Peabody's POV
I groaned as I awoke, a splitting headache throbbing in my head as I sat up holding it in one paw. I gasped as I quickly looked over at Sherman and noticed he was still out, but sighed in relief as I checked his pulse.
"Still alive…"
I gently shook him in an effort to wake him.
"Sherman… Sherman…wake up."
Sherman stirred and groggily opened his eyes.
"Ugghh, Mr. Peabody, what happened?
"I… am not sure…" I said as I stood up and looked at the WABAC.
It was fine, and the seemingly harmless energy field that had engulfed us was gone. I looked down at my paws as I held them up and examined them. I felt fine, aside from the headache that was now abating. Hopefully there wouldn't be any lasting effects from that energy field…
Sherman held his head and groaned again. "I have a horrible headache."
"I do as well, but it should pass in a minute or two." I said.
We both walked over to the WABAC to examine it more closely. I leaned down to look into the hole where the Time Core was and noticed it had gone out and was just a dark metal and glass case now, like a blown out fuse.
"Unfortunately, it looks like we won't be taking any time travel trips for a very long time Sherman." I said as I disconnected it and pulled it out.
"Why not?" Sherman said as he came out of the WABAC and joined me.
"The Time Core is completely broken and the mathematics involved took me weeks if not months to calculate, not to mention it requires some extremely rare materials."
"Well, all of the WABAC's other systems are functional, I checked them. It'll fly, just not time travel…" He groaned. "and I have another history paper coming up I need to write."
"Well you'll just have to research it the old fashioned way." I said as I started walking back across the platform and into my lab.
Sherman sighed as he followed. "Might as well get started then." He glanced up at the clock over my lab door and looked back at me.
"Is dinner going to be on time tonight?" He asked, glancing at the Time Core that I had placed on my lab table.
"Oh yes, in fact along with that I first have a business matter I need to attend to downstairs with the company, so I will take care of that and then be back up to start on dinner." I said as I followed him back over to the elevator.
"Ok, well… let me know if I can help speed it up at all…" Sherman said as he pushed the up button.
I smiled. "Of course."
The elevator opened and we both walked into it.
"What do you need to do downstairs?" Sherman asked as he leaned against the back wall of the elevator.
"Unfortunately, I need to let one of my employees go."
"Why can't HR handle that?" Sherman asked.
"This one is a unique situation, and I'd like to handle it personally." I explained.
"Ah." Sherman nodded.
The elevator doors opened and we headed our separate ways, Sherman for his room and me for my office.
I didn't want to do this, but I had to. I first had to call Cynthia, my secretary and head of HR to make sure she was ready for our meeting; so, I grabbed the phone and dialed her extension.
"Hello Mr. Peabody… are you ready?" her voice came over the phone, it sounded downtrodden and weary, like she didn't want to do this. I didn't blame her.
"Yes, I'll be down in a few minutes. Is Alan there yet?"
"Yes, he's already in the conference room."
We hung up and I walked back over to the elevator and took it down to the floor right below the WABAC's.
I got out and walked over to Cynthia's desk. She saw me and got up, a folder in her hand. She joined me and we both started walking toward the small conference room where we were to have the meeting with Alan.
"Is that everything?" I asked her.
"Yes, severance agreement and all."
We reached the room and through one of the windows I could see Alan sitting in one of the chairs facing the outside window.
I sighed. "Are you ready?" I asked, looking up at Cynthia.
"Yes" she said as she steeled her face and put on a neutral expression.
I nodded and opened the door and she followed me inside.
"Hello Mr. Barkley, thank you for coming today, especially on such short notice." I said as I walked in, hitching a smile on my muzzle.
Alan turned around and noticed both of us. "Oh, I normally work today, so it wasn't a problem." He said as he stood up and took my outstretched paw and shook it.
Cynthia and I took two of the chairs opposite him and we all sat down again.
"So, what's this about?" he asked, smiling.
His smile made it much harder for me to get to the point.
"Well Mr. Barkley, I don't want to beat around the bush at all, but, as you know, since our major restructuring of the support aspect of Peabody Industries, and the merging of the various support helpdesks, much of your team is now in New Jersey. And much of your team that was also here with you have now left for other endeavors, so you are the only one left. And, thus…. your position is being eliminated and today is your last day at Peabody Industries. I'm sorry, but it is in the company's best interests."
While I was giving him the news his smile had slowly faded. It hit me like a punch to the gut, delivering this news.
"But I'm sure you'll find our severance package to be very competitive, and should suffice you well enough until you find other employment." Cynthia added quickly, trying to soften the blow.
Alan still said nothing.
"Well…It's not like I wasn't expecting this…I mean, after everyone started leaving, I suspected it would happen." he finally said.
I nodded. "And I'm sure you can understand, you physically being here, but your immediate supervisor being in New Jersey, along with the majority of your team, just makes it hard on the company, the resources to conduct meetings, coordinating events, etc." I said as I watched his face, trying to decipher what emotions he was feeling.
"Yeah…" he said.
"So, this is Cynthia, " I said, gesturing to her. "she will talk you through the severance agreement and-"
"But why can't I just take a different position here in the building?" he suddenly asked.
"Well… unfortunately, there are none available. Which is of course a testament to the quality of this workplace." I answered.
Even though I am CEO of the company that bears my name, I still like knowing the intricate workings and details of it that a CEO normally doesn't so of course I knew this to be true, and was disappointed I could not provide a better answer for him.
Alan suddenly looked at me square in the face and I could see a hint of annoyance. "Of course, there's that slight arrogance the great Mr. Peabody is known for. I was wondering when it would pop up."
I was slightly taken aback. "I beg your pardon?"
He laughed. "It's also funny, you think your company's so great, when there's lots of other organizations that have just as good employee retention rates, but here I am being let go."
"I sincerely apologize Mr. Barkley, I did not mean for it to sound that way." I said quickly.
"Well, it sounded like it to me," he said, getting up. "After all I've done for you and the company…how long I've been here…" he started mumbling.
Cynthia got up quickly. "Mr. Barkley, why don't we go discuss your severance agreement, please follow me."
And so, she led the way out the door, and Alan followed her, but before he left, he held the door open.
"I never really liked you much anyway." He said, and then slammed the door closed.
Luckily the door was made of wood, and didn't have any glass to shatter, but force of the slam traveled to the vase sitting on the attached table right next to it, causing it to wobble and begin to tip.
I watched in slow motion as the center of gravity shifted past the point of no return and the vase began to fall. I gasped and in instinct reached out with a paw to try and stop it, but of course I was across the room.
But the next moment I wondered if my senses had failed me.
The vase was frozen in midair.
I breathed out in surprise and withdrew my paw.
The vase continued its descent, and as it should, hit the floor and broke, the sound of glass breaking reverberating slightly through the room. But I stared at it in bewilderment. What had just happened?
I slowly walked around the table and over to where the vase lay shattered in pieces on the floor, approaching it like it was a wounded animal that might lash out at any second.
"What just happened?" I thought again. This is beyond all the laws of physics I know. And I know a lot.
Now curious, I stretched out my paw toward the vase again, and immediately it reconstructed itself and, I can't think of a more appropriate word, flew back up to its previous place on the table.
I opened my muzzle as the realization dawned on me. The WABAC energy field must have affected me.
"I have…. time powers… of some kind." I said to myself as I looked at my paw incredulously.
"I have to tell Sherman and see if he's been similarly affected." I quickly left the room and dashed over to the elevator, entering the pin code for access to our penthouse floor.
As soon as the elevator opened its doors I quickly walked over to Sherman's room and knocked.
"Come in." Came Sherman's muffled reply.
I opened the door and saw Sherman sitting at his desk under his bunk bed.
He turned and noticed me.
"Oh Mr. Peabody perfect, I need your help."
"Can it wait? I need to talk to you." I said.
"Sure, anything to avoid school." He said, spinning completely around in his chair.
"Are you feeling ok?" I asked him.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders.
"Well because… I believe I may have been affected by that energy field from the WABAC."
Sherman suddenly looked worried. "Why? Did something happen to you?"
"The employee I let go, he slammed the door to the conference room we were in hard enough to knock a vase over and it fell, but I stopped it."
"How?" he asked, puzzled.
"I… stretched out my paw."
"Annnnd… it just stopped?" He looked at me disbelievingly.
"Yes, it sounds crazy but that is indeed what happened."
Sherman suddenly took his hand and knocked his pencil case to the floor, causing all the pencils to fly out.
"Do it again then." He said.
"But I don't know how I did it the first time." I said.
"Well stretch out your paw to start like you did before." He said.
I did as he asked and this time the pencils flew partway back into the pencil holder but then flew back out to their previous positions.
Sherman stared at them in shock.
"How did you do that?"
"Like I said, I don't know."
"Well… try concentrating."
I sighed and reached toward them again but this time concentrated on trying to move the pencils back into their holder and onto Sherman's desk.
They did as I wished, albeit slowly, while jerking forward in time again, the sound of the holder hitting the floor and the pencils scattering playing backwards and distorted in our ears, until they finally came to rest in the holder on the desk.
Sherman stared at them for a few moments before breaking into a smile and jumping up and gripping me in a hug excitedly.
"You have time powers!" he yelled and then let me go.
"Yes, it appears I do." I said slowly.
"But what about me…?, I was hit by that energy field too…" Sherman began to make silly gestures at his pencil holder, moving his fingers about and waving his hands around.
The pencil holder did not move.
I couldn't help but laugh at how silly he looked, but then became serious again.
"Maybe your abilities haven't manifested themselves yet."
He pouted. "Maybe."
"But Sherman, you cannot tell anyone of this. And if you do get any powers, do not use them, at least if I'm not around." I said.
"Why not? How can I not tell anyone? Can I just tell Penny? I'll just tell her."
"Not even Miss Peterson, you know how she likes to gossip." I said quickly. "I don't want the whole of New York knowing because this would just cast more attention on us and we already have enough as it is. And with this being new for both of us, who knows the extent of the accidental damage we could cause. We don't want another timeline catastrophe."
He sighed and slumped back down in his chair. "Fine."
The rest of the night was spent in pleasant activity together, I made dinner, helped Sherman with his homework for a short time, and tested my power out more; at the behest of Sherman of course. He would throw various items around the room and I would return them to their previous place. He attempted to as well, but was unsuccessful.
We finally began to turn in but Sherman had barely worked on his homework assignment, due to his excitement about my abilities and possibly his own.
I walked over to my bedroom door, but before going into it, I turned to Sherman.
"I do not want you staying up all night working on your homework, it is a school night after all…." Sherman looked at me with a mischievous grin. "..or attempting to use any powers you may have." I added quickly.
He sighed. "Ok, fine."
He kissed me on the top of my head. "Goodnight dad. Love you."
I smiled. "I love you too."
He walked over to his bedroom door and shut it after himself as I did the same.
Fun fact: I used a variation of my real name and a relatively recent real life experience that happened to me as inspiration for the way Peabody finds out about his time powers. Only I certainly didn't react the same way Alan did physically, but some of his dialogue was pretty much my thought processes after I lost my own job much the same way. I also thought it would be funny to have someone who isn't a villain not like Peabody because as we all know, Peabody tends to have the opposite effect on most people, regardless of the flaws of his personality. XD Also, DRAMA! Not done it much before, so I got some practice.