Laura: WOW! I did NOT expect to pick this back up at all! =D But then ApritelloForever asked nicely for another chapter and after some hemming and hawing, I managed to cobble something together. I couldn't make it a perfectly happy ending, but I hope whoever reads this, enjoys it.
That day felt like it had dragged on an eternity for Dr. Two-Brains. He hadn't bothered with any cheese schemes, nor was he working on any inventions. Instead he was found at the library for most of the day, looking through books. Surrounded by them. Feeling like they would topple down and destroy his very being if he couldn't find an answer to this problem.
Late into the day and even at night, checking out what he wanted, he was still hunched over his table, reading away, studying, trying desperately to find a way to stop all this madness from slipping by him. his henchmen, ever confused by the unusually relaxed day, uneasily approached him.
"So... Um... How's it going, Boss?"
"Mm-hmm..." Two-Brains hummed.
"... Been finding a new way to steal cheese?"
"... No."
"Oh.. Um.. Aren't you worried about..someone getting mad about that?"
"Henchmen while I appreciate your concern about me, neither the mouse-brain nor I want to look for cheese. This is a cheese-less day. That's why you create a stock-pile.", he demonstrated, taking a slice of Swiss from the plate beside him and nibbling on it. "I've got bigger concerns than a few pieces of Gorgonzola. The cheese in this city's not going anywhere and it's not like there are other mouse-themed villains."
"Oh." Was the simple reply. "...Well then... What... have you been doing?"
Two-Brains sighed and rubbed his eyes. They were going to be persistent. He looked back up at them.
"... I've been studying the brain, mostly. Something I haven't picked up since..before 'Two-Brains' existed." He explained. "Here, maybe explaining it to you two will help. Here's what I've learned so far."
He got up, stretched, and then headed to the chalkboard. The henchmen sat down in their usual spaces on the couch. Two-Brains quickly began scribbling and drawing.
"Now a brain is a very adaptable and insightful organ in the body. The most important in any living creature." He began his lecture. "My brain, specifically, didn't always belong to a 'Dr. Two-Brains'. It was originally owned by a man named 'Prof. Steven Boxleitner'. Boxleitner wanted to understand how rodents thought and what they were capable of. So he attached himself to a machine with a mouse named Squeaky. A rather evil rodent who wanted something more than simply being fed cheese for completing a maze. As their minds melded together, a new identity was formed. Me. Making this a three-way conscious control over one body. It's not too different from say, a person with a split-personality disorder."
Two-Brains drew a brain and small figures representing him, Boxleitner, and Squeaky. The henchmen glanced at each other, confused by what this meant. Two-Brains continued on.
"However as opposed to a lot of multiple personality disorder cases, we're all aware of who's in control and who isn't. I can talk to them at leisure and they can do the same. Mostly so Squeaky could tell me when I need to get more cheese. Cause while he may have control over our actions, he can't control the body. His brain is only capable of controlling it like a mouse, something you don't need for a 5-foot-9 human. That's where I come in. I can tap into not only the motor functions of the body, but also access Steven's memories and intelligence so I can keep building my marvelous inventions. So normally around the clock it's me or me and Squeaky. Where's Steven? His consciousness is pushed back into the recess of the mind."
He draws himself in the center of the brain with Squeaky leaning down to tell him things, and Steven falling out of the brain.
"He's supposed to be nothing more than a bad dream hiding in my subconscious. Someplace where I don't have to listen to him. He doesn't have any control. And he can't gain any control. But sadly he has.", Two-Brains frowned as he kept scribbling notes. "Somehow, through the subconscious, he was able to start controlling my dreams. While Squeaky and I sleep, our mental awareness shuts down and he's able to...step into control, you could say. He's been able to move and speak, and more importantly work. As long as Squeaky and I feel like we're still sleeping, with pleasant dreams of cheese he's manifested with his imagination, Steven is in control. The biggest problem with that is that he's looking to defuse Squeaky from his mind completely. To remove the mouse-brain. But that's not the worst part."
"What is?"
Two-Brains was quiet for a moment, feeling dread. He looked at the floor, an existential feeling coming over him.
"...If he succeeds.. I'll stop existing.", he said solemnly. "I don't have a physical body. I don't even really have that much of a consciousness. I...barely exist as a second personality by most standards. I'm more like..an imaginary friend..when I think about it. If something happens to the mouse-brain that's it. I'm gone. ...I don't even get to die. I just... disappear."
He looked back and his henchmen stared at him in slight horror.
"I mean.. If Boxleitner really wanted, I could still stick around but...without Squeaky I wouldn't have that drive for chaos and cheese. I would just.. I wouldn't be me. But I know what he wants and if he could, he would just make me disappear entirely, but I depend too much on the mouse brain. So he would have to get rid of us both. Sure, he'll probably still have the physical features of a mouse. The buck teeth, the whiskers, the white hair. But...", Two-Brains looked back at the ground and leaned against his chalkboard. "...the kicker is that I don't know what to do to stop this.. He's getting stronger every night.. But it's physically impossible for me to stay awake 24/7."
"...A...are you serious? Boss?"
"...Yeah."
"You'll just.."
The henchman snapped his fingers.
"Yup. Just like that."
"But... But we wouldn't want you to go.", he said sadly. Charlie nodded quickly, tears coming up.
"Trust me, I don't want to either.", Two-Brains shrugged, looking sad, hurt. ...Even a little scared. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Imagine my perspective. I'm..practically nothing. I'm surprised I've had control for this long. And now I'm..practically terminal...and for once...I don't know what to do."
"...do you think he could really do that?"
"...I don't know. It seems likely." Two-Brains glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already getting really late. Time was running out. "...Of course..no one's had to deal with this before.. so it's not like I can look for any answers. But I can't seem to think up of any of my own.. I've been stuck on this...all day."
"Well.. Well can't you talk to him?"
Two-Brains simply sighed and shook his head.
"Can you talk to someone who hates the fact that you exist? No. I don't think he'd listen to me.", Two-Brains explained.
The henchmen started to worry and looked at each other with panic.
"Y.. You can't just..!", the one stammered, trying to think. "Y-you can't just..put him to sleep? Or...something?"
"Of course I can't! What do you think I've been trying to do?", Two-Brains groaned. "It's not like I can just put all three of us und-"
Suddenly the light bulb flashed through his mind. His face calm and blank as he stared off in the distance. His mind instantly whirled thoughts and images together. His henchmen stared, curious of what was going through his mind.
"...Boss?"
"...MOTHER FU-!" Two-brains suddenly shouted before running a hand down his face with a groan.
"Alright.. Alright, okay, okay. Fine." He quickly flipped the chalkboard over and began scribbling away.
"Boss?", his henchman repeated, a little hopeful. "Did you think of something?"
"Henchmen, if this goes through remind me to do something nice for you.", Two-Brains quickly said as he continued to scribble. "Cause I think.. I might just be a geniu- OW!"
He cringed and held the side of his head, the side where the mouse-brain wasn't attached. He doubled over as a painful migraine swept through him.
'DON'T YOU DARE!', Steven shouted at him. 'YOU CAN'T DO THAT TO ME!'
"Shut up.. SHUT UP!", Two-brains slammed his fist on the chalkboard. "Y-you shouldn't even- I'm not asleep!"
'That doesn't keep me from being aware of what's going on!', Steven growled. 'And I can't let you go through with this!'
"Just tr-try to stop me...", Two-Brains challenged and he kept scribbling and writing, trying desperately to hold onto his idea. His creation. "H-henchmen, I n-need you."
"What is it boss? Is it him? Are you okay?"
"SHUT UP.", Two-Brains hissed. He grimaced and held his head again in pain. "J-Just.. Run to the store. G-grab as many sleeping pills as you c-can. Go, go, go!"
Without wasting another second, they took off, leaving Two-Brains to struggle with a massive migraine that embodied Steven's fury as Steven and Squeaky fought for power. Ironically, some of this brought unpleasant flashbacks to Two-Brains' his first few days of existing. Still, he managed to wobble his way through the lair and start to work on his creation. He only prayed it would work.
By the time the henchmen came back, the lights were dimmed down low and Two-Brains was sitting on the floor, a half-finished helmet in his lap.
"Boss! We've got what you asked for. But-"
"Yeah yeah yeah, bring it here.", Two-Brains said impatiently. "A-And try to keep it down. It- gah..", he clutched his head sorely and tried not to black out. "It hurts.."
"S-Sorry Boss.", they quickly brought an armload of medicine over and sat it down next to the scientist.
Two-Brains quickly picked through the boxes and with some twitching due to the throbbing pain in his head, he managed to find what he was looking for. He held up the box. "Th-This. Take out the pi-gah..-p-pills and g-grind them up in that special bowl I have in the ki-ow..kitchen. A-ALL of the pills. Got it?"
"Right Boss." They hurried and started working while Two-Brains kept working on the machine.
When the henchmen finished, Two-Brains directed them to cook it into a fluid substance. Then to fill a beaker with it and bring it to him.
Two-Brains quickly finished the helmet and sat it on the table. He wobbled a little, even while leaning on the table, his migraine only worsening. His hands shook as he tried to explain.
"Th-This will do it. It- oohh..", he groaned and rubbed his eyes. "I-It induces something like a coma.. S-S-So no one can re-ah!-r-resurface until morning.. Th-That's when I need you two to f-find my smelliest cheese and bring it to me.. The-The smell of cheese should help snap me out of it."
"Boss... You sure this is gonna work?"
"I.." Two-Brains felt a wave of nausea come over him and he groaned and held his stomach with another hand. Darkness was creeping in on him and he hadto shake his head, trying to clear it and stay within power. "Ohhh.. I-I don't have a lot of options! St-Steven is t-t-too st-strong now.. H-he's much too strong.. If this doesn't work..", he paused to look a them both, pained but also...scared. "..it was..great working with you two... You're..you're really great henchmen..and I've a-always appreciated you."
"Aw, Boss...", the henchmen looked back sadly.
Two-Brains looked down at the helmet and tried to steady himself with a deep breath.
"Alright.. Here we go.."
He picked it up and headed to his bedroom, but the migraine and nausea caused him to wobble and the helmet slipped from his hands.
Time seemed to slow to almost a halt as it fell to the floor.
Until Charlie caught it.
At the last moment, he dove for the helmet and saved it from smashing. Two-Brains would've breathed a sigh of relief, had he not stumbled back to lean on the table, head hurting, vision swirling, and feeling weak and sick.
Suddenly he felt the other henchmen help him stand up and the two of them brought him to his bedroom and laid him down. They placed the helmet on his head and Two-Brains sighed and looked back at them.
"Well...here's hoping...", he said before pressing the button and activating the machine.
The henchman spoke something, but his voice was quickly growing more distant and echoed as the world around him became dark. Before he knew it, he was out. He had gone down and under into a deep, deep, sleep.
The start of a dream is always the weirdest because it never actually starts. It just..comes in the middle of things like it's another normal day.
This was no different.
"...an't wake up! Wh-what did you do?!", as Two-Brains came to, he realized Steven was screaming at him, before being jerked up by the lapels of his coat. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME THIS TIME?!"
Two-Brains grabbed his hands and shoved them off, scowling back. "What I had to! You were going to get rid of me! I happen to like existing!"
"OH HO HO HO! YOU wanna exist?! WELCOME TO MY WORLD!", Steven shouted back, red with fury.
"Whatever you DID to us, I can't conjure dreams! I can't tap the REM! I can't do anything!"
"NO.. YOU CAN'T..", Two-Brains growled back. "I made sure of that. You can try all you want now, Boxleitner, but so long as we have that helmet, I'm gonna keep you down here where you belong." he jerked him back by the bow-tie, choking the other. "Cause if it's gonna come down to you or me, you better believe it's gonna be ME."
"You don't even truly exist.", Steven spat back.
Even though it was only a dream-like reality, even though it wouldn't do any actual good, even though it was perfectly illogical and Two-Brains would honestly have no business to do so, he still reeled back and clobbered Boxleitner in the face.
But Boxleitner didn't pull back either and sent his own fist flying. They began to fight each other, with nothing but hatred to fuel them. Throwing fists, shoving, pulling, choking. All reasoning lost, as rage guided them. For how long they fought, no one was sure, but at some point, Two-Brains had a strong enough grip on him that Boxleitner was unable to do much else but struggle underneath him.
"JUST GIVE IT UP!", he yelled at the other half of him. "No matter what you do, no matter what you try, I'll always make sure you don't come back! You won't get that life back again! And now that I know that the helmet works, I'm gonna use it, EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. I will KEEP you here forever! And fighting me isn't gonna magically make everything better! You're. NEVER. Going to win."
Steven stared back at him, the mirror of his own anger.
"...You know I'll keep trying."
"Yeah. Now who's insane?"
"This was MY body! It was MY life!"
"And you'll never get that back even if you WERE in control. You've lost it all! Everyone will only view you as a criminal. Your own FAMILY'S given up on you, I made sure of that!"
Steven scowled at him, full of hatred and spite. But that didn't stop the tears from trickling down. His struggling slowed to a stop as the truth of the matter sank in. Without being destroyed..Boxleitner had disappeared from the lives of many. His friends, his family... He almost didn't matter any more. He didn't have..anyone.
...He almost didn't have anyone.
He thought back to Wordgirl. She knew he was still in here. She knew he wasn't done for good, and she had hope. But, what good does that do if he's always kept on such a tight leash now? There had to be something though. Some way to still keep his memory and her faith in him alive. So at the very least, whatever may come, he could have that.
"..You...You're...right..", he said haltingly, feeling defeated. "...I think..the only person who still has any sort of faith in me..is Wordgirl.."
Steven looked back at his reflection, still scowling at him fiercely. He knew he wasn't going to win, but he could still have one small victory.
"Two-Brains.. This comatose state isn't healthy for either of us.. We both know that."
"If it means keeping you down.."
"Two-Brains, first of all, forcing us into a coma risks us actually getting STUCK in said coma and you know that! Secondly, I'll stop struggling for power again, I swear, but I only ask for one favor."
Two-Brains looked at him for a hard long moment. "...What's the favor?"
"...I just...want a proper good-bye to Wordgirl. At least let me have that. I don't have anyone else..", Steven sighed. "...If this is going to be my fate..then I just want to say good bye.."
There was a long pause as Two-Brains, and by extension Squeaky, thought this through.
"...And what's gonna stop you from breaking the helmet? Or doing something to us?"
"...you. Your henchmen.", Steven honestly replied with a small shrug. "Come on.. You're not that dumb. You've got some of my brains."
He gave a small smile at the joke, to which Two-Brains simply rolled his eyes in disappointment.
"...I'll..have to think about it.", Two-Brains answered, reluctantly.
Morning came, just the same. And as predicted, it wasn't easy waking up. Just one smelly piece of cheese, wouldn't do. It had to be enough to make a whole wheel in order to jostle Two-Brains awake.
"Boss! You're okay!", the henchmen were excited but they suddenly stopped and looked dubious. "I mean...if..you are..our boss?"
"Yeah, henchmen. Good work.", Two-Brains sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He started to yawn, but it turned into a squeak as he was suddenly scooped up and hugged far too tightly by his relieved associates.
After some disentanglement and proper instructions to his henchmen, in case if something goes wrong, Two-Brains prepared himself to find Wordgirl. The sooner this was settled, the sooner Boxleitner could be permanently put to bed.
Becky was in school, on her way to lunch. Her, Violet, and Scoops were busy talking about this week's assignment in class when suddenly she stopped in her tracks, a distracted but concentrated expression coming over her. Violet and Scoops noticed and glanced at each other.
"Becky?", Violet asked softly. "Everything okay?"
"You need to um..", Scoops nodded to gesture her leaving. "...take care of something?"
Becky thought for a moment. She had heard Two-Brains calling out, asking for her to meet with him. She remembered the other day. The pure hatred in his eyes. The loss of her friend, and possibly the only other person who could really understand what she goes through as a super hero. Her expression became cold and she marched away quickly, as if she was walking away from Two-Brains.
"No, it's fine.", she grumbled. "It's nothing."
Her friends became more worried, but decided not to press the matter, not wanting to upset her further. But despite the lack of appearance, Two-Brains was undeterred. All day in school, Becky kept hearing him call, again and again. Making empty threats, and promises she knew he wouldn't keep. Anything to lure her out again and hurt her. But she wasn't the only one who was frustrated. Her stubborn attitude had been getting to Two-Brains as well.
"Of course, I had to burn that bridge yesterday..", he grumbled to himself. "Where could she even be? I hadn't seen her in the sky at all today.."
"Boss, you sure she can hear you?", his henchman asked.
"Oh I KNOW she's hearing me. She's just mad cause of yesterday..", Two-Brains rolled his eyes before griping to himself. "What is she anyway..my ex? Just rather avoid talking to me at all?"
'Maybe there's a good reason she won't listen to you..', Boxleitner whispered in his mind.
"Yeah? Well maybe there's a good reason I'm still keeping you under lock and key.", Two-Brains grumbled.
'Mr. Two-Brains..', Steven sighed.
"DOCTOR.", Two-Brains argued aloud, confusing his henchmen a little, till they assumed he was talking to himself again.
'Mmm..', was the only reply, sounding for all intents and purposes as though he would like to argue but decided to overlook it this time. '...She's only a child. She may be incredibly intelligent, powerful, and morally mature and good, but she won't come running to someone who's burned her already. That's just common sense. And she knows you well enough by now to call out your bluffs on stealing the grocery. In fact, I wouldn't even be surprised if she know exactly where you were based on where she can hear your voice coming from.'
"...What are you suggesting?"
'Simply that you're going no where fast. She won't come unless she knows who really wants to talk to her.'
"You're not getting out..", Two-Brains growled.
The henchmen glanced at each other.
'Two-Brains be rational.', Steven argued. 'Who else would she listen to at this point?'
The was a pause. A long, quiet pause. The henchmen looked at Two-Brains, and then glanced at one another again. Charlie raised an eyebrow, getting a serious nod from his coworker.
"Wordgirl..", Two-Brains spoke again, nearly making the other two jump out of their skin. His speech was a little different from the norm. It was calm, almost methodical. It was weird. Very weird, for Two-Brains. "You don't have to be mad. It's me.. It's... Boxleitner."
Becky, who was in art class at the time, gasped softly, hearing the man. Her eyes widen, her brush stilled.
Bob squeaked beside her, wondering if she was okay.
"..Bob, quiet a moment..", Becky sat down her brush and listened carefully.
"Becky? Is everything okay?", her teacher asked.
Becky didn't listen. She was preoccupied. Suddenly her eyes grew huge and before waiting for permission, before bothering to think about her actions, she raced out of the class room, surprising all her class mates. She raced down the hallway only mildly concerned with other students. No one was nearby so she took the opportunity to leap out the window, transforming into Wordgirl and soaring through the sky to Two-Brains' hideout.
"No no no no, wait wait wait! It- Two-Brains said I could-!", Boxleitner was in a panic, trying to wrestle off one henchman while the other was grabbing the helmet. "I'm not trying to take over!"
"But the boss said we shouldn't let you-"
Suddenly there was a loud crash and Wordgirl dropped straight through, breaking them up. She scowled up at the henchmen, terrifying them a little.
"W-Wordgirl! U-Um..!", the henchman started scrambling backwards, on the floor, trying to get away from her.
Before Charlie could say anything a piece of rubble fell from the ceiling. Wordgirl caught it in time and crushed it into dust in one tight fist, intimidating the henchmen even more, and causing them to back off.
"Wordgirl!", Steven called out, drawing her attention away from the others. "Thank goodness you came."
She turned around to face him, rage displaced for worry.
"...Doc...Doctor..Boxleitner?", she said, a little unsure.
Steven simply smiled, that warm, gentle smile she knew so well.
"Yes, Wordgirl, it's me.", he reassured.
Before she could move, Boxleitner came over, knelt down, and hugged her. Wordgirl teared up a little and hugged back.
"I-I thought you were- I thought you couldn't-"
"Wordgirl, you need to listen to me.", Boxleitner quickly spoke over her, keeping his voice low from the henchmen. "I made a deal with Two-Brains. He was going to force all three of us into a coma if I kept persisting on controlling the body. I couldn't let him practically kill us like that, so I promised I would have one last conversation with you before...going away."
There was a pause. He could feel the small child tense up in panic. Steven simply sighed sadly.
"Yes... I'm willingly giving up. But before I go, I wanted to say good-bye.", he explained. "..I wanted to tell you how proud I was, helping you stop crime back in the day. ..How proud I was seeing what a marvelous super hero you were becoming."
Wordgirl started to tear up. She didn't want to say good-bye. She just got him back. They had been friends for..years. And she had hoped for so long that she saw some traces of him in Two-Brains. That somewhere deep down in some subtle actions or tiny details, he was there still. Still reaching out to her. But now she had gotten so close to getting him back. They were so close to going back to the way it was. She didn't... She couldn't...
"You know..I've known you since you were little...", Steven said, bitter sweetly. "...I've helped you discover your powers, help you hone them to use them for good. I was watching you grow up into something amazing.. I...feel a little silly for saying this but...I almost felt like a father to you."
Wordgirl started to softly sob. She didn't often cry, but in truth he wasn't the only one who felt a familial connection. He was the only person, for years, who knew her super-hero side, her real side, better than anyone. Someone she can talk and confide in, in ways she couldn't with friends or family. She felt like there were a million things she wish she could say to him, or a million things she should've done before this, a million things she would want to do...but all of it didn't matter. None of it mattered because this was one last good-bye, and then the end.
"I don't want you to go..", she managed to say, suddenly finding it hard to get her voice out as she started crying.
"I don't want to go either..", Steven agreed, hugging her tightly. "Wordgirl, I want to ask you do something for me, before I go."
"What? Anything. I'll do anything."
There a quiet pause. Steven took a deep breath, steadying himself for what would no doubt be a painful experience.
"... I want you... to eventually, by whatever means you can, some day... free me."
With that, the game was on, and Two-Brains and Squeaky immediately began to interfere. Steven cried out from the sudden pain in his head and he pulled back to hunch over, holding his head tightly.
"Prof. Boxleitner!", Wordgirl gasped. "What is it? Is it Two-Brains?"
"W-Wordgirl...", Steven stammered before clinging to her shoulders, a look of desperation on his face.
"Wordgirl, please don't forget me! I'll come back some day. Please. Don't forget me! I-"
His eyes suddenly went unfocused. It was as if he had suddenly frozen in time. Wordgirl cried, trying to shake him and bring him back, but she was so far away in his mind already. It was all over.
When things came swimming back to him, Two-Brains was on the floor, only moments after the cry for help. A dull headache pulsed through his head. He recognized he was staring at a pair of bright red boots. Of course, he knew immediately what that meant, while his bearings were coming back to him.
He coughed a little and picked himself up to look at Wordgirl's worried and tear-stained face. He frowned instantly. He hated seeing her care so much for that man.
"...Sorry. Prof. Goody-Two-Shoes can't come to the phone anymore.", he clarified for her.
Wordgirl frowned back but she didn't lash out. She didn't get angry with him. She was just..hurt. And Two-Brains deeply loathed how it made him feel hurt deep down too. He stood back up and dusted himself off.
"Alright.. You two have had your chat.. You can go back to your life, Wordgirl.", he dismissed and turned to walk back to his henchmen.
"I'm going to stop you.", she swore, causing Two-Brains to look back at her now determined face. She floated up, making her leave. "I'm going to find some way to bring Steven Boxleitner back. And you won't stop us."
Two-Brains leered back.
"Try all you want, Wordgirl. But I'm not gonna go down that easily."
She took off into the sky, with nothing more than a memory of a man to go on.
-Epilogue-
For a while, things had settled back into the normal routine for Wordgirl and Dr. Two-Brains. They would have their fights and good would always win. While other villains came, gone, and grew up, he and her had always remained the same. Two-Brains just didn't feel right moving out to other cities. Wordgirl always stuck around to keep an eye on him, as well as other things.
Wordgirl grew up just the same though and applied herself hard in college. Eventually one day, she would fulfill the promise she made years ago, and get her old friend back. Some day, she would find a means of bringing Steven Boxleitner back.
