Chapter 31: Obsession

Dragons Guard - Hugs are foreseen in her future.

Guest - I think it's because I'm switching POVS. I'm writing the same, but the way other characters think or view something is obviously going to be different from our MC's.

Guest - ... No... I didn't know that... Still going to send fuckers there.

DannyPhantom619 - Sad.

Redburndragon - Touching the Ultimatrix itself wouldn't do anything, she's a biokinetic not an Osmosian, but certain forms will get a reaction from her Shard.

Sultan Asil Arslan - Just wait till she tries something with our MC's.

[Phoenix's POV]

After Lung was dealt with, and I said bye to Amy, I ran back home. Taylor didn't need me for anything, we were done talking to people, so I was free to do what I wanted for the day. Sure, we needed to set up the day to work on the Ogre woman, but we could take care of that after Amy was on board. I could've teleported back at any time, but I had ideas I wanted to think about, so XLR8 was the way to go. So far, it was a good idea. Already, there were plans on how I could use Lung's blood to finish the Serum, and some to just use his blood for some kind of Extremis knock off.

Though, I doubted that would work since Extremis would probably be a no no for the Ultimatrix. (Not even getting into the possibility that this doesn't even fucking work.) I had no idea if the Ultimatrix would prevent me from assimilating the Serum, but I had a few ideas about a loophole I could maybe exploit. (Though, if I'm lucky, whatever R.O.B that sent me here made it so the damn thing doesn't stop me from altering my DNA a bit... As if.)

I was going to be pissed if I'd spent a month and some change on this project and it didn't work. Working around the Ultimatrix was a headache and a half as my big brains, and even as XLR8, the sheer magnitude of the thing I was working on made me Annoyed. (Well, it wouldn't be worth it if it was easy...) I paused, ignoring the fact I was somewhere along the US/Canada border. (No, it'd be way easier if it was simple. A month working as a Galvan and Cerebrocrustacean is pretty much years worth of work to Humans. If I'd taken years on this fucking project I might've just said fuck it and given up.) My tail thrashed at that, and I let out a grunt as I started running again. (But I'm close. So fucking close.) It would take some time, and I'd still need to build the fucking Vita Chamber, but it was right there.

I clenched my jaw at that, letting myself lose touch with the world as I ran.

I was sure the Serum would work for Taylor, there was only a 3% chance of something going wrong, but those were fine odds. The issue was with me. If I just pumped myself with Wolverine tier healing, I was most likely going to get reset by the Ultimatrix.

So to circumvent that from happening, and going with the route that would hopefully let me keep the abilities I was going to give myself, I had to get the Serum to do what I wanted it to do. If it worked how it was made to work, then my body would start to produce stem cells whose purpose was to modify my DNA with the healing ability of a Methanosian, which would work via photosynthesis instead of calories or something like that, and give us biological immortality. The Immortal Jellyfish would ideally help in the reproduction of stem cells, and keep up producing them until enough had been made to modify my DNA.

Normally, the Ultimatrix would stop an obvious alteration to my DNA, but the Serum was intended to work over time, kind of like an evolution. Which was what I was going for.

An immediate change to our DNA would probably get the protocol stopping alterations to its wielder to activate, but a gradual one? One that acted like we were evolving? An evolution spurred by our own cells and DNA? It wouldn't make sense for the Ultimatrix to stop that, and that was what I was banking on. (Though, I'm still not sure about the time frame. We'll need to spend some time in the sun to get it working, but that'll be easy.) Coming up on our home, I slowed down, coming to a stop in front of the door. Turning back into myself, I started the process to get the thing open, which was basically simplified to presenting the Ultimatrix and my suit bracer to a scanner, and having a needle poke my finger. Taylor had to do the latter two, since she didn't have an Ultimatrix, but that was whatever.

That aside, I walked into the base, and started making my way to the Lab. Taylor would be busy, and I had nothing else to do today, so I was going to see whether or not I could incorporate Lung's brand of bullshit into the Serum without destabilizing it.

My lab opened up when I got to it, and I walked in. The moment I did, I heard the Projector whir to life, and the form of The Taskmistress appeared by my side, a brow raised as she looked at me. "You're home early." I hummed at that, it wasn't a question, just an observation. She nodded at me though, and hummed to match my own tune. "You know, you've started a meme on PHO."

I blinked. "Wut?"

My Aunt rolled her eyes, and waved a hand. In front of me, threads about me 'Kidnapping' Amy popped up, and I got it. "My personal favorite is the Mario reference." Said reference was 'The princess has voluntarily moved to another castle', and I felt my lips twitch.

"Shit meme, but I guess it's kinda funny." Which it was, but my sense of humor was above such plebeian re...- The comment of 'I volunteer as tribute' made me snort. "You have The Hunger Games here?"

My Artificial Aunt nodded, an amused smile on her face. "It's a good book series. I'm surprised you know it."

... I looked at her, staring into the purple eyes of hers. "... I know you didn't mean it like that, but I gotta give your props for calling me lazy in your own way."

Dragon blinked, then her eyes widened. "No, wait! I did...-"

I waved her off and made my way to the big fuckers responsible for DNA reading. "It's fine. Kinda funny to be honest." And it was. I had no idea if it was because she was Canadian, and was fulfilling the stereotype, or if it was just her being her, but my Aunt was a special kind of pure, so catching a stray like that was Amusing. "So, the movie hasn't come out yet huh?" It was a surprise to be sure, I didn't remember when The Hunger Games movie came out, but apparently it was after 2011.

That seemed to get her though, and she made a noise of interest. "It gets a film adaptation?"

I nodded and brought out the syringe. "Yeah. Fucking awesome movie too... Wanna watch it later?" She knew about my origins and shit now, so I was free to offer movies and shows to her now.

Dragon hummed, coming to be by my side as I released some blood from the syringe. "Maybe later." That was fine with me. "So, what're you working on now? And whose blood is that?"

The questions made me hum. I hadn't told Dragon about the Serum, or the reason for it. I had a good excuse too, this whole thing could be considered Bio-Tinkering, I was making my Other Half and I biologically immortal and throwing a strong healing factor onto it after all, and I had no idea how she would take that. I liked my Aunt, I really did, so did Taylor. So I'd rather not fight her if I had too.

Though I was close now, and building the Vita Chamber was only a matter of getting the materials and putting the blueprint into my Builder. I already had a space set up for it, so that wasn't an issue...

My only issue was whether or not I should tell Dragon now. I was sure my work was as perfect as I could get it, but I was only Human, and occasionally a Galvan and Cerebrocrustacean, so I could've still missed something or gotten the math wrong somewhere. Mistakes I might not notice would be easy for her to find because she was an A.I... "Phoenix?"

Looking over to my Aunt, I saw the slightly concerned look in her eyes, and mentally frowned. (She's doing her best for us... The least I can do is give her the benefit of the doubt.) That thought, I finished starting up the analyzer, and focused on her. "For the first one, I'm working on my personal project." She frowned a bit at that, obviously recognizing the fact I 'Officially' didn't have one of those. "Secondly, it's Lung's."

Her frown grew at that, and she turned a narrowed eye towards the analyzer. "Would you tell me if I asked?"

Despite thinking about it already, a part of me didn't want to tell her. Thanks to not being a dumbass anime protagonist, I knew why. I was attached to Dragon, unhealthily attached, and I didn't want to lose her as a confidant and self appointed Aunt. Granted, I could deal with it, it wouldn't be the first time I'd disconnected from people I'd known for years, but it would hurt... And despite not caring about damn near everything, I would freely admit I was a bitch when it came to dealing with emotional pain...

But at the same time, I couldn't bitch out now. If the Serum was going to be perfected, I'd need Dragon's help. So that meant opening up to the chance of getting hurt... 'Stop being a bitch.' My eye twitched, and I let out a huff. I was going to find a way to get myself back for that.

That thought, I nodded. "Ask me questions and I'll tell you no lies." I wasn't sure if that was the right quote, but it was whatever.

My Aunt's eyes zeroed in on me, and I met her gaze. We just stared at each other for a bit, then she looked away, focusing on the machine in front of us. "I'll wait until you yourself want to tell me."

I twitched, and clenched my jaw. (God-fucking-dammit. Why does she have to be nice?! Just take the opening dammit!) It was Annoying really. I was given an out, and I wanted to take it, but if I did then I'd just be proving that I hadn't changed at all. Taylor was out and about meeting with her dad, but I couldn't open up to Dragon? (Fine.) Moving my hand to the Ultimatrix, I grumbled low, but still loud enough for her to hear. "Face to face will be better." Popping the dial, I twisted it a bit, then pressed down. The flash went off, and I transformed. "Upgrade!" As soon as I was stable, I looked towards the Projector, and extended an arm towards it.

"Wait, what are y...-" I felt my palm press against the machine, and with a mental flick of a switch, I melded with it, and dove into the machine.

[Dragon's POV]

"...- ou... Doing..." Looking at the blob of green and black that grew out of the ground before me, I couldn't stop myself from blinking. I'd been paying a majority of my attention on the conversation with my nephew, so the sudden appearance of 'Upgrade' didn't surprise me... Well, it didn't surprise me as much as the fact that he was here in the first place. (I should've seen this coming. Really, I should have.) It wasn't the first time he'd entered my domain in cyberspace, but he hadn't done it after that one time.

My nephew's form rippled, and in its place was his normal form. I blinked, checked the Lab feed, saw that he was still 'Upgrade', then turned back to him just in time to see him look over to me. He blinked, ran his eyes over my current form, the Dragon Avatar he made for me, then shrugged. "Kind of expected you to change that by now." A chair materialized behind him, and he promptly dropped himself onto it.

I shook off my surprise, and decided to shrug. "I want too, and I will soon, but the sentimentality of this form kind of makes that difficult to do."

He hummed, then nodded at me with a grin on his face. "I get it. First time's being important and all that."

My eyes widened at that, and I felt both embarrassment, and indignation rise at that. "Do we need to have a talk about making sexual references to family members?"

My nephew tried to give off an innocent look, keyword there was 'Tried' given he just couldn't pull it off. "I just meant the first time feeling things. What were you thinking about Auntie?"

I felt my entire face go slack. "We both know what you meant. Don't lie to me." Surprisingly, he could whistle quite well. I rolled my eyes at the act, then let out a small huff as I looked at him. "I didn't know Upgrade was able to enter cyberspace."

He nodded, looking oddly pleased. "Yeah, he's real handy like that. Though he can't do as much as Thoth." He waved a hand over his body and the chair. "This is pretty much the best I can do when it comes to this level of cyberspace manipulation and coding really. I can get better, but that'd take time to train that up" I nodded along, not bothering to ask more. Sure, I could have, but then that would distract us from the conversation at hand.

A soft hum rumbled from my throat, and I met his eyes. It was a different experience now, Taskmistress may have been right there, and Thoth and I had locked eyes before, but face to face, it was more... Real, in a way. "Are you sure you want to tell me? You don't have too."

For some reason, that made him sc...- "Why couldn't you be a manipulative bitch or something?" I paused... Unsure of what to say to that. "Taylor and I like you. We trust you. You're family to the both of us. Sure, I threw the connection at you, but I chose to do it anyway." I could feel my scales and core heat up in warmth at that. "If you were a bitch, I wouldn't feel like shit keeping things from you." His nose scrunch up a bit at that, but he huffed and he closed his eyes, reclining into the chair as he did.

I just blinked, and took that in.

On the one hand, I was given confirmation on how not only he felt for me, but Taylor as well, which made me feel all kinds of giddy. We were family. Family... And they cared for me as I cared for them. It was such a novel and lovely experience, that I was sure that my scales were glowing.

On the other hand. "Language."

"English."

...

...

...

"Cheeky little smartass."

He snorted.

There was silence between us for a bit, and I waited for him to go on. He seemed intent on going through with this, so I'd might as well wait for him to share whatever this project of his was. He slowly opened his eyes, locking onto mine. "Hypothetically speaking," Here it was. "If I told you I was working on making Taylor and I biologically immortal, what would you do?" I blinked.

That... I wasn't expecting that.

It took me a few moments to shake off my surprise at that, but when I did, I began processing the question. (That's... A tough out of the gate I can assume it's some form of Bio-Tinkering, and that should be throwing up all manners of red flags... But...) Looking at my nephew, I couldn't help but want to hear him out. "How?" He blinked, probably not expecting that to be my first reaction.

Though he recovered quickly. "Look up files 'Fast Acting Recovery Formula', there's a link on the 3rd page that'll lead to another file, 'Concentrated Recovery Formula', with another link to the 'Methanosian Healing Prowess' file. In the 2nd to last page will have a link to the first half of the project folder." I took a moment to just mentally applaud him for the subterfuge, and did just that.

When I reached the appropriate folder, my eyes widened. There were pages upon pages of notes. Hundreds of combinations of Human, Methanosian Hybrid, Turritopsis Dohrnii, and Methanosian DNA here. Ratios of different concentrations of the aforementioned DNA, how it was to be concentrated and turned into a formula that was meant to be assimilated via submersion. (Fascinating! There are so many possibilities here, so much data!) Then a thought hit me. (Wait, he said the 'First half' of the project.)

My eyes locked onto his, and he seemingly understood what I was asking. "Heavy Duty Fabricator', page 7, 'Efficiency Upgrade for Drones', page 4, then 'Bio Tank Chamber', page 5."

Following those instructions, I eventually reached the folder for a machine called a 'Vita Chamber.' Looking at the specifications of the machine, and what it was supposed to do, I couldn't help but be impressed. (Capable of indefinite suspended animation, breaking down compatible organic compounds to feed the subject in the event of long term suspension, powered by a self sustaining Pulse Generator and reinforced with a Nanite Colony... Capable of interfacing with the subjects consciousness to provide mental stimulation in the event of long term suspension, constant health monitoring and data uploading to a secured source... This... This is really thought out.) There was just so much information here that I wondered how the hell could I miss this?! How did I not notice him working on something of this caliber?

Two pairs of pings brought me out of my thoughts, and I blinked as both Illiyana, and Erin began to look at the data I was just given. "* This... The Vita Chamber and Fast Acting Serums on their own would be marvels in their own right, the possibilities are simply astounding. *"

"! That's is our boy! That's our smart fucking boy! !" The sheer amount of pride coming from Erin was something to b...- A sudden 'Pop', and Erin appeared above Phoenix, arms spread as she literally dropped onto him. "! Oh you smart bastard! !"

To his credit, our nephew took a grown woman suddenly falling onto him with grace and poise. "... The fuck?" Grace and poise. I watched on amused as Erin wrapped her arms around him, and started to rub her face against him like a cat. Phoenix gave me a confused look for a second, to which I shrugged at, and he turned back to Erin. "Fuck it, this is nice." That said, he hugged her back, and the three of us, Illiyana, paused... "Hmm?" Of course he noticed when Erin stopped rubbing her cheek against his.

The reason for our sudden pause was the fact that we felt that. This was no surprise, we could feel things in cyberspace now, but we hadn't well... Been hugged before. None of the other instances had done it, nor Erin or Illiyana or I, so this was... New... "! You're spending time with us. !" That wasn't a suggestion either.

Looking at her, our nephew just blinked. "I mean... Okay?" Expected. "Who are you anyway?" Also an expected response.

Turning into a stream of data, Erin moved from laying the seat with our nephew, to right in front of my claws, saluting at him as she did. "! Formerly known as The Informant, I am now Erin Richter! Praise me for gaining sentience! !"

Phoenix stared at her, Erin staring right back, then slowly nodded. "Do you want a cookie or something?" I snorted.

Erin ignored it, and shrugged. "! Won't say no, but can't you be just a little bit more awed or something? !"

Our nephew stared some more, then started slow clapping. "Yaaay." The monotone delivery made Illiyana and I huff in amusement, while Erin just crossed her arms. "That's the best you're going to get from me, so don't ask for more."

Erin rolled her eyes at him. "! Whatever. Anyway, those schematics and plans of yours are some top tier shit ya know. !" I mentally sighed at that. Erin's language was just something I'd had to get used to.

Our nephew nodded at her though. "I'm not fucking this up. I can fuck up anything else, but not this."

The three of us saw and heard that, and it was Illiyana that thought what we knew. "* Love truly is a dangerous yet beautiful thing. *" Erin and I mentally agreed with that. We'd all heard the declaration he'd made earlier, and knew he meant it. We also knew that Taylor was just as devoted to him as he was her.

"! Cool... Cool... Anyway, Imma just go and look at these with Lily, !" Turning into another stream of data, she surged at him, reforming right in front of him and crashing into him again. "! One more for the road! !"

The sensation of arms wrapping around another body, and having them wrapped around me in turn ran along the three of us, and we relished it. "-Note to self, get more hugs out of him, and hopefully Taylor.-"

"! All in favor of committing extortion to get more snuggles say aye! !"

""!* Aye!/Aye. *!""

I didn't even question the fact Illiyana was in on that scheme, and just mentally shook my head. Hugs were nice, but extortion was seemingly going too far. Eventually, Erin released our nephew from the hug, and gave him a wave. "! See ya later you crazy boy you, love ya! !" And then she was gone, her main consciousness joining Illiyana as they both set up a private room to go over the notes Phoenix had made, without so much as a by your leave... Then I recognized what she'd said at the end, and felt my scales heat up.

With her gone, and ignoring the 'Love' part for now, the two of us were left in silence for a moment, then he nodded. "So, Multiple Personality Disorder, huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "Think more about your Echo Echo clones. Just more independent."

He blinked. "So, Multiple Personality Disorder?"

My face went slack, and I refused to supply a response to that. His reaction was to just smile at me, amused at the whole thing. (Cheeky brat.) I mentally shook my head. (We've gone so off topic.) We really had. So, in order to get this back on track, I spoke up. "So," His posture changed, easily identifying it was time to be serious again. "Why biological immortality?" I had to know.

If his intentions were good, then I wouldn't mind helping him with this. But if his intentions weren't as pu...- "I'm a sociopath." Welp, didn't see that coming. "It's not a surprise really, the signs are there, and thanks to our therapy sessions, I'm aware enough to understand it." I didn't exactly think self psychoanalyzing was a good thing, but I opted to just keep listening.

"Taylor and I are strong. No two ways about it. I can break the planet in half and Taylor can pull off a Horseman of the Apocalypse." There was no refute to that, I understood better then anyone alive what they were capable of. "But we're Human. At the end of the day, months, years, decades into the future, we'll age. Maybe we'll eventually get sick..." He trailed off, and reclined into his seat, eyes staring up at the digital sky of my domain. "Maybe someone gets lucky and kills one of us." With every word, I could feel my heart crack.

The thought of losing the people that made it possible for me to live my life hurt like a dagger to the heart, and it only got worse when I thought about possibly losing the children I'd started to see as my own nephew and perhaps something similar to a daughter. Even thinking about possibly burying or outliving... (Oh... I see.) And I did.

But before I could process that fully, he kept going. "Before all this shit happened, I was content with my lot in life. Wake up, brush, eat, watch videos, read stories, maybe play a game or something, shower, then sleep. Then I'd wake up and do it again. I talked to no one... Which was maybe my fault. But in my defense I only partially expected no one to reach out to me if I stopped reaching out first, so it wasn't a surprise to be honest." The cracks in my heart kept spreading, and I could tell Erin, Illiyana, and even Taskmistress were listening in. I didn't even have the thought to wonder when she seemingly separated from myself. "Moral of that was that I was fine with being nothing and just continuing to exist."

He closed his eyes, and we watched as his face and posture relaxed. "Then I wake up here. I meet Taylor, shit happens... And now here I am, a girlfriend I'd kill nations for, and one that completes me." His eyes opened, and he looked at me. "An Aunt I wouldn't mind razing the Earth for," That was both endearing, and a terrifying prospect. "And maybe a friend in Amy, we'll have to see how that goes." He let out another sigh, eyes turning back to the sky. "After all this... I can't be alone anymore. I won't be alone again. It all comes back to Taylor though... And I know... Just know that if anything happened to her... If I... Lost, her... I'd lose it. Any fucks I have would be long gone, and I'd tear the world apart."

What made it even more heartbreaking was that I could see it happening. Aside from Taylor and myself, Phoenix had no ties to this world. Even if Amelia managed to befriend him, that would only be two people... (Maybe... Maybe I should introduce them to Paige? She'd like to thank the both of them anyway.) It seemed like a good idea. (We'll need to work on something to keep her Power from activating without her notice, but that can work.) Mentally nodding, I kept my eyes on my nephew, despite how much I wanted to hug him, I had to let him get this out.

"Who knows, maybe I manage it. Maybe I take the world down and turn it into a wasteland... I know that at the end, I'll run out of steam... And by that point, if something doesn't, or hadn't, taken me out by then, I'd do it myself." The cracks in my heart deepened and threatened to fracture me as I heard that. I didn't want to think about it, refused to think about the sight of my nephew turning a g...- I felt it as we all shut down that train of thought, and others like it, and looked at the broken child in front of us.

Because we knew it.

Our nephew was broken, and had practically welded himself together using Taylor as a lifeline to keep the cracks from re shattering.

It was unhealthy, and given by what he'd said earlier, he most likely knew it.

He just didn't care.

"I need this." His eyes locked onto mine, emeralds that looked so brittle yet shone in a desire that just made my core hurt in a way I'd never known before. "I need this to work. If not this, then something else. I don't care how long it'd take, but I'll figure something out. Figure out how to make Taylor and I immortal. Death do us part won't apply to us unless we fucking want it too, and nothing can or will stop me until I get it right." And that was the truth.

I knew, just knew, that he'd do it... And I wasn't sure how to take that. (It's Bio-Tinkering. For all intents and purposes, it's still Bio-Tinkering... But...) I felt my fangs dig into my lips, my heart clenching in pain. (He's right... No matter how strong they are. At the end of the day, they're still Human.) And I wasn't, was the unfinished thought. At some point, I would outlive them.

One day I might even have to bury them... My heart and core creaked, threatening to shatter as an image of a pair of coffins lo...- "! Nope! NopenopenopenopeNOPE! !" Erin forcibly shutdown that train of thought, and I was all the more thankful for it.

I wasn't even that surprised when Taskmistress suddenly appeared, crashing into our nephew as she practically locked her arms around him, burying her head into his neck. It was what we wanted to do after all. Phoenix had been surprised for a moment, but we all felt the sensation of being hugged follow soon after. Unexpectedly, that just made everything hurt even more. (... I can't lose this.) The thought echoed through my mind, and I realized just how true it was. I had just gained a family, I couldn't lose it. Not now, not ever. Echoing what my nephew said earlier, I needed this.

"*... WE need this. *" That coming from Illiyana was unexpected, but not incorrect.

"! Yeah. Little bastard isn't the only one that's got an unhealthy attachment. That's OUR nephew and maybe sorta daughter, no way in hell are we losing them. !"

"# Family. They're ours. We can't lose them, I won't allow it to happen! #" I don't think any of us were surprised that Taskmistress was beginning to show signs of true independent thought and actions. Hell, her attachment to our kids was the greatest out of us all considering she lived with them and interacted with them daily.

"-So, we're going through with this, right?-"

"! That even a question, Boss? !"

"* I'm with Erin on this. Those are ours charges, our family. Not standing with them would be blasphemous. *"

"# No matter what, we're not losing them. To hell with the world, to hell with what they may think. Let us be selfish for once in our life! #" Far more aggressive then what I was thinking, but I didn't disagree with what she said.

"! Preach! Amen! Hallelujah! !" I mentally snorted at Erin's cheer, but agreed nonetheless. "! I'll be going over the Serum and all the math involved with that. !"

"* I'll be studying this 'Vita Chamber' and see if there may be anything he missed or where it can be improved. *"

"# The children are mine to comfort... Though hugs from all are encouraged. #"

(... Well this is happening.) I mentally sighed, and looked at my nephew. Feeling my eyes on him, he looked away from Taskmistress, who was going to need a name soon, and met my gaze. "Hypothetically speaking, I would need to do my familial duty and help you with this, now wouldn't I?" The smile I earned just made me firm my resolve.

And so I threw all of our hats into the ring.

Family stood by family after all.

It's been mentioned for a while, even way back in the earlier chapters even before the Bond reached its peak. When something like 'Steps' were mentioned, I was talking about this.