Chapter 4

Freakazoid Makes A Friend!

'So you remember you need to go two floors down, room 420?'

"Well, of course I do! How could I forget?"

'You seem to forget everything else!"

"That's only because-Wait! What happened to Roddy? Where is he?"

Freakazoid skidded to a halt and looked around worriedly. Roddy was all alone in this doom dungeon of a capitalist tower!

'You should really look for Duncan first, Freakazoid. Roddy's probably-'

"But what if he's hurt? Or, more hurt, I guess. He was almost as blue as me when we found him Dexter!"

'You're right. Two turns left, then go right, he went that way."

"Thanks, Siri!"

Freakazoid hurried down the halls and pushed open doors as he went. As he quickly turned a corner, Freakazoid accidentally bumped into a group of security guards.

"Whoops! Sorry fellas, I'm in a hurry. Have any of you seen an angry Scottish man in a skirt recently?"

The guards all looked to each other in collective confusion, then turned back to Freakazoid and held up their guns.

"I'll take that as a strong maybe!"

Freakazoid ignored Dexter's nagging at his 'Immature' behavior and charged forward, knocking the guns out of the guards hands and tossing them into the walls. After dusting himself off and looking around, Freakazoid noticed one of the doors in the hallway was totally wrecked.

"Bingo! I think I know where Roddy is!"

'With all those security guards, that might not be a good thing…'

Freakazoid frowned at that and pushed the door debris aside as he stepped into the office cautiously.

"Roddy? Are you okay?"

'This room looks empty. Maybe he isn't-'

"No! I can feel him Dexter! He's here!"

Freakazoid walked over to one of the computers and cocked his head curiously. He could feel Roddy? Wasn't that kinda weird? But there was no denying it, there was definitely a presence. Freakazoid turned on the computer and experimentally typed in a quick "Hello! :)" . After a beat of silence, the computer beeped and responded.

"Hello, lad! Good to see you safe and sound. I suppose you stopped Gutierrez then?"

Dexter and Freakazoid both gasped, Dexter in shock and Freakazoid in glee. Freakazoid quickly typed back.

"Sure did! I got rid of that code too! Where are you Roddy? I was worried. :( "

"I'm sorry, lad. I used the chip flaw to escape into the Internet. So technically, I'm everywhere right now. I've been trying to get out, but I haven't found out how just yet."

Freakazoid felt his heart sink. He didn't know exactly why, but he felt guilty.

'If we had stuck together, Roddy wouldn't have been cornered, and he wouldn't be stuck in the Internet right now.'

Freakazoid nodded in agreement and typed a small "I'm sorry. :(((((( " back to Roddy.

"Don't apologize to me, lad. This is all my doing, and I'm going to take responsibility for it! I'll get out eventually, and when I do, I promise I'll do my best to help you. For now, stay safe, keep your head down, and if you need anything? I'm always a click away. So long, lad. You're a good kid, make me proud."

As Freakazoid read over Roddy's text, he hiccuped, and realized too late he had started crying.

'Are you okay?'

"It's just-*sniff*- I'm gonna miss him! He was a skirt wearing weirdo, but he was my skirt wearing weirdo!"

'He said he'll find a way out eventually. I'm sure someone who worked in Apex Industries can navigate the Internet, easy as pie!'

"I hope so…"

'Let's go find Duncan. He's waited long enough.'

"Okay... Hey, Dexter?"

'Yeah?'

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up."

"...No problem, Freak.'

Freakazoid found Duncan exactly where Gutierrez had told him he was, to Freakazoids delight and Dexter's relief. Duncan had been blissfully unconscious when they found him, and Freakazoid had decided the best method of getting Duncan home was to call a cab and chuck him in the back seat like a Saturday night drunk.

As Freakazoid shifted Duncan's weight over his shoulder, he pouted as Dexter tried once again to reason with him.

'If you call a cab, then there'll be a witness of you going to my house! Also, you have no money! Just change back!'

"But Duncan's so heavy! You can't carry him! If we transform back then you'll have to drag him all the way to your house and that'll suck."

Freakazoid finally made his way to the entrance of Apex Tower and walk past the automatic door briskly. He smiled as the fresh air hit his face and he pulled out his phone.

'I need to get him to the hospital! Change back so I can call an ambulance!'

"I can call an ambulance! Why do you get to?"

'Because I'm not gonna screw it up! Please, just change back before someone sees y-'

"Hey, kid."

Freakazoid and Dexter both froze, Freakazoid unconsciously gripping his brother a little tighter. He turned around to see a single policeman standing next to his car, looking over Freakazoid and his somewhat compromising position carefully.

"Are you Dexter Douglas?"

Freakazoid felt his gut drop and gulped. How did he know?! Dexter began panicking and stuttering out excuses and explanations in vain, while Freakazoid slumped in defeat and nodded.

"Who's that kid you got there?"

"My brother Duncan…"

"Why's your brother unconscious?"

Freakazoid lowered Duncan into a a bridal position and pulled him closer, frowning as he remembered what Duncan had been through.

"Mr. Gutierrez zapped him cause he wanted me to stay."

The officer raised an eyebrow at that and after a moment, opened the back seat of his car.

"Set him down here."

Freakazoid just gripped Duncan closer and glared.

"He didn't do anything! Please don't take him to jail! He's a jerky brother, but I'm pretty sure that's not a crime!"

The officer nodded and gestured invitingly into his back seat.

"He's not in trouble, kid. I'm here because I got a call that a Dexter Douglas was kidnapped. I'm taking you and your brother home."

Freakazoid keep glaring for another few moments before smiling and tossing his brother in the back seat. Freakazoid opened the passenger sate in the front and eagerly slid into it.

"Wowie! I've never been in a police car before! Can I turn on the lights?!"

The officer got into the front seat and re-adjusted the mirror mutely for a moment.

"Can I honk the horn? Ohhh! Windshield wipers! Can I-"

"Hey. Cut that out."

Freakazoid froze, then meekly put on his seatbelt.

"Hey kid."

"Yes, Officer?"

"I'm getting the feeling something strange happened in there. Wanna talk about it?"

'You've already told him too much! Don't tell him anything, we-you don't know if you can trust him.'

Freakazoid shifted uncomfortably, glancing around the car nervously. Dexter was kinda right, and he didn't want to get them in trouble. Maybe he should just book it? The cop would probably still drop Duncan off...

"We can go get some ice cream after we drop your brother off at the hospital. What do you say?"

Freakazoid couldn't resist. He completely blocked Dexter out as he grinned.

"Oh boy! Sure, let's go!"

The officer looked relieved for a moment but quickly resumed his neutral expression and nodded as he started his car and headed to the hospital.

"So, you're name's Freakazoid?"

"Yup! I think it's-*slurp*-a good brand name. What's your name?"

The officer lowered his strawberry ice cream and smiled.

"My name's Cosgrove. You can call me Cosgrove."

Freakazoid nodded and inhaled the rest of his chocolate ice cream, wiping his sticky fingers on his shirt.

"Thanks for the ice cream Cosgrove! And thanks for not telling my parents where I was."

Freakazoid had quickly realized after the hospital staff had carted his brother away, that his parents would probably want some answers he didn't think he could give. Cosgrove had saved the day and called his parents, telling them where Duncan was, then told them he was doing an in depth interview with Dexter, so he'd be dropping him off later, and that Dexter was fine.

Cosgrove nodded and bit off a chunk of his ice cream cone.

"I get the feeling you don't usually look like this."

Freakazoid looked down at himself, sticky shirt, black hair, muscles, and blue skin. He looked back up at Cosgrove and shrugged in agreement.

"It's not on purpose! In fact, I can make myself look normal again, too."

"Then why don't you?"

Freakazoid sighed, frowning as Dexter repeated the same question inside his head.

"I'm...worried."

Cosgrove nodded as he ate the last chunk of his ice cream cone.

"About what?"

Freakazoid looked over Cosgrove, neutral face and all, and made a decision.

"Hey Cosgrove, can you keep a secret?"

For one second, Freakazoid could have sworn he saw something like relief on Cosgrove's face, but in a blink of an eye, it was gone.

"Sure kid. What's on your mind?"

Freakazoid leaned back on the cop car, unknowingly causing the car to squeak in protest.

"So, I'm kinda super strong and blue cause this thing called a Pinnacle chip zapped me, and that only happened cause my cat accidentally typed in this special sequence? And all this made the owner of Apex Industries, Mr. Gutierrez, get all power crazy, and he kidnapped me and my brother and this Scottish guy, Roddy who used to work there. And even though I stopped Gutierrez's evil scheme and saved my brother, Roddy got stuck in the Internet and Gutierrez is still out there!"

Cosgrove nodded along with Freakazoid explanation, chin in hand, giving the teen his undivided attention.

"And what's worse is that the chip didn't just make me into a smurf on steroids, but it also kinda split me? Like, I'm me and all, but also not? And I think the more me me might hate me. I'm scared he's gonna get rid of me. What if I never get to leave after this?"

Cosgrove was silent for a moment as Freakazoid looked to him with pleading eyes. Freakazoid was all too aware that Dexter had gone silent a while ago, and he was nervous as heck about how all this was gonna end for him.

"You want my advice kid?"

Freakazoid nodded vigorously, and Cosgrove sat up and readjusted his hat.

"I think you're a good kid, and Dexter is too. You and Dexter just need to talk about what you're both comfortable with, and treat each other with respect. Dexter's probably just worried you'll do something reckless, and he has good reason. Show him you can be reliable."

Freakazoid stared in awe for a moment as Cosgrove's words sunk in and grinned.

"You really think so?"

"Sure I do. And don't worry about Gutierrez, or Roddy. I'll make sure to keep an eye on Gutierrez for you, and Roddy's a grown man. He can take care of himself. You need to focus on your own problems right now, you're still a kid."

Freakazoid nodded earnestly, happy that such a responsible adult was looking out for him.

'He's right…'

"What?"

"I didn't say anything."

"Cosgrove's right. I was just worried before, but you don't have to worry anymore, Freak. I'll keep my promise as long as you keep yours.'

Freakazoid felt himself relax shoulders he hadn't realized were tense in the first place.

"I'm a man of my word, Dexter. Thanks again Cosgrove! Freak IN!"

SHA-ZAP!

Cosgrove watched with a deadpan expression as a whirlwind flash of sparks turned out a disheveled Dexter.

"That's your password? Freak In?!"

'I thought we had a theme going on!'

"You okay, kid?"

Dexter flinched as he suddenly became aware of his surroundings.

"Y-yeah, just, getting by bearings…"

Cosgrove nodded and shifted to get out of the car.

"So, what flavor do you want?"

Dexter frowned in confusion for a moment before he realized Cosgrove was talking ice cream flavors.

"You don't have to-"

"I want to. Do you like chocolate too?"

Dexter hesitated, then blushed and nodded.

"Vanilla chocolate's my favorite…"

Cosgrove nodded and headed inside the ice cream parlor, leaving Dexter to his thoughts.

'He's pretty great, right?'

Dexter smiled tiredly and nodded. He had to admit he was happy he'd been wrong about Cosgrove. Telling someone about his-their problems was kinda nice.

'So it's us now, huh?'

"Pretty much! You're stuck with me Freak. Hope you realize what you've gotten yourself into."

'Pfffft! I am you Dexter! I wouldn't have it any other way!'

Dexter chuckled at Freakazoids enthusiasm, not noticing Cosgrove exiting the parlor with two ice cream cones in hand.

"Here's your ice cream, kid."

"Thank you Offi-"

"You can call me Cosgrove, too."

"Oh. Uh, thanks Cosgrove."

"No problem, kid. I wanted another ice cream anyway."

Dexter ate his vanilla chocolate for a moment before he yawned and slumped down.

"I should take you home soon. You look tuckered out."

Dexter nodded tiredly and licked his ice cream slowly.

Cosgrove watched Dexter for a few moments, then started his car and pulled out of the ice cream parlors parking lot.

"That Freakazoid is a good kid Dexter, and I can see you're an earnest kid yourself. If you two ever need anyone to talk to, don't hesitate to call me."

Dexter straightened up a bit and blushed again.

'He's so cool! Say yes! Say we will!'

"Thanks Cosgrove. Freakazoid says he will. And...I will too."

Cosgrove pulled up to Dexter's house and turned to him with a small smile, which to Cosgrove, might as well have been a beaming grin.

"I know your worried about Freakazoid, so if you ever want to send him to someone who'll keep him out of trouble, you can call me."

Dexter smiled and nodded. He'd been worried about his three time a week promise. Who knows what Freakazoid would do? Now he had a back up plan, and Freakazoid seemed to like him. Dexter handed his phone over to Cosgrove so he could input hs number and looked to his house nervously. He'd have to talk to his parents eventually, and he had no idea how to explain anything!

'Do you think his number is 911?'

"No, of course not."

"Here." Cosgrove said as he handed Dexter back his phone. "Don't worry about your parents, kid. If they have any questions, tell them to call me, I'll take care of it. You should head inside and rest. Take care of yourselves, okay?"

Dexter nodded thankfully and ran to his front door, waving goodbye to Cosgrove as he pulled out and drove away. Dexter watched him till he was gone, then headed inside and went straight to his room.

Mr. Chubbikins hissed as he entered his room and face planted into his bed. Dexter was too tired to care, rolling onto his back and yawning again.

'Why are you so tired?'

"Today's been exhausting. How are you not tired?"

"I dunno. Want me to play whale sounds?'

"You can do that?"

"I wasn't joking about that Internet thing. I have more whale sound audio clips than I want to count! Because I could count them. But I won't. Cause I don't wanna.'

"That's...worth testing out later. But not right now. I'm just gonna sleep."

'Okie-Dokie! Nighty Night Dexter!'

"Night, Freak…"

"Dexter?"

"Ffffive, more minutes…"

"Sweetheart, I know you've had a long day. I just want to talk a bit."

Dexter rolled to his side and cracked his eyes open to the sight of his worried mother. He rubbed his face and tried to collect himself as he sat up.

"Yeah, what's-What do wanna talk about?"

Debbie pulled Dexter into a tight hug and patted down his hair, sighing before pulling away.

"The officer on your case told us what happened, and I just want to say I'm so happy you got out okay. You're brother's fine by the way, though you wouldn't know with how he's acting. He'll probably try to milk this for all it's worth."

Dexter smiled in relief as she spoke. He'd been wondering about Duncan, but with how his mom was framing it, it looked like he was back to his old self.

"Yeah, Officer Cosgrove was really great. Is Duncan still at the hospital?"

Debbie nodded and sighed again. She looked more tired than Dexter had ever seen her, and he couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

"He's been advised to stay overnight just in case, so your father's staying with him. I just came back because the officer called me and told me he'd dropped you off. I didn't think you'd want to be alone."

Dexter felt all warm inside at how considerate his mom was being. Not that she was neglectful or anything, but it was nice to know she was worried about him. Dexter pulled his mom into another hug. Mom had probably been worried sick after seeing him get kidnapped. She definitely looked it. Her hair was a mess, some of her makeup was smudged, and she looked like she needed to sleep for a week.

"Thanks mom. You know, you look pretty tired too. Wanna nap with me?"

Debbie pulled away from the hug, looking a little thrown at his suggestion. She looked around the room for a few moments and smiled and nodded. She kicked off her heels and pulled him close as they both fell on the mattress.

"You know you haven't cuddled with me like this since you were six? You always had nightmares."

Before Dexter could wine about his mom embarrassing him, Freakazoid started laughing inside his head.

'Hahahah! We had the weirdest dreams! Remember the one about the wicker basket?'

Dexter snorted and tried his stifle his giggles as the memories of a five year old Dexter running to his parents room about his bad dream filled his thoughts.

"What's so funny?" Debbie asked.

Dexter decided if his mom wanted to take a stroll down memory lane, he'd give her a tour worth taking.

'Remember when I was like, six? And I had a bad dream about grandma's wicker basket?"

Debbie gauffed and started giggling with unbridled delight.

"You-you were so upset! And when-when I finally calmed you down-Oh hehe! You told me is was about the scary basket at grandmas house!"

"It looked like a crow's nest it was so old!" Dexter defended, though he wasn't able to his his grin. It had been a pretty silly dream.

"Oh, sweetie! You have no idea how much I wanted to ask your grandmother for that basket. Your lucky I'm such a good mom, or I would have tormented you with that ugly thing."

Mr. Chubbikins, who at this point, was no longer feeling spiteful towards Dexter for his earlier actions, decided this was the best time to jump on the bed and sprawl across Dexter's legs.

"Hi, Mr. Chubbikins. Oof, you're heavy! I'm gonna get a leg cramp, aren't I?"

"We should really put that cat on a diet. He won't last much longer at this rate."

"Don't be mean mom. He's big boned."

"Sweetheart, his name is Mr. Chubbikins."

"Touche."

'We like him all chubby! He's like an overstuffed pillow with a built in warmer!'

Mr. Chubbikins meowed in offense to the current topic and dug his claws uselessly into Dexter's jeans. Debbie ignored the cat and started looking over Dexter as she idly played with his hair.

"You have your father's hair...And what's this!?"

Dexter flinched as she prodded his stomach lightly and pulled up the hem of his shirt slightly to reveal a purple bruise. He'd forgotten all about that! What, with all the kidnapping and super powers, high school bullies kinds fell into the background.

"Um! That-that's-"

"Oh, Dexter. I'm sorry honey.."

Debbie hugged him again, giving his bruise a wide berth and rubbing his back comfortingly.

"I should have done more…"

Dexter pulled away from his mom's hug and sat up, heart breaking as he realized she was tearing up.

"Mom, none of this was your fault. You did everything you could, and I'm fine!"

Dexter pulled her up and pulled a tissue out from his pocket, wiping her eyes as he continued.

"You were super cool too! Those guys were freaked o-, Really scared of you when you tried to fight them with that rolling pin! I was super proud."

Debbie smiled as she took the tissue from Dexter and dabbed her eyes.

"I didn't really think it through. I just took whatever looked heaviest and ran outside."

Dexter nodded encouragingly, pulling Mr. Chubbikins off his legs and into his lap.

"Yeah? Well, they were terrified. I wasn't scared cause I knew you wouldn't rest till I was safe. And look! Now I'm home, Duncan's fine, and you were amazing!"

Debbie nodded and sighed, lowering her tissue and looking Dexter over one more time.

"...You're really alright? All in one piece?"

'Well, technically? No. But physically? Yes!'

"Not, helping."

"What was that dear?"

"I'm, fine. All in one piece. A little roughed up, but I'll be fine by the end of Christmas break."

Dexter shrugged and tried to smile in a way that looked relaxed. He knew he wasn't exactly banging on all four cylinders right now, but his mom had been through enough. His whole family had, really. Telling them about Freakazoid would only stress everyone out more, and they didn't need that. He could handle it. Probably.

Debbie sighed and straightened her dress out, then stood.

"It's times like these that remind me how much you've grown, Dexter. I'm going to check up on your father and Duncan, Lord knows what they've gotten up to while I've been away. You get some sleep, okay?"

Dexter nodded then flopped back onto his bed and rolled Mr. Chubbikins off him.

"Sweet dreams, dear."

"Bye, mom."

As Debbie left, Dexter sighed and pulled his phone from his pocket. He opened his contacts and stared long and hard at the short list of names. He glanced over Cosgrove's name for a second, but he didn't need to talk to him right now.

"I don't know who to call.'

"I know. I don't either…"

As they scrolled past name after name, both stopped as they spotted the name they wanted in sync.

"Steff."

'Steff.'

"But what would I even tell her?"

'Tell her we wanna go on a date! Or tell her we got kidnapped and beat up a bunch of grunts like a BOSS!'

Dexter blushed and tossed his phone away on instinct as his thumb got dangerously close to pressing her name.

"NO! Why would I say any of that?!"

'Because we want to? Oh! Tell her we think her eyes look like the clearest sapphire~ You can put that poetry to good use!'

"You're insane. If I told her any of that, she'd hate me! We're best friends, I don't want to make it weird!"

'Can't we try? We'll still be friends if she says no, right?'

"No!...I don't know? Maybe? It's complicated. I don't want to risk it. Besides, she deserves someone better."

'Hey! We're awesome!'

Dexter chuckled at Freakazoid's angry reaction. He was super confident for someone with blue skin.

"Yeah, well, I think Steff deserves more than awesome. And also, if she liked us like that, don't you think she'd have asked us out?"

Freakazoid went deathly silent, and Dexter found himself holding his breath.

'She can do that?'

"Obviously. So until then-"

'We need to seriously step up our game! Steff will never ask us out at this rate!'

"The point is, she's never asking us out, and we shouldn't either! It's not worth it."

Freakazoid huffed in frustration from inside his head and grumbled something about communication problems and the princess bride.

Dexter rolled his eyes and reached over to pick his phone back up. He looked at Steff's name for a moment, then turned off his phone and set it aside. Steff didn't need a guy like him, and she definitely didn't need to be a part of all this trouble he'd gotten mixed up in.

Dexter toyed with the thought of seeing if his computer still worked and surfing the net, but the idea of doing maintenance was exhausting. Then he remembered.

"Hey, Freak?"

'Hey is for horses!'

"Can you really go on Youtube right now?"

'Oh. Well, yeah? Wanna watch this new video of a cat looking at a motion illusion? It's so confused!'

"Haha, no thanks. I'm just curious. Just how much of the Internet do you have access to?"

'All of it'

"But like, what parts?"

'Dexter, I have access to all of it. Everything that's ever been, and everything that is. It's updating all the time, too. From the first ever string of code, to the newest update on Linda Edwards Facebook page. Haha! Oh Linda, you minx!'

"What? So you're telling me you are the Internet?!"

'Yes! No. Kind of? I'm not The Internet, I'm more like an extension with an all access pass. If I was The Internet, I'd wouldn't be Freakazoid.'

"No wonder you're so weird. How can you even think with all that going through your brain?"

'I just ignore it. It only gotten distracting when I'm trying to concentrate. Or when something really interesting happens!'

"Like what?"

"Well, so far, I've watched about 126 cat videos, watched a how-to video on how to make cinnamon rolls, and there's a raunchy new scandal between some Secret Service agent and this guy he accidentally fell in love with! Say's here they might have to send him back or just take him out. But take him where?'

"Wait wait. Secret Service? Where's that from?"

'Just around. Maybe I shouldn't snoop, but how can I not? There are so many cool secrets in here! There's this other conversation where their talking about something called a 'False Flag'?'

"Get out! Get out now! You're not supposed to look at those!"

'Say's who?'

"Says laws! You're probably looking at super secret correspondence! We could go to jail!"

'Fine. False Flag sounded boring anyway...Oh. I just looked up the definition.'

"Yeah. Try to stay away from those kinds of places from now on, okay?"

'The Internet's a scaaaaaary place.'

"Tell me about it."

Dexter closed his eyes and sighed, feeling sleep slowly descend on his conscious, he silently marveled at the impossibility of his situation. Maybe tomorrow would be better? Dexter thought about Christmas vacation, mom's ginger bread cookies, and the one day a year Duncan didn't attempt to physically harm him in any way. He also thought about Gutierrez, Roddy stuck in the Internet, and Cosgrove's advice. It honestly couldn't get any worse than today, and yet, maybe today hadn't been a total bust.

"Hey, Freakazoid. Do you need to sleep?"

'I fell asleep when you did, so probably.'

"Well, I don't know if you can tell, but I'm tired. So, Night."

'See you tomorrow! Dream something fun for me, will ya?'

Dexter yawned, pulled his blanket over himself lazily, and closed his eyes.

"I'll do my best…"

Cosgrove is a gift that needs to be protected. He's one of the best characters in Freakazoid in my opinion, so I wanted to show him being great. Feedback and reviews are always appreciated, don't be shy guys, I need this more than I need food. Also check out Xamag-Main on tumblr! Their Freakazoid art and ideas are my inspiration, and their art style is to die for!