Chapter 325: A debt unable to be paid

Kellen beamed with pride as Brent stood in the middle of the room, topless, as Sergei stepped away. Sergei’s eyes were wet, a mirror of Brent’s as he stared at himself in the reflection of the glass. Kellen didn’t mention that he was crying and Sergei quickly wiped at his eyes, hiding it.

They both watched as Brent swallowed thickly, looking down at his new prosthetic before he attempted to move it.

The fingers curled and uncurled, his hand turning as he wanted it to and there was no way that anyone could remain without a tear in their eyes.

"Is she awake?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he attempted to keep it together. Kellen licked his lips, reaching for his phone.

"I’ll call her." Kellen told him, his voice tight with unshed tears as Brent nodded, tears pouring down his cheeks but a bright, boyish smile on his face. This was exactly what he wanted to do and why he wanted to do it.

It was one thing to choose not to wear your prosthetic, it was another thing to be denied that choice.

Kellen scrolled down to Taylor’s name and called her. He raised the phone to his ear and he waited. The phone rang once, twice, and then the call connected.

"Did it arrive?" She didn’t even have to ask why he was calling, but he could tell he caught her at a bad time. She was out of breath and he could hear how she was moving quickly in the background, putting distance so she could have a private conversation.

"It did." Kellen’s voice had a rough edge to it and Kellen handed over the phone without saying anything else. Brent took the phone in his normal hand, raising the phone to his ear.

"I cannot thank you enough." Brent burst into tears as soon as the words left his lips, like even the action of saying it was a weight taken off of his shoulders. Kellen could hear Taylor’s distress on the other line, could hear how she was trying to calm Brent down. Sergei had to have been able to hear everything too but he stood there, a deeply content smile on his face as he watched Brent raise his robotic arm to his face and press it there.

He was able to talk to someone on the phone and touch his face at the same time. That seemed to overwhelm him even more and when he raised his eyes to the others, he looked desperate.

Kellen and Sergei, two men who knew him well, quietly took a step outside, leaving Brent alone with Taylor. When they were outside, both Kellen and Sergei took up the vigil outside. Protecting, while also supporting him silently.

~

Brent felt like a damn mess. It was only made worse by the fact that neither Kellen nor Sergei even flinched at his reaction. To them, this was completely normal, which only made it worse for Brent. Fuck. Sobbing like a damn kid as soon as he spoke? What was he, three?

Taylor trying to calm him down on the other line only made it worse, and Brent, fuck, he could feel everything begin to spill out of him now that he was here.

"You know, it’s been really fucking hard." Brent whispered. Taylor paused her incessant line of platitudes that meant nothing to Brent. He wasn’t mad at her, she was probably just freaking out that he had cried. He’d be embarrassed about his actions later.

"Oh Brent." Her soft exhale had him laughing, but the tears continued.

"I know I’ve been pushing it all aside but fuck, it’s been hard, Taylor. Really, really hard. Kellen and Sergei haven’t said anything because they know better, but they could tell. I know they could. It was fucking one of them, probably Kellen who put you up to this, right?" Brent asked. Taylor didn’t try to lie.

"I want it to be known I would have done it even if Kellen hadn’t brought it up. I was honestly pissed that I hadn’t thought to reach out to them before. I could have gotten it to you sooner." Taylor sounded pissed. "What they did to you...it’s not right, Brent. I know that they’re your family but...." She trailed off, sighing and Brent couldn’t help but grin. Tears still poured from his cheeks as he gave a pained laugh.

"I don’t know family like you and Kellen know. I’ve known about it for a while. Every interaction is with a smiling face and then a knife in the back. Every single one." Brent said. "Fuck. This is...I can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for me." Brent rasped. He was getting emotional all over again. Just the weight, the shift in how he held his body...it was going to impact him every time he felt it.

Finally.

Finally he could feel normal again. He hadn’t even fucking realised how upsetting it’d been. Or, he’d known, but he’d pushed it to the back of his mind.

"Fuck." Brent rasped and he heard Taylor let out a soft, shaky sigh on the other end.

"It’s okay. Now that I’ve taken them apart, I know how to make more." Taylor told him softly. Brent laughed.

"You’re not a mechanic or an engineer, Taylor." Brent told her and Taylor remained silent for a moment.

"I know." She said softly. "I know what I can and can’t do, Brent, but I also have all of the other prosthetics that you’ve used here that have malfunctioned, and I’m curious. I also have a team that works under me and several very curious and dedicated scientists who you have protected and saved many times on the front lines who wanted to help." Brent couldn’t fucking speak.

The stream of fat tears sliding down his cheeks and hitting the ground was honestly embarrassing. Brent gave a slightly hysterical laugh as he was able to wipe the tears with the back of his new hand while still on the phone with Taylor. The pressure wasn’t quite right and it might cause a small bruise on his cheek, but fuck, he could do it.

"Fuck. How am I-how can I help any of you when you do this? This isn’t paybackable." Brent argued. He wasn’t even sure who he was arguing with, but he felt...He just felt. His chest was tight, his shoulders were shaking and he had no idea what to do with all of these feelings.

"Oh Brent." Taylor sighed again. It sounded like she was close to tears. "There isn’t a need to pay this back. We wanted to do this for you. You do so much for everyone, Brent, and you expect nothing from it. It’s the most awful of traits to pick up from Kellen." Taylor let out a laugh and even Brent couldn’t stop himself.

"Hey. I could have picked that up on my own." Brent argued and Taylor scoffed.

"Doubtful, knowing how fucking broken you both probably were on the front lines together." Taylor said. Brent felt his face crumble, any argument against that dying on his tongue. "A-Anyway, what I mean is, let us help, Brent." Her voice broke. "I’m sorry I can’t be there physically right now, but I would be there if I could. Someone has to hold down the city, and Gwen still needs our support. But you bet that as soon as she’s awake, we’re all coming over." She threatened.

Brent let out a laugh, his body still shaking as he tried to grapple with what was going on. What had happened, and how his life had just changed.

He looked at the arm again, scanning the mostly metal prosthetic and turned it slowly. Just watching it listen to him was...incredible. Life changing. There was never going to be a part of him that would forget what Taylor had done for him.

"I’ll hold you to it." Brent rasped. "No doubt you’ve heard of the plans that they have." Brent said. Taylor let out a heavy sigh and Brent could almost see her tried blue eyes in front of him.

"Don’t remind me. Gunther and Karen have been busy running around trying to help and poor Pam has just been stretched thin." Taylor grumbled. "What...What one did you put on?" The curiousity got to her and Brent felt a silly smile touch his lips.

"Kellen suggested the more metal appearing one. He assumed that was the cool one." Brent told her and Taylor chuckled.

"He was right. It’s water-resistant." She told him proudly. "That came from Miro. He wanted to make sure that you could do whatever you wanted. He remembered you accepting a few plant-searching missions for him when you were a freelance and brought in some sap that I have no idea how it does what it does, but the others seemed to know what they were doing." She said, exasperated.

Brent could almost see how much she’d had to manage before this and Brent softened.

"Taylor...did you guys watch the press conference?" Brent asked. Taylor scoffed.

"As if we wouldn’t." She argued and Brent sighed. He shouldn’t have tested her. He wasn’t sure if he actually was, he was just...

"Well, the man who tried to harm me is the man who took my arm." Brent said quietly. Taylor sucked in on the other end of the line. "The others...the Espers have left him alone. I can tell they don’t want to. Sergei and Eleanor the most. They want him, but I...I put my claim on him first." Brent said.

"Understandable." Taylor muttered, no judgement in her tone. Brent grinned. She was, after all, an Esper as well. She might be a healer, but those who hurt people like Colby had...Healers would only heal them because they had to, not because they wanted to.

Brent hesitated.

"Taylor, are any of the arms...safe? Would blood hurt them?" Brent asked carefully. Taylor was silent on the other end for a long moment. So long that Brent wondered if he’d fucked up. He was emotional right now so maybe asking Taylor wasn’t the right option.

He was just beginning to panic when Taylor spoke up.

"Sorry, give me a sec. I just need to pull up my notes. It was Miro who suggested that we test them for that, given your line of work and all. Give me a sec. Blood tends to rust things faster." Taylor wasn’t judging him at all. She was...she was helping him.

Brent’s heart felt so full he didn’t know what to do with it.

"Okay." It was all Brent could get out past his emotions. He waited with baited breath, hopeful. Taylor made a few grunts over the phone, but it sounded more like she was confirming something as she reviewed the documents she’d made.

"Okay, looking over everything, wait. Do you still have the box before you?" She asked and Brent gave a chuckle.

"Yeah, it’s in front of me." Brent confirmed.

"Okay, well, when you use them, make sure to put them back in order. That way if you have further questions I can answer them. I didn’t mark them, foolishly, so the order they remain in is important for the finer details. Anyway," she continued, huffing, "not the metal one. Too many aesthetic choices that could rust and become hard to manage. You’re going to want the more flesh-toned one. That resistance is the best and because it’s covered in the protective layer, it’s better." She said.

"The top one?" Brent confirmed and she huffed.

"Yes. The top one. I’m sorry that you just put on one, but I would suggest switching it out." She did sound apologetic while Brent felt like he’d received the best news he’d ever heard.