Operation: Project HumEx Ultima

A/N: Welcome back! When we left off, everyone had just escaped the explosion of the base, including Dr. Blowhole and Mr. Hawkins (Who's a doctor, but he doesn't like to be called 'Doctor'.). Skipper finds out that Marlene was the animal on the operating table, but doesn't know what's happened to her so far, as she's still asleep. They're headed to the medic van now, so we had better get back to the story and see what's going to happen. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Via Media (The Middle of the Road)

The air in the medic van was still and smelled like a hospital. Skipper already knew that Marlene would have hated it. All the while she was cradled in his arms, the female breathed deeply, sound asleep and not moving at all. He was still a little worried about that, since she hadn't woken up, not through her five story fall, not through her being carried the whole way here.

General opened the doors for them, telling the others to wait outside. They protested loudly, but Pole stood firm, not really explaining himself as he closed the doors. Navi pouted outside and walked to another van, where they had some food and standard first aid. "This sucks. I want to know what happened to Marlene." She got a small band-aid on her paw, but nothing else. Kowalski and Private each got one on their heads, and Rico got two on his flippers, plus the one on the bump on his head. Navi turned to the guys and took a bite out of the fish she was holding, contemplating the situation they were currently in.

Technically, they had won, but at what cost? Marlene was hurt badly, and both Blowhole and Hawkins, one of his lead scientists, had gotten away. "So... Do you think they got that stuff into her?" She asked, her voice quiet. Even Rico's face turned serious when he looked at the scientist for the answer.

He frowned, and for the first time in a long time, his notes couldn't help him. "I don't know, honestly. I mean, there's a definite point of access at the base of her skull, with the indicating serum color... But who knows how much she was injected with. Or if it'll even take affect." He reasoned, moving out of the way so the rescued victims could get some help. They weren't really injured. In fact, they (a large crow, a turtle, and a boar) were kept really well, considering they were prisoners. One of them, the crow, overheard the conversation, and hopped over to where they were.

"You talkin' 'bout the ottah?" She said, in a very Boston accent. Navi tilted her head, and asked her about any information she may have. "Yeah, yeah, sure, sure. She was neah my cage. They stuck 'er right in the neck with this weird blue jelly." She ripped at a piece of mango in her wing, then continued. "That stuff that looked like the crab's blood, y'know." Wait a minute... crab's blood? That wasn't normally blue. Well, in a certain type of crab it was, but not the HumEx... At least, not that he thought. "Like... whenevah they get cut, out comes this blue jelly stuff. But anyway, she was a sweet ting. Nice, like my sistah, y'know? Then they took 'eh."

The crow's face dropped, obvious sadness in her eyes. "They took 'eh, and when they brought 'eh past me again... she was so quiet. It was scary kinda, y'know?" The crow almost whispered. Private asked her if she was awake, or at least moving, and the crow looked as if that was a strange question that she was actually expecting. "She was awake, but she weren't movin' none. Which was weird, y'know, on account of befoah she was shakin' and screamin' tryin' to get out of 'eh cage befoah. "

She looked around and noticed that the turtle and boar were both being taken home, and she was being offered a ride as well. Anyway she could get home without flying, and since she didn't know where she was... the ride was accepted graciously. She said goodbye to our heroes and left with the others, chomping down on the mango happily.

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The General had begged Skipper for several minutes to go get looked at. Well, not begged, but as close as he could get to begging. He only agreed after the doctors told him they would need to examine Marlene in private. He went to the nurse, finding he only needed a sling and a brace, before he rushed as quickly as he could to wait for the doctor outside of Marlene's room. As soon as the doc was finished, he asked if General minded if the others were brought in really quick. They would need to hear this too, and Kowalski could be of some help. When everyone finally made it inside of Marlene's room, the doctor began.

"Marlene is fine, physically. Everything is in working order, and she should be able to wake up shortly, though I think she's suffering from some exhaustion, how deeply she's sleeping." The doctor, a large owl, looked down at Marlene, concern riddling his face. Skipper thought about what they had been doing. The past twenty four hours were full of driving, fighting... and insane doctors for Marlene, it would be a wonder if she weren't completely tuckered out. Private knocked him out of his momentary stupor to ask when they could take her home. A very good question, thought Skipper. "Hmm... Well, as soon as she wakes up, we'll run a few tests, and you'll be home free. We also found your car, if you want to take it to get home." He meant Marlene's car, and Skipper glared at him about to tell him so, but it's not like he'd know that. The male held his beak.

Not all the penguins were convinced, however. Kowalski still wanted to know about her mental condition, the HumEx Serum inside of her, and the three dots. The doctor shook his head, telling him they weren't able to examine the dots yet, or the amount of serum inside of her, and he assured them that her mental condition would be the first thing they checked when she awoke. Skipper could accept that answer, and waited for the doctor to finish his report, which was just jibberish only Kowalski understood. At the end, only Kowalski wanted to stay and see how much he could help with by donating his scientific expertise. Rico went to reload on supplies, and Private and Navi went to go play.

"Well..." The General looked down at his smaller friend and smiled, quite pleased with how the day went. He was rescued by his daughter, got to see a youth he once knew as a fully fledged commander in action, and if all went well, within the next few hours he'd be able to go home. All he wanted to do now was... "Did you want to sit and talk over a nice fish, Skipper? My treat." The small penguin stood still for a second before he turned around and grinned widely at the General.

"As long as it's your treat... how can I refuse?" He said cheekily, following the bigger mammal to a table outside the room.

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The otter opened her eyes. Where was she? How did she get here!? And... she lifted a paw to scratch the back of her head. Why did her head hurt so badly? She looked around, her headache making her ears ring a little. As she watched, and waited, she could hear a conversation happening right outside of the room she was in.

"...and you know Skipper was hurt the worst in the fight."

Skipper was hurt? The otter's headache seared as she tried to remember... who Skipper was. Why was it that hearing that filled her with such sadness? Because it's my fault... The pain from her headache was becoming too much to bear.

"Really? Wow, I haven't gotten to hear about that fight. You know if--"

"GAAAAHHH!" The two nurses, who were talking outside her door at the time, rushed in to see what the matter was with the otter. She was clutching her head, and tears were streaming down her face. They checked her blood pressure, to make sure everything was alright, and were about to give her an injection when several vials right next to them exploded, causing them to scream and back away very quickly. One nurse looked at the other, and commanded her to get the General and Skipper while she tried to calm the patient down. She nodded and ran out, leaving the first to try and console the distressed mammal. But it was no real use. She just kept shaking her head and screaming "Stop it... STOP IT!", and more things in the room shattered and burst. A few things even started projecting themselves at the nurse, who was trying her best just to not get hurt.

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The General and Skipper were enjoying fish together, talking about memories past. It was amazing to the polar bear to see how much the young upstart Skipper had changed. He used to be such a hell raiser, doing basically whatever he pleased. It was refreshing to see him in such a role as a leader! Just when they had gotten to discussing Manfreedi and Johnson, a nurse from the back labs rushed up to them, looking frazzled to say the least. After she caught her breath, she nearly screamed. "It's the otter, it's Marlene! Something's very wrong!" Skipper didn't miss a beat as he slid off past her, the General trying to get the nurse to calm down, advising her to get something strong to drink and take a load off.

When he arrived in the room, Skipper was already trying to talk Marlene down, but it was like he was speaking a different language. There were pieces of glass everywhere, some of the plates and bowls that were metal were thrown about the room. Had this otter gone completely insane, or did she just have a temper tantrum? Her eyes opened finally, after about five minutes of screaming, and she looked at Skipper, a strange look on her face. She was distracted just enough for the nurse to inject her with a tranquilizer, the sight of which made Skipper look away, but he never left the otter's side. She looked as if she was going to scream again, but instead she just sighed and reclined onto the bed, her eyes glazed.

"Marlene?" Skipper asked, grabbing one of her paws. The General watched the interaction between the two. Something was wrong. The way Skipper talked and told stories from the zoo, the two were like best friends. Now, it looked like he was reaching out to someone who didn't know him. She shifted her head towards him, in an eerily slow fashion, and her eyes adjusted, fixating on him. She studied his face carefully. "Marlene, are you alright?"

General tried to get Skipper's attention, but Marlene spoke up first. "Am I Marlene? Who are you?"