Chapter Text
It was late when the three guys came knocking. Toby answered the door, they looked tired and one word away from turning around and leaving. Toby ushered them in, and after a moment of hesitation, they came in. It was the first time any of them had been to Ricky's home, and the circumstances of their invite weren’t for pleasantries. Entering the living room, they found the other two boys sitting on chairs they had brought over from the dining room. The living room looked like they had prepared for them, both boys had their chairs on the left of a lounge chair, and there was another one on the right, which they assumed was for the boy who let them in. There was no sign of Ricky, but they figured the lounge chair was for him.
Toby brought them over to the couch and gestured for them to sit down before disappearing to the back room. The three of them sat quietly while the other two boys seemed to be sizing them up.
This was Dekker's dream come true meeting Spiderman, he couldn’t believe that not only were there three of them, but Ricky was their dad. After getting over the shock of what happened, he spent the rest of the day going through all the conversations he had with Ricky about Spiderman, and how upset he would get when he theorized about Spiderman’s enemies and injuries, the longer he thought about it the worst he felt about it, Ricky had probably been freaking out about his sons and he was only making it worst, it also explained why he would snap at him on those days.
TJ and Rex had no idea how to feel about this. They had spent all day trying to keep Ricky's name out of it while telling everyone that the five guys were mistaken in thinking Ricky was there when it happened. They had to do a lot of covering up to keep the test results on the blood from coming back as Ricky's and told everyone that the blood was Spiderman’s. They told everyone Ricky had left for a lunch meeting before the guys took over, and that Dekker had called and told him court was canceled. Now they were here face to face with not one but two Spidermen.
Before anyone could say anything, Toby returned with Otto leaning heavily on him, and the lower two actuators. He looked exhausted and pale, with a little sweat running down the side of his face.
Dekker moved to help him, but the upper left actuators hist at him, making it clear they didn’t need his help. He was sitting in the lounge chair, and after taking a moment to catch his breath, he said, “Wh-what do you… want to kn-know?”
Dekker put his hand up to stop the others from saying anything, and then sympathetically asked, “First off, how are you? Do you need to go to a hospital, or should we do this when you’re feeling better?” The other two looked at Dekker and then turned to Ricky for an answer.
However, it wasn’t Ricky who answered, it was the boy on his right saying, “He can’t go to the hospital, they would find the actuators and then there would be trouble. Also, he insisted on doing this tonight, he said you had to know the truth. I’m Toby.” Then, gesturing to the others, he said, “And those are my younger brothers Tom and Andrew, and this.” Gesturing to Ricky, “Is our father Otto?”
None of them mist how Otto's face lit up when Toby called him their father, he then looked at his colleagues and said, “I’m fine…what do you wa-want to know?” They exchanged looks; they had thought about what to ask, but sitting here now, they couldn’t think of anything. TJ spoke up first, saying, “Just start from the beginning.”
Toby was the one to respond to the question by relaying to them everything, from the moment he first met Otto on his earth, he gave them the good, the bad, and the ugly. Otto hid his face in his hand when Toby talked about his Wife, and the shame was clear on his face during the villain portion of the story. Tom took over the story when it came to this earth, telling of how he fixed the chip at the back of his neck. Andrew told them after the Statue of Liberty fight, part of the story, including the last few weeks of worrying about a threat to Otto.
The three of them listened quietly as the boys gave them everything TJ and Rex gave the boys their full attention, Dekker on the other hand focused on Otto and his reaction to the story, after they finished, he leaned closer to Otto and asked, “So you have four AIs talking to you in your head all the time?”
Otto was taken aback by that being the first question, and he heard Harry in his head saying.
Harry- “That’s none of his business, and we should kill him for asking.”
Otto couldn’t help the frown that came across his face before quickly stealing his expression, he then answered, “Yes. Most of the time. They have learned not to overwhelm me and not to interrupt me when I’m talking to someone except in cases of emergencies.”
Dekker took a moment to think about the answer and then asked, “Do they have names?”
Otto didn’t understand why, with a past of violence and science and being from a different earth, Dekker only wanted to talk about the actuators. He gave him a confused look and then, pointing to each of them individually, said, “Harry, Larry, Flo, and Mo.”
Dekker again took a moment and then asked, “Do they have different personalities?”
Otto stared at him blankly for a moment before answering, “Harry is a bit darker than his siblings and would prefer it if we killed all the people who wrong us. Flo is my right hand. She only wants to be helpful to me and make my life easier. Mo is quite innocent, and he’s taken to the role of youngest, even though they’re all the same age. Larry is the voice of reason and has taken to being a good guy very well, he looks after the innocent people around us.”
Again, Dekker took a moment and then said, “One more question. How do they feel about us?” he gestured to the three of them on the couch.
Otto smiled before answering, “Harry wants me to kill all three of you most days and tolerates you the rest of the time. Flo thinks you’re all ok, as you serve your purpose to make my job easier. Mo thinks we’re all best friends and should go to the bar more often together. And Larry likes you all.”
Dekker leaned back, smiling, satisfied with the answers given to him. He then turned to the others to see if they had any questions. TJ moved up and asked, “When you were bleeding out on the floor, what did they say to make you yell no?”
Otto was bewildered by this line of questioning, and the boys seemed to find it amusing, while the actuators liked being the center of attention, he took a moment to try and remember the conversation earlier before answering, “Harry wanted to kill everyone in the room, to protect the boy’s identity.”
TJ sat back, looking a little scared, and kept his eyes on Harry. Rex moved up, now seeing it was his turn to ask questions, but not having any, simply went with something simple and asked, “Will you be going to work tomorrow?”
At this, Otto started laughing, which made his side hurt, so it came out as a mixture of laughing and groaning. Toby looked worried at first, but the laughter was contagious and soon everyone was laughing. After a few moments, they calmed down, tears were running down Otto's face as he answered the question, “I was thinking I might take a few days off.” He paused for a moment before asking them a question, “Why no questions or concerns about my evil past?”
Dekker answered for them all, “From what the boys say, that wasn’t your fault, and that’s not who you are anymore. Your Ricky, our justice-seeking friend, who got stabbed protecting us from a crazy guy this morning. You could have easily gotten away by leaving us behind, but you stayed, and we get to go home in one piece.” The others nodded their heads in agreement before rising, each of them shook his hand and told him to get some rest, and promised to come back tomorrow with food, and taking their leave, they showed themselves out. Otto was quiet, letting everything sink in, then turning to the boys, who had moved to the couch.
Everything had happened so fast today, and they hadn’t had a chance to talk, and there was something he wanted to know.
Otto fiddled with his shirt, and the actuators were quiet, giving him time to find the words before he looked up to see all three boys looking at him with love and concern, which made him lose track of his thoughts for a moment, but the actuators brought him back, then clearing his throat he said, “Why do you boys keep calling me dad?”
Tom spoke up first, saying, “As you know, we have had a lot of parental figures in our lives, Aunts, Uncles, and others who have stepped up to teach us and guide us.” He took a moment as his brothers gave him an encouraging smile before continuing, “You have been through so much, and yet you chose to dust yourself off and keep moving forward, for us. You gave us a roof over our heads, clothes, food, and anything we could need or want. When we lost everything, you gave us what you had left. The most important thing you gave us was your love. We called you dad because that’s what you’ve become, our dad, and we love you.” The other two chorists, with the words of love and with tears running down their faces, waited for Otto to respond.
Otto was crying halfway through Tom's explanation, and all the actuators were looking at the boys with their claws slightly opened, like they were in shock. Otto didn’t know what to say; he had dreamed that the boys would care for him as he cared for them, but he had thought that because of all they had lost and his evil past, it could never be, and now they were telling him they loved him. His heart felt like it might explode, and with the help of the actuators, he rose and, waving them to come, he pulled them into a gentle yet firm hug before saying, “I love you all too.” And for the first time in years, all four of them were truly happy.