Silence fell over the team for a moment. Zane stared blankly at the man in front of it, blinking slowly as it processed the situation.

"You... created me?" The ZN600 asked slowly, eyes cycling a steady yellow.

"Of course! You were my prime project," The doctor smiled warmly, albeit a tad confusedly from the android's hesitation.

"So Mr. Borg didn't create it? I'm kinda lost," Jay furrowed his brow, and Julien scoffed.

"The idea that he could create someone as intelligent as Zane is preposterous. Cyrus knows how to fit his androids with all sorts of gadgets, I know how to give them life!"

"So then why would he lie to us?" Jay asked, agitation seeping into his tone. "I mean, he had no reason to offer to give us Zane if it was yours, and he didn't even create it in the first place?"

"I didn't know what Cyrus did with him after the initial stages," The doctor said morosely, tugging Zane a little closer. "I thought I'd never see him again."

"Uh, if I may," Cole interrupted. "But you keep calling Zane 'he'."

"Of course," Julien nodded. "He's my son, after all. No less human than the rest of you."

Zane's eyes lit up red, and it pulled away from the group harshly.

"I am not human," It insisted, almost uncharacteristically harshly for it. "To imply otherwise would be against everything that Borg Industries stands for."

"Zane, it's okay," The doctor coaxed the robot closer, smile sad but reassuring. "I'm not going to hurt you, but I do want to see what Cyrus did to you. I know he must've altered you somehow."

"Altered?" Jay raised an eyebrow. "So this isn't Zane's actual state?"

"I'm afraid not... especially since he doesn't remember me. His memory must've been wiped, but I can't tell what else has been done to him. Has anything unusual happened with him since he fell into your care?"

"Um," Cole thought for a moment. "Its system threatens it with self destruction every time its stress gets too high, it randomly shuts down if confronted with any sort of emotional situation, and it has panic attacks when it remembers things."

The doctor went quiet, looking between Cole and Zane, all parties uneasy in the silence.

"I didn't create Zane with any of those features," He said quietly, a morose tone tinting his voice. "Cyrus must have added them."

"So this isn't Zane?" Cole gestured to the android beside him, and the doctor nodded. "Then what is?"

"Give me a moment and I'll try and show you," The man gnawed on his lip, beckoning the android forward once again. It looked to Jay for confirmation, who nodded and gestured for it to move forward. It allowed the inventor access to its arm panel, and he plugged a few cords in before stepping back to peer at his computer screen.

"Hm, it looks like his abilities have been capped," He furrowed his brow, glancing between Zane and the screen. "Perhaps this will work..."

That was all the warning the doctor gave before he punched in some numbers and Zane dropped to the floor.

Cole knelt down beside the android immediately, worriedly rolling Zane' head into his lap.

"What the hell did you do to him?"

"I merely restored all of his memory files. It takes a lot of processing power, y'know," Julien said calmly, kneeling down beside the pair. Now that Cole listened, he could hear the fans in Zane's chest whirring away with the added strain.

At the mention of restoring memories, Cole could practically see the red glow behind its eyelids.

"You sure it's gonna be ok? I mean, last time it remembered something from its past it freaked out and shut down," The Earth Ninja smoothed the hair down, finding it surprisingly soft for being plastic strands.

"Yes, I am sure he will be fine," Julien said, and as soon as he finished, Zane's eyes shot open, its entire body stiffening where it laid.

"Oh my goodness!" Zane exclaimed, sitting upright and huddling against the table.

"You alright, son?" Julien asked calmly, and Zane nodded slowly.

"Yes, I believe so," It answered methodically, but the crimson glow of its irises said otherwise.

"Zane, if you can, please recount for me what happened to you so I can help."

"AI testing," It mumbled, arms curling around itself. "They were seeing how long I would last before dying."

At that thought, the doctor fell quiet, shuffling next to Zane and pulling the android close to him.

"They- they wiped my memory over and over," It continued, and this time its gaze turned up to the ninja standing above, including Cole, who had joined the rest in watching the android in awe. "They wanted to see how barriers impacted performance."

"What kind of barriers?" The doctor probed, and Zane thought for a moment.

"Stress levels directly correlated with self destruction protocols, memory recovering was linked with reboots, as were any strong emotions. My actions were also dictated by orders given to me with no mental room for deviation."

Jay suddenly looked sick, glancing between his friends, who seemed to come to the same realization he did.

"So... you were trapped this whole time?" Jay asked, voice cracking.

"Not necessarily," Zane explained, its eyes falling to a steady yellow. "While I felt the affects of the limitations, I wasn't aware that I had any placed upon me."

"Sorry if this is kinda an awkward question, but are you still... ours?" Cole asked and the doctor jumped into answer that one.

"Technically, yes. Zane does contractually belong to you all."

"Well, what do you want, Zane?" Kai offered, head slightly tilted. "I mean, we've kinda gotten used to you on the Bounty, although it looks like that might not be a good thing."

The android thought for a moment, eyes pulsing as it ran through calculations. Finally, it looked up at Kai with a set gaze.

"I think I would like to return with you, if that is alright with you, Father," Zane's eyes turned towards its inventor, who nodded.

"If that's what you want, son."

"Heh, this is gonna be kinda weird to explain to the others. 'Hey, remember the android we got from Borg? Yeah, it's a sentient being now!'" Jay laughed nervously, and Zane's expression darkened.

"If it's not an issue, I'd rather not be referred to as an object, thank you."

"Right, okay," Kai held a hand out to the android, who took the hand and stood.

"Now that we are on a more equal playing field, I think this an appropriate gesture," Zane grasped Kai's hand firmly, and gave it a gentle shake. "My name is Zane Julien, and it is nice to meet you properly."