Chapter 36: Chapter 36

"Morning, Doctor Roberts." Lola chirped as she sauntered into the Kitchen alongside The Trainer.

"Good morning Lola!" Doctor Roberts greeted with a wide grin imprinted on his face. His attention soon divulged to Michael who toured down the stairs with sweet in his mouth and tons of candies scooped in his arms.

"Good morning Mike! You look," he pursed his lips, searching for the perfect words which never came. "Well you look you." He gestured his hands towards him.

Michael grinned sheepishly.

"Thank you, do you want some?!" He offered but Doctor Roberts briskly wriggled his head in denial.

"No, Thank you!" He added while Michael relaxed to a couch.

"Morning Marcus." He greeted warmly as Marcus alighted off the stairs.

"Morning, Doctor Roberts." Marcus replied as he strolled to his piano, stretching his arms at intervals.

"How's your arm?" He asked as he approached Marcus by the Piano.

"I'm fine. Thanks to Collins for saving my ass." Marcus heaved a light sigh. "Any news about his whereabouts yet?"

Doctor Roberts glanced across their optimistic countenances and then heaved a sigh. Heavy and audible enough to establish itself as an answer.

He was about to relax towards the couch when Theodore rushed down the stairs. His mouth went agape and his breaths ceased as he reviewed Theodore carefully. He was certain the others were just as awestruck like him.

There was Theodore, wearing a mischievous grin. Dressed in a matching pink outfit. A crop top that revealed his navel button. A short flared skirt complemented with high heels. His face was also adorned in pink makeup and his long blonde hair was styled in a layer and wavy fashion.

"Good morning guys!" Theodore chirped in his girlish voice as he walked like a seductress towards Marcus whilst grinning sheepishly.

"Hi Marcus." He greeted as he bit his lower lip eyeing Marcus who simply wriggled his head.

"Not again." Marcus muttered painfully. Michael giggled and aimed his Droyphone towards the both of them.

"This is so fun!!" Michael declared as he recorded the scenery. Doctor Roberts as well as the others burst into laughter. It always amused him seeing the serious looking Theodore transform into a dazzling lady crushing on Marcus.

"We need to do something about Theodore, Doctor Roberts." Lola stated as she carefully arranged breakfast alongside The Trainer.

"For Christ's sake, who's Theodore?!" Theodore pitched with a slight frown.

"One icy handsome dude like that." Michael joked. "Marcus and him used to date each other once upon a time."

"What?!" Theodore exhaled with harsh glares rewarded to Marcus.

"Michael!" Lola scorned but Doctor Roberts chuckled once again.

"You're gay?!" Theodore interjected.

"No!!" Marcus denied. "Michael see what you've caused!"

"You just broke my heart!" Theodore cried. "I really like you, Marcus." He added as he inched closer to Marcus. Tweaking his cheek gently.

"Oh this is so gonna be hilarious to watch when Theodore gets back to his senses."

"Doctor Roberts, I'm beginning to get really uncomfortable here." Marcus shrieked as he stuttered in Theodore's grasp.

"Tara, please sit." Doctor Roberts finally mumbled with laughter minting with his words.

"Quiet, old man." Theodore shunned causing another wave of laughter from the others.

"Breakfast's ready, guys." Lola announced and immediately they all rushed to the dining table.

"What of Ariel?" Lola queried as they began with their meals.

"Since the mission is complete, Ariel has returned home in Utopia." He responded while a memory of yesterday's incident flashed in his head.

"I'd have loved if she bade farewell though." She whispered as she fizzled with her cutlery. He smiled.

"First of, I wanna say congratulations to you all for the successful mission--"

"WHICH ALMOST CAME AT THE EXPENSE OF OUR LIVES!" Marcus cut him off abruptly.

"Exactly." Lola asserted in agreement.

"Doctor Roberts you never told us we were going to be fighting mutants as part of the plan."

He heaved a sigh.

"Jackie and Alexa, both of them are Timeron's closest aide. And I must say, that their appearance was totally unprecedented and still baffles me till now. He explained but the looks on their faces described one thing. They weren't buying his truth.

"That doesn't change anything, we almost died last night." Marcus sharply toned.

"I was almost burned alive." Theodore moaned.

"All those could have been averted if you guys had simply followed my plan." He sternly stated.

"Collins instigated it!" Lola proclaimed instantly.

"Collins is a goat, I believe we all know that by now." He retorted as he exchanged gazes with her.

"There's no excuse for whatever failures occurred yesterday. As the leader of the team, Lola. I expected you to exercise control over their immaturities." He continued while his eyes streamed across everyone.

"And that implies to all of you. Rather than giggle stupidly," he glared at Michael.

"Engage in argumentative essays with yourselves," his glare divulged to Marcus.

"And desert your team at crucial times. You all should have simply followed the order." His eyes finally landed on Theodore.

"Now thanks to you all horrid antics, Ariel lost consciousness, Theodore has lost sanity to become our wonderful Tara." He gestured with a superficial smile towards Theodore.

"Marcus almost died and Collins--- is nowhere to be found."

"Isn't that wonderful?!" Michael's excited voice broke the haunting silence amongst them. They immediately rewarded him with hostility.

Doctor Roberts heaved another sigh. He didn't know why, but yesterday's incident about the Hexagon flashed in his mind.

"As of today, your contracts with The Shining is finally over. Now it's my turn to fulfill the ends."

Their eyes flowed from Michael to him.

"To reward each of you with what you asked for." He affirmed as he wiped his mouth clean before arising and walking to the couch where he placed his Black briefcase. He carried it to the dining table and then rested the briefcase horizontally. So a White King Chess piece insignia faced upwards. He double tapped on the large symbol carefully and the Briefcase quietly opened. Revealing  sets of small briefcases. Each of them carrying different Chess pieces logos. Ranging from Queen, Castles, Bishop and to pawn.

They all peered suspiciously at the briefcases.

He heaved a light sigh before glancing across their faces with a tint smile.

"I'm sure by now, you all must have received your three hundred million Pillings in your account." He voiced and they briskly peered at their phones.

"Oh my God!" Theodore was the first to scream. Doctor Roberts smile deepened as he noted the excitement ignited on their faces.

"So let's start with you Michael." He muttered and once again, their attention diverted to him.

"You asked for a monthly truckload of Candies but I figured you'll be needing a apartment."

He gestured for Michael to pick his designated briefcase. One that had a Bishop symbol on it.

"How is a tiny briefcase like this going to give me an apartment and my Candies?" Michael queried as he reviewed his briefcase with skepticisms.

"It contains tickets and an house key and some other stuffs you'll be needing." Doctor Roberts answered courteously.

"Seriously," Theodore chirped by Michael's side. "Candy is all you can ask for?" He added with his accustomed girlish voice.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's none of your business." Michael scorned.

"Okay then, Marcus." Doctor Roberts flashed a grin to Marcus, positioned by his side.

"If I remember correctly, you requested for a tastefully furnished apartment, a car, a job and of course, fifty million Pillings. Am I right?" He asked while Marcus nodded like an obedient child. Doctor Roberts turned the briefcase and gestured for Marcus to pick one of the Castle briefcase.

"Thank you, Doctor Roberts." Marcus muttered softly.

"Theodore!" He glanced at the blonde who rewarded him with a confused expression.

"My name is Tara!"

"Yes Tara. Your brother, Theodore. Asked for me to give him hundred million Pillings and of course medical treatment regarding his disorder."

"Yeah yeah, just give me the Briefcase already." Theodore rolled his eyes but Doctor Roberts wore a cocky smile.

"Sorry Tara, but this briefcase is meant for Theodore only."

"That's not fair!" He pitched with a frown.

"Life's not fair either."

Doctor Roberts retorted before facing Lola. Her calm expression alone was enough to make his lips spread into a smile of admiration. At the same time, he briefly recalled how magnanimous her request was.

"You requested for health facilities and good infrastructures to be built in your district in Area X." He muttered while a tiny smile sprung to life on her face.

"I must say, your request is really complex and tough. But it's nothing I can't handle." He gestured for her to pick the Queen briefcase.

"I can handle the health facilities aspect and as for the infrastructures, I have friends in high places who can yield to that call to a certain extent." She nodded as he explained.

"But then again I noticed you didn't request anything personal for yourself. So I'm going to gift you a nice apartment, a vehicle and a job at one of my research institutes in Area X." He finished and she gasped obviously from awe.

"That is if you want, of course." He added and she burst into laughter.

"My goodness, Doctor Roberts. Thank you so so much!" She pitched.

"It's nothing, I'm simply fulfilling my obligations." He answered even though he secretly melted at her appreciation.

"So what about Collins, what did he ask for?" Michael suddenly interrupted the moment.

"Isn't it obvious?" He rested his palms against his dining chair as he studied their looks closely. "Well Collins asked for one billion Pillings, a mansion in Utopia and an exotic car."

"One Billion?!" Theodore exclaimed.

"Oh. My. God!" Michael interjected.

"So that fool got a net worth of 1.3 Billion Pillings in a space of six months for just talking trash and doing shit." Marcus remarked with a scoff.

Doctor Roberts giggled.

"Let's not forget that he saved your ass."

"One Billion, isn't that too much?" Lola asked in a worriedly fashioned.

"Too much?" Michael queried rhetorically. "One Billion for Doctor Roberts is like taking a bean from a bag of beans."

Doctor Roberts chuckled and then slipped his hands into his pockets.

"One more thing. Since we'll be parting ways soon, why don't we have a final celebration. I figured that all events we've celebrated together have always been interrupted by work or some unfortunate circumstance."

"That's true." Marcus affirmed.

"So you guys decide. Where do you wanna go?" He wore a cocky smile.

"Let's just have a small hangout at a park or something." Lola suggested while The Trainer nodded in agreement.

Michael huffed with an obvious smirk.

"I have a better idea, Let's go to McCormick candy shop and kill our bellies with the sweetness candy has to offer!"

"As usual, your ideas are always stupid!" Marcus groaned.

"I suggest we go to the mall." Theodore rolled out with an obvious giggle.

"Rousey is having her tour and luckily for us, she's performing somewhere around this district. I think we should go." Marcus suggested.

"So that is your great idea?" Michael taunted and the next moment turned into vehement arguments amongst them.

Doctor Roberts let out an heavy sigh as he rubbed frantically through his hair.

"Okay guys!" He pronounced and their arguments seemingly died.

"Since you guys aren't able to decide on one thing, then we're going to do everything each of you suggested." He flashed a cunning grin at them.

"All of it?" Lola asked and he nodded.

"We have a whole day to ourselves, let's enjoy it to the fullest!"

##########

As Doctor Roberts watched each of them load their luggage into the bus, his mind raced at the thoughts of The Hexagon information. And also Collins disappearance. It's been close to two days now, the Teleporter was off the radar. He dearly hoped it wasn't what he was thinking.

"Doctor Roberts." Lola's soft voice tousled his thoughts as she approached him alongside Michael and Marcus.

"We have one more request."

"Feel free." He gestured with a tint smile. He noticed she exchanged knowing glances with the rest of them before she finally faced him.

"It's about the Hexagon." She mumbled. "You never told us if you found the EMP's hideout or not."

He wore a saddened countenance but deep down, he was secretly rejoicing that his plans were going according to plan.

"I'm not sure you guys might like what you see. Follow me." He muttered before sauntering into the building.

He connected the device to a laptop and then shared it's information through a projector.

"Oh. My. God!" Lola exclaimed as her eyes mirrored the Projector's image.

"Doctor Roberts, what is this?" Her voice trailed a whispery path as she stuttered.

He heaved an heavy sigh.

"This is a coup attempt on the most powerful continent in the world. Utopia."

She gasped whilst covered her mouth with her palms.

"You knew this and couldn't tell us?!!" Marcus blared in disbelief. His countenance too was just as awestruck like Lola.

"What would you have done?" He returned rhetorically. "After all, you guys contract with The Shining is already over. None of you wanted to sign up for this."

"And so?!" Michael interjected.

"Lives will be lost!" Lola pitched.

"I'll inform the armed forces." He replied sternly.

"I'm no war analyst but I'm certain the military have no power against mutants that almost fried me." Theodore pitched in a girlish tone.

"Yes Doctor Roberts!" Marcus blurted. "We're talking about a terrorist organization of mutants! Just imagine what they'll do with the EMP and their powers combined."

Doctor Roberts heaved another sigh, letting moments of silence reign before speaking.

"What do you guys suggest? Should I report this to the military or should the agents of The Shining regroup once again?"