements to strength, speed, agility, and durability. Nullification of stamina. The ability to sift through various lenses, analyzing and scanning the terrain, objects, and people. Enhanced spider pincers, 4 large ones from the back to aid in scaling surfaces, negating damage that could be sustained from falling great heights and perhaps 2 smaller ones to further aid in combative abilities." Ezra turned to face Piper, different spider-bot models flashing beside the diagram. A slew of strong emotions on his face, many Piper had no hope of deciphering.

"I call it 'The Amalgam Project.' the unification of machine and flesh." Ezra raised his right hand, his fingers began to segment, stretching into short tendrils. "You've seen the minor modifications I've made to my body. This." Ezra quickly gestured to his work in progress, his eyes gazing up at it. "This is my work brought to its logical conclusion. This will be my Magnum Opus. My legacy." Ezra turned to Piper once more who was at a loss for words.

"It could be our legacy. If you'd let me." Ezra took Pipers hands with his own, a few drops of blood dripping onto Piper's arms, snapping her back to reality.

"Ezra.." Piper wrapped her arms around him. "I know you're scared... for you.. and me." Piper pulled back, looking him in the eyes, concern and worry held true in her pupils.

"But right now... right now you're hurt.. you're bleeding. Please.. we need to operate." Piper's voice was pleading and desperate.

Ezra steeled himself, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh. Relenting, he finally responded with a simple nod.

"Alright."

Ezra laid back on the operating table, Piper activated the mechanical medi-arms, watching closely as they cut off the torn pieces of clothing, one of the first steps to avoid infecting his wounds, leaving the few scraps that were neither drenched in blood nor were close to any open wounds.

"Leo told me about the.. uhm- blood. And how it healed him.." Piper's voice was quiet and unsure, she needed to know why he couldn't just be treated in the same way Leo and Ashley were... but she was scared she was treading on thin ice.

"Y-yeah?" Ezra gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as the arms began to inject him with anesthetic, Piper gently reached for his right hand, the boy gladly taking her hand.

"Was it some sort of salve? It can't actually be blood.. right? Why can't we treat you the same way?" Piper asked.

"You're half-right, its a salve synthesized from a special kind of blood taken from a certain donor. It can cure almost any external injury.. although it needs to be applied to someone with at least a base level magic potential to activate the healing..." Ezra said the tail end softly, his eyes looking away.

Piper's lips morphed into a thin line.. it pained her to watch him like this... "Hey.." Piper began as the arms finished mending his wounds, holding onto his right hand with both of her hands, helping him sit up-right.

"T-to me.." Piper began, her right hand touching his cheek gently, making him meet her gaze. Her voice was sounded unsure, though she managed to force herself to keep her eyes on his, amethysts meeting steely diamonds.

"You're already pretty incredible... you don't need to prove anything to me." Piper smiled sweetly, a slight flush on her cheeks. Ezra smiled back, an endearing look in his eyes.

"W-well, yeah. Anyway, we should probably get to cleaning up your la- mMmnhh!" Piper was cut off as Ezra pulled her back, his lips crashing against her's. Ezra's lips felt gentle yet firm against Piper's, they fit perfectly; almost as if they were two pieces of a puzzle, finally finding their match.

Ezra's left arm wrapped around Piper's frame, pulling her closer towards himself, gently caressing her cheek with his right hand. Ezra's kiss was warm and sincere, it felt as though it was something he's been denying himself off for far too long. Piper.. well, Piper's world was spinning. She never in a million years thought he'd actually... like her back.

She was sure their relationship was purely platonic.. well, the way he giggled into their kiss at the fact she seemed so star struck.. proved her otherwise.

"W-what was.. what was that?" Piper struggled to find the right words, her face was flushed with red.

"Don't act like you've never thought of doing that before, Pipes." Ezra winked, resting his cheek on the palm of his hand, his confident smirk once more finding its place on his lips.

"Haha.. well- well, now that you mention it." Piper's eyes traveled lower from his eyes, down to his lips then to his bare chest, eyeing his slim, yet toned and muscular frame. "You're pretty... hot for a genius." Piper smirked back.

Now it was Ezra's turn to blush. .. and roll his eyes."Well." Ezra managed to keep his expression straight as he continued speaking.

"Well, I think you're pretty. Really pretty." For such a simple comment, Ezra made it sound as though his words were coated in smooth caramel, sweet and smooth.

And from that moment, Piper and Ezra knew they'd found their perfect match. Their other half. If only.. if only they could keep it that way, alas, fate is a cruel mistress.