Chapter Ten: Liking Yourself

Students enjoyed their time away from having to go to school and even more so when they ignored the home school packets provided by their instructors. It had been a little more than a week and renovations were rapidly reaching completion much to the dismay of the lot. This included Dexter Douglas.

Surprisingly enough Dexter had spent less time on his computer than he would have thought as Freakazoid encouraged him to get out of the house even if it was to visit Roddy. Lately Dexter had been easing into further involvement in understanding his alter ego because, well, it didn't seem like Freakazoid was going anywhere.

He left in the mornings for what his parents believed to be driving lessons they had signed him up for when they filled out his enrollment paperwork for the year. God, they never questioned anything. Dexter found himself starring out the window as Roddy backed out of the driveway. A strange form of contentment was on his face, which showed itself through a passive smile. Roddy saw him nod his head ever so slightly, an indication that perhaps he was having a pleasant or at least amusing conversation with Freakazoid.

It was a relieving notion that the two boys were getting along. Roddy drove on in silence and let them have their private time. His new hideout wasn't too far either way.

"You're awfully quiet Roddy", Dexter asked timidly after a few minutes.

"I dun tink this is a three way conversation, lad", he jokingly replied.

"Oh", a sheepish blush sneaked onto Dexter's face as he cracked a crooked grin. "Sorry we were just…talking about the clouds"

Now Dexter knew how silly it sounded, but he'd told Roddy the truth anyways. Even when the manly Scotsman threw him a questioningly glance he said nothing demeaning to Dexter. Instead the idea swam around his mind for a moment and then settled somewhere in the past. He'd watch the clouds in his youth as well. There wasn't anything silly about that.

"Now is the time we should treasure", his tone was soft but foreboding. "Right now we dun know what's going to happen so whatever makes the two of you happy"

Dexter found that he was smiling, for the both of them as he quietly went back to looking out the window. He wished Freakazoid could fly so they could go up there. Freakazoid agreed with Dexter.

"We're here lad"

Roddy was half way out of the car before Dexter registered the comment with a distant "What?"

"C'mon…watching clouds is fine- on yer own time. But we got work to do ya know"

"Right", Dexter fumbled with his seatbelt and scuttled after Roddy who had already disappeared around the corner of the hangar. "I'm coming, I…"

Roddy was already disappearing through a side entrance as winded Dexter caught up to him. The Scotsman smiled and joked about how out of shape the teenager was and Dexter reminded him that Freakazoid was the one with all the muscle. They both laughed about it as they headed into the main work area.

"Please lad, try not to blow the fuses this time", Roddy pleaded as he helped Dexter get comfortable in the examination chair. "It wunt easy ta move all my stuff to a new location"

"Yeah, Gutierrez was clever to start monitoring electrical surges", he paused as reminded himself of all the restrictions he faced in his own home now. "How clever and very, very oh so very annoying of him"

"Installed new circuit breakers", Roddy pointed out. "Should absorb whatever the Freak dishes out as long as it's nothing tew ridiculous"

"Hear that?"

'Loud and clear' Freakazoid chanted. 'Gotta flex my muscles softly'

Dexter smiled as he laid his head back and tried to get comfortable as Roddy began sticking little white sensors on his head. He folded his hands, closed his eyes and listened for the soothing hum of Roddy's computer. Gentle pulses washed over Dexter as the machine read his vitals.

"Okay lad, everything's stable", Roddy lowered his goggles as he gave Dexter the go ahead. "If this works you may be able to figure out how to have a little more control over Freakazoid"

Dexter nodded, inhaled a gentle breath and exhaled "Freak out"

"Hey there Roddy, that's a nice skirt you got on today", Freakazoid commented innocently; how much Roddy wasn't quite sure. "What does that thing do?"

Freakazoid tried to sit up, but Roddy was besides him in a flash gripping his shoulders to keep him steady. As gently as he could, he eased the jittery boy back to a lying position. Freakazoid smiled at his mentor with the innocence of a child as he was told to stay still.

"The more you move the less accurate the reading will be", he explained as he tip-toed backwards to his computer; once Roddy was certain Freakazoid was staying put he started the program. "Now just try n relax laddie"

The wires sent pulses to Freakazoid in a language he somehow understood. It was soothing and quickly helped aid him into a blissful slumber. He opened his eyes, finding himself lying on his red couch instead of the stiff chair Roddy had provided. Freakazoid grabbed his remote to try and watch some TV, but a voice startled him. Dropping the remote, which bounced softly on the couch Freakazoid listened for the sound to return.

It was feint, but familiar. Freakazoid stood and wandered out of the main area of the Freak-a-zone towards the mysterious sound. He found a door, just a plain old white door; a locked plain old white door. Jiggling the handle Freakazoid found it to be either locked or stuck.

"Hm", he questioned, scratching his head. "It's uh, stuck I guess"

"Took you that long to figure it out?" Dexter's voice squeaked from the other side.

"Woah!" Freakazoid sounded concerned as he reamed the door with his shoulder, trying to open it. "Huggbee! Is that you on the other side of the door?"

"Stop calling me Huggbee", Dexter muttered.

"Oh, it is you!" Freakazoid cheered as he tried using his head- to no avail -to open the door. "Ooooo…ow…ouchies…"

"Be careful over there", Dexter instructed as he tried turning the knob from his side. "Ack! It won't open!"

Dexter pulled and he pushed but the door refused to budge. It seemed that perhaps this obstruction was the factor separating their minds, keeping Freakazoid from hearing him clearly. But, opening it couldn't be impossible. There just had to be a way to get on the other side of that door.

"Maybe it's nothing physical strength can abolish" Dexter reasoned through panted breathes. "It's all mental…You know like writer's block or something"

Freakazoid made some kind of agreeing sound on the other side of the door. He reached up and felt the surface of it with his hand, searching his near endless resources for an answer. There really wasn't one for a situation like this. All the boys could do was mark the door as their problem and brainstorm a way around it.

"What's it like in there Dexter?" Freakazoid asked as he sat with his back to the door.

"Just my room, you know, empty…quiet…there are a lot of sealed boxes though", Dexter idly commented as he stared at his toes. "It's not lit well over here either. Almost dark in places", he felt Freakazoid's concern breach the barrier and tried to steer the subject away from himself. "You? What's it like on your side?"

"A couch and a TV…and a lamp", Freakazoid replied with pride.

"That's it?" Dexter questioned. "There's got to be…something else", he pressed his back to the door, turning his head over his shoulder to speak. "Are you in a room?"

"Nah, it's a wide open space…a lotta white", Freakazoid looked off into the distance to where the white began to fade to grey; he never wandered that far. "Hey Dex…"

"Yeah, Freakazoid?"

"I'm sorry I kissed Steff"

At first Dexter thought he heard him wrong, but the words quickly sunk in. As Freakazoid's apology registered Dexter wondered why now of all times and places? Freakazoid let out a sigh on the other side of the door; was he relieved? Dexter honestly hadn't been so sure Freakazoid had even realized that Dexter was upset about the whole ordeal or aware of it for that matter.

"Why do you like her so much?" Dexter meekly asked.

"Me?" Freakazoid quickly recognized how silly a question that was "The same reasons as you I guess…she's pretty and she stands up for you"

That surprised Dexter. Mostly it surprised him because Freakazoid considered how other people treated him when he decided if he liked them or not. Steff was a sweet girl, who was nice to him despite his status at school. If Freak liked her for those reason it was difficult Dexter reasoned to be angry with him. Deep down the two teens were technically the same person. The last few days, including this particular meeting had proven it to Dexter.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you"

He felt a gentle wisp of air and bumped into something slightly softer than the door. The two boys turned to face each other for the first time. They slowly stood, each on their own side of the threshold separating their minds just starring at the other. Dexter looked down at the doorframe and back up to Freakazoid. Freakazoid mirrored Dexter's movements. A crooked smile spread across their faces as they stepped forwards and embraced one another.

Their worlds were now one. Both boys felt a gentle link tug at the two of them as they pulled apart. As Dexter took in the sight of Freakazoid's meek quarters and Freak bashfully joined he felt something tickle his ankle. Out of the corner of his eye Dexter thought he caught a shadow slither by the two of them, but when he looked saw nothing. He was feeling drowsy, perhaps he had imagined it; Dexter wobbled backwards a bit. Freakazoid reached out worriedly to catch him, but was too late. Dexter hit the ground.

Dexter's eyes shot open. "Roddy?"

"Aye, lad", he carefully removed the devices from Dexter. "I suspect the merger was a success? The readings indicated a sync between yer two frequencies"

"Yeah…" Dexter whispered in a far away tone. "We did some bonding…I think this whole thing's going to work out Roddy"

"That's good ta hear laddie", he replied tenderly as he hoisted spindly Dexter out of the chair. "So…you ave an alter ego, an a slew of villains after em", Roddy smirked as he patted Dexter on the back, nearly toppling the poor boy over with the intended playful gesture. "What's the plan, eh?"

"I suppose Freak can handle whatever comes our way", Dexter smiled wistfully as Roddy pulled him into a playful noogie.

"That's the fighter's spirit!" Roddy cheered, releasing Dex and laughing heartily as he stumbled about. "Beneath those bones lies the heart of an honest man, a good man. A heroic man"

"I'm not sure heroic is the right word…" Dexter chuckled as he pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "Freak's the heroic one. I'm just the reluctantly willing vessel…like a much less intelligent Bruce Banner"

"Will yew ever give yerself credit lad?" Roddy joked with a sideways smirk.

"Maybe someday", the boy replied as he starred off into space.

"Well if you're interested in today, I have Intel that suggests Gutierrez has some activity going on in the city", he waved a paper at Dexter tauntingly. "I've got the coordinates right here and everything"

Dexter took the note and read it over once. Yeah, something was going on over there, the power being directed to that place was ridiculous. He nodded to Roddy.

"Me and Freak should check it out then. See ya Roddy", Dexter took a step back to give Roddy some distance from the transformation. "Freak out!"

Freakazoid leapt forwards and gave Roddy a bear hug before running out the door. He leapt up into the phone lines and found his way to the center of the city in no time at all. It was a pleasant afternoon, the streets filled with people bustling about while they hurried back to work from their lunch breaks. The super teen extraordinaire found it difficult to believe crime could be afoot on a day like this.

Back flipping onto a rooftop Freakazoid sought the perfect spot to simply observe the people below. Leaning over the edge of the old roof Freakazoid idly watched the normal people stroll back and forth. Dexter was thinking of a plan, a way to handle Gutierrez without revealing his identity.

…

For the next week Dexter and Freakazoid patrolled the area searching for any kind of clue Gutierrez may have left behind. Roddy had warned him that going straight to Apex industries would be the last thing the boys wanted to do so this was their only option. Somewhere in Dexter's mind he knew it was crazy to go looking for Gutierrez, but Freakazoid would remind him that Gutierrez had come looking for him once already. Neither of them wanted anybody in danger on their behalf.

One day while the boys were out on patrol Freakazoid grew irritated over a noise that rung his ears. It was a payphone. Nobody answered the darn thing, but whoever was on the other line kept calling it over and over. Freakazoid eventually grew so annoyed by it that he left his stakeout to answer it. He landed lightly besides it on the sidewalk and opened the glass door.

"Who calls a payphone?" he muttered through gritted teeth. "Jeesh! Hello!"

"Hello Freakazoid"

The voice on the other end of the line was silky sweet and admittedly made Freakazoid blush. But, he quickly realized he recognized it.

"Who is this?"

"Just a messenger, big boy", the voice cooed. "I've been waiting for you"

"And you called a payphone?" he questioned. "That's dumb"

"Don't be mean, Freakazoid", it hissed softly. "Because you want to know what I have to say", there was a slight pause and she told him "Just giving you a heads up that you'd better keep an eye on your little girlfriend"

"Girlfriend…I don't…" with Dexter's aid it dawned on him what, or rather who she was referring to. "Hey, no fair! She's a non playable character!"

"Alls fair in love and war Freakazoid", Audrey whispered harshly into the other line followed by a breathy scoff. "Gutierrez wants you to surrender yourself or else we're coming after your pretty blonde bird"

"Wait", Freakazoid had the utmost urgency laced in his tone. "Oh, I thought we were talking about Steff!"

"We are you idiot"

"Steff's a girl not a bird", Freakazoid reasoned. "And either way she has nothing to do with all this"

"She does now", Audrey chuckled.

Freakazoid clenched his fist, cracking the phone in his hand; the glass booth creaked softly. Dexter urged him to remain calm as he felt a weird pressure emanating from their body. But Freakazoid had realized how serious Audrey's allegations were; Gutierrez was threatening Steff. His and Dexter's Steff.

"If he lays even one of his old man hands on her I'll-"

"You'll what?" Audrey mocked. "For all you know he already has her"

CRUNCH

'Freak, wait-'

Dexter tried to reason but it was too late for that; Freakazoid had already made up both their minds. Freakazoid crushed the phone in his hand as the booth shattered around him. His teeth ground together as he leapt up into the wires and headed back to suburbia. Dexter did his best to keep Freakazoid calm, but truth be told he was equally as frantic which resulted in little progress being made. With both sides in turmoil it was a difficult trick to balance one another out.

…

'Freakazoid we shouldn't be here' Dexter's voice was clearer now and halted Freakazoid at the edge of her lawn. 'It could be a trap'

"She could be in danger", his voice was calmer than Dexter had expected it to be. "We're heroes Dex. It's our job to save her"

There was a moment where Dexter's presence disappeared, but soon enough returned with a more positive attitude. He knew that Freakazoid was right.

'Okay' he agreed. 'Just make sure she's okay and then we have to go home'

"Should I climb in her window?"

'No!' Dexter scolded. 'Gently toss a rock or something up there and she'll come out if she's home'

Freakazoid snuck over to Steff's window and gently tossed a rock to rap on the glass. It was getting dark now, but he just had to see if she was okay. Just when he lifted a considerably larger rock to toss the window opened. Steff peered outside curiously.

"Hey Steff!" he screamed as loud as he could to her slight dismay. "Steff! I'm sorry I haven't come by to visit you, I've been going through some stuff!" she shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "Has anyone tried to kidnap you lately?"

Steff thought about it for a moment with her finger tapping her bottom lip, but shook her head no sweetly. Freakazoid swooned over her as she gestured for him to come up to her window. He leapt and grabbed onto the ledge of her window; it was easy enough for him to climb up and into her room. It was so pink and clean.

'Wow' Dexter sighed. 'I'm in her room…well, sort of'

Freakazoid couldn't help but look her over when he noticed she was in her pajamas already; a pink tank top and flannel cupcake printed bottoms. She smiled from ear to ear as she wrapped herself around his arm and lead him to sit on her bed. Freakazoid grinned with smitten affection as she pecked him on the cheek and skipped to her vanity. He watched her through the reflection pull something out of her jewelry box.

A pair of silver charm bracelet was presented to him in her dainty hands. It was such a sweet and childish way of showing affection that it brought a thick blush to Freak's blue face. He didn't question her as she gently snapped it onto his wrist. Freakazoid was so lost in her eyes that he mistook the numb feeling in his arm for a side effect of his infatuation as she quickly placed the second one on his other wrist.

"These are neat-o" Freakazoid softly admired the craftsmanship and how heavy the material felt; he was cut off by Steff leaning forwards and pressing her lips against his. "Mft!"

'Oh just great!' Dex grumbled. 'This is the last thing I want to see'

She laced her fingers with his and pushed him back enough to toss his hands over his head. They fell on the bed as dead weight. The girl stepped back wearily, gathering a little distance between her and Freakazoid; she smiled when he tried to sit up and his hands could not be lifted. Confusion filled the teens face as he realized his arms were unbelievably heavy.

"Um…" he pulled till his face turned red but the best he could do was slide off the bed to the floor; his arms were so heavy he had to struggle to lift them as he stood. "Steff? What…uh, exactly are these tokens of affection made of?"

Steff pulled out a small remote with a dial and pressed a button. The bracelets suddenly connected by a wave of pure negatively charged energy. Freakazoid recognized the beam for what it was and tried in utter desperation to get away, swinging his arms about to no avail. He bumped into Steff's desk and sent papers scattering all over the floor.

'Freakazoid?' Dexter questioned worriedly. 'What's wrong with you?'

"Get it off me!" he tried to break it apart, slip free, do something, anything. But for all his strength was powerless against the negatively charged material. "Dexter…" Freakazoid took a knee as Steff turned the dial up a few notches. "Dexter…it…"

A sharp intake of breath left Freakazoid as the girl of his affections pulled out a gun. He was perspiring as she held it without regret or reserve; but the reason for this he realized was because she was not Steff.

"I can tell you figured it out", Deadpan said flatly as she reached up and reformed her true face. "A shame it took you so long Freakazoid"

She shot him in the shoulder first, but he when he didn't go down she shot him again. And gain. And again. It took five elephant tranquilizers in all to reduce the strong willed hero to a toppling mass of blue, accompanied with the aid of the disguised negatively charged graphite handcuffs.

The blue teen hit the floor unconscious and barely breathing. Deadpan pressed the heel of her foot to his shoulder so he'd roll onto his back. She had expected him to change and reveal his secret identity, but no such luck occurred. Perhaps it was because the drugs affected both halves.

Inside the head of Dexter Douglas both teens fell in the darkness, spiraling downward. There was no room, no Freak-a-lair; they fell and kept falling till the grey grew darker and the consciousness of Dexter and Freakazoid landed in the darkest part of themselves.