Fluey stirred, and began waking up. It was practically pitch black outside now, which made him wonder how long he had been out cold.
"Ooohhh . . . ." he groaned.
"Almost there, buddy," Jake said from the front seat. "You all right back there?"
"Uh huh . . . ." Fluey mumbled.
Truthfully, Fluey felt groggy, and sick to his stomach. His head was pounding, and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep that cheeseburger down. Jake glanced in his rear-view mirror at Fluey. He could tell the dark-haired teenager wasn't feeling so good, and he wondered how long he'd be able to hold out. He decided not to risk it. He didn't want to be spending too much time cleaning out the back of his van. He stopped the van, crawled over to the back, used a knife to cut the tape around Fluey's ankles, and unlocked one of the cuffs. To make sure Fluey didn't try to make a run for it, he handcuffed the dark-haired Impossible's hands behind his back, and guided him out the back doors of the van. Once outside, Fluey couldn't hold out any longer, and immediately began bringing up the contents of his stomach.
"Probably just a side effect from that sleeping pill," Jake said, as he watched.
Fluey didn't respond. He just coughed, gagged, and continued throwing up for at least five minutes. By the time he was finished, he felt like he was going to pass out.
"Got it all out of your system?" Jake asked.
"Yeah . . . ." Fluey said, nodding.
"Okay," Jake said. He then picked up his captive, and carried him back inside the van. Once he put Fluey down, he grabbed an old towel, and spread it across the floor.
"If you feel like you're gonna throw up again, try to do it on the towel," he said. "We're almost home, anyway."
"Okay . . . ." Fluey said, a bit drowsily. Then he yawned, and fell into a deep sleep.
Fluey woke up again several hours later. By now, it was just about sunrise.
"Oooohhhh . . . . ." he moaned, as he rolled over onto his back. "My aching head!"
Fluey moaned, and put his hand to his forehead, trying to ease his headache. It was then he noticed his hands were no longer restrained. He also noticed he wasn't in Jake's van anymore. He was laying on an old mattress in some kind of room. Probably a room meant for a baby or a toddler, considering the old, dingy wallpaper featured several nursery rhyme characters, done in 1950's "cutesy" style. The floor was carpeted, but threadbare. In the dim light, he couldn't tell if it was white, or gray, or if it used to be white and was now gray due to years of neglect. There were two windows in the room, but both of them had bars on them, like a prison cell. Not that it surprised Fluey. He figured Jake wouldn't just drop him in a room unrestrained, even if he was unconscious. Fluey stood up, and tried to walk around a little, but he didn't get very far when he felt something pull his leg, causing him to trip and fall to the floor.
CRASH!
"Aaahh!" he shouted once he landed. "What the . . . . ."
When Fluey sat up, he noticed he was restrained, after all. There was a metal cuff around his left ankle, which was attached to a chain, and the chain was attached to one of the bars on the window with a solid steel lock.
"Rats," he said. He managed to stand up, and went back to the mattress. He didn't know what else he could do. As he was laying there, he heard someone fiddling with a latch on the other side of the door. Shortly afterward, it opened, and Jake walked into the room.
"Good morning, sunshine," he said.
Oh brother, Fluey thought.
"How are we feeling this morning?" Jake asked, in that annoying condescending tone.
"Okay, I guess," Fluey said.
"Good," Jake said. "Good, good, good."
Jake walked over to the window, and pulled the chain a bit, making sure it was secure. Then he kneeled next to the mattress, and pulled Fluey into a sitting position, holding the teenager's hand in his own. Fluey began to get nervous.
"Now, there's no cause for alarm," Jake said, as he sat down on the mattress next to Fluey. "Everything's going to be fine. Just relax . . . ."
Fluey found he couldn't relax, not with Jake this close to him. Jake put his arm around Fluey's shoulders, and began stroking his hair with his other hand. He was running his fingers through it again. Fluey squeezed his eyes shut.
Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop! he wanted to shout. But for some reason, he felt like he couldn't. His jaw was suddenly frozen.
Jake snickered, and began to push Fluey into a laying position on the mattress.
"Let's play a little game, Franky," he said, unbuttoning Fluey's jacket. "And I know you'll like it. I know you will. Little heart-throb like you . . . . I know you've done this before."
"Done what before?" Fluey asked, as he started to sit up, but Jake pushed him down.
"You'll see," Jake said with a smirk. He snickered again, and began loosening his belt.
Holy Mesopotamia . . . . . Fluey thought, and he practically began sweating bullets. He had to do something, and fast.
"No!" he shouted, giving Jake a good, hard kick in the groin.
Jake groaned, but he tried to go at Fluey again. Fluey gave him another kick. And this time, he kept right on kicking at him. He managed to sit up, and he began hitting at him as well. Jake grabbed him by the arms, and tried to force Fluey down, but Fluey kept right on kicking and hitting. He also managed to grab hold of Jake's hair and he began pulling and scratching at his face.
"Hold still, you little . . . ." Jake growled.
"No!" Fluey yelled, putting up quite a fight. "Let go of me! Don't touch me!"
"Franky . . . . ." Jake said, in a warning tone of voice. "If you don't shut up, I'm gonna . . . . ."
"HELP!" Fluey screamed at the top of his voice. "Somebody please help me!"
Jake couldn't handle this anymore. He punched Fluey across the mouth, and slammed him against the wall, as hard as he could. Though a bit dazed, Fluey continued to fight him off.
"Somebody help!" he yelled.
"That ain't gonna do you no good, pal!" Jake shouted. "Nobody's gonna hear you!"
"Let go of me! Let go of me!" Fluey yelled, grabbing, kicking, and making a general nuisance of himself. "Someone please! HELP!"
Jake finally had enough. He threw Fluey to the floor as hard as he could. Then he took off his belt. Fluey got ready to fight him off again, but Jake took the belt, and began hitting Fluey with it, as hard as he possibly could.
"Maybe this'll teach you to behave!" he yelled as he struck.
Fluey tried hard not to scream, but it didn't work out so well. He finally began yelling in pain. And even then, Jake wouldn't let up. Finally, he stopped, and put his belt back on. Then he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He was no longer in the mood to "play," much to Fluey's relief. Fluey crawled over onto the mattress, breathing heavily. He was exhausted, and felt a little sick to his stomach again.
Back in Megatropolis, Big D was sitting at his desk, chewing on the stem of his pipe, and going through some criminal dossiers, somewhat aimlessly. He and Phyllis spent practically the entire night before answering phone calls from neighbors and friends who saw the story on the news. After a few minutes of looking at the files, he pushed the button on his intercom.
"Phyllis, please send Critch up here," he said. "I need to speak with her, and the boys."
"Yes, chief," Phyllis said.
While Phyllis went to the communications office, Big D tuned his desk console to Coiley's guitar.
"What's up, Big D?" Coiley asked, once he appeared on the screen.
"I want you and Agent Multi in my office ASAP," he said. "I need to speak with both of you, and Critch, for that matter."
"Yes sir!" both Coiley and Multi shouted.
The minute Big D signed off, there was a knock on his office door.
"Come in," he said. The door opened, and Danalleah walked in, slightly nervous.
"You wanted to see me, Big D?" she asked.
"I did," Big D replied, gesturing toward the couch in the office. "Have a seat. Coil and Multi should be here within fifteen minutes."
Danalleah sat down on the couch, and folded her hands in her lap. She couldn't help it, but she always found herself to be extremely nervous whenever she was around the chief by herself. She figured it was because she knew Big D didn't particularly like her, and he didn't necessarily approve of her relationship with Fluey, all because her mother was a criminal.
"Anything new in the mail room?" Big D asked.
"No, sir," Danalleah said. "I mean, nothing that constitutes as a ransom note, if that's what you mean. But we're looking. We're going through the incoming mail with the proverbial fine tooth comb."
"Good," Big D answered.
After a few minutes, Multi, Coiley, and Skittles entered Big D's office. Skittles barked, and jumped over to Danalleah's lap, to give her a greeting. Danalleah then stood up, and walked toward the chief's desk.
"So what do you want to see us for, chief?" Coiley asked.
"I've been thinking," Big D said. "Considering there wasn't that much of a gap between Billy Bradley's disappearance and Fluid's disappearance, I began to wonder if they were related. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I don't want to rule out any possible detail. I want you three to do something for me."
"Anything, Big D," Danalleah said.
"I want you boys to head toward State Prison and talk to the Spinner, Televisitron, and Mr. Instant," Big D continued. "Critch, I need you to head to the city pound and speak with your mother. As far as I know, those are the only criminals you Impossibles have dealt with that know Fluid is my grandson."
"Oh, I completely forgot about that!" Danalleah shouted.
"Yeah, that's right," Multi said. "The Shadow found out, and busted them out of prison. He must have told them . . . ."
"Exactly," Big D said. "I want you three to find out if they told anyone while they were incarcerated."
"Right, chief!" Coiley shouted. He, Multi, Danalleah, and Skittles saluted, and then left the office.
Danalleah went to the city pound almost immediately. Once there, she went into a room filled with cats. In one of the cages, she found her mother, Cronella Critch, the Tricky Witch, or rather, witch-turned-cat.
"Hello, Mother," Danalleah said.
"Hmph," Cronella groaned. "What is it now, Danalleah?"
"Well, we were wondering something down at headquarters," she said. "Remember the Shadow incident?"
"Yes," Cronella said. "I remember. What about it?"
"Did the Shadow tell you anything about . . . ."
"Yes, he told us your boyfriend is the grandson of the chief. Why?"
"Well, did you tell anyone that?"
"Now who would I tell, girlie? I'm in a room full of cats for crying out loud! Don't you have any brains, Danalleah? Or did you bleach the last of them the last time you did your hair?"
"Right, Mother. Sorry. I wasn't thinking."
"So what else is new?"
Danalleah immediately left, without another word. She was used to Cronella insulting her.
While Big D was waiting to hear from Danalleah and the boys, his intercom buzzed.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Chief, Mayor Whimbelldon is here to see you," Phyllis said.
"Send him in," Big D said, with an exasperated sigh. He knew the outcome of this was not going to be good.
Moments later, the mayor of Megatropolis, Wendell Whimbelldon (or as a good chunk of the city called him, "Mayor Wimpy"), came into the office, and it would appear he was a bit nervous about something.
"I saw the news last night," he said. "Terrible, terrible news! Simply awful! Dreadful, dreadful!"
"You're telling me," Big D mumbled under his breath.
"A thing like this could just positively taint our fair city for life, do you realize that?" the mayor went on. "How would it look to the tourists if they knew Megatropolis was over run with crime?"
"I wouldn't say we were overrun with crime, mayor," Big D said. "The boys were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Well, something must be done about it! And I intend to do something!"
"What did you have in mind, Mr. Mayor?"
"I'm passing a new law to make the city streets a safer place for our fair city's children!"
"New laws?"
"Of course, of course, of course! I have a copy of them right here. I'm going all around our fair city, giving these new laws to all of the city's law enforcement agencies . . . . . I figure I'd start here, since this agency is the city's largest law enforcement agency . . . . ."
"We're more of a government agency, Mr. Mayor. I get my orders from Washington, sir."
"Well, now you're getting orders from me! Since you work in my fair city of course . . . ."
Big D sighed. It was pointless to argue with the mayor. Nobody could ever get anywhere arguing with him. He just looked at the new laws the mayor was passing, and he couldn't believe what he was reading. The laws including instigating eight o'clock curfews for anyone under the age of twenty-one, teenagers were no longer permitted to take part time jobs after school, little league teams and scout troops were forced to disband, and some other items.
"Are you mad?" Big D asked. "These laws are downright ridiculous!"
"I've done my research," the mayor said. "I'm also having the arcade in the mall closed, and all male teachers at the schools suspended. Do you realize that many teachers become romantically involved with their students?"
"Yes, I'm aware of that," Big D said, trying to keep his temper. "But, as the saying goes, one bad apple does not spoil the whole . . . . . ."
"Never mind, never mind," the mayor interrupted. "Just make sure these laws are enforced. We must keep our fair city safe for the children! All those future voters!"
Big D heaved another sigh, and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger. He usually tuned out "Mayor Wimpy" whenever he started rambling about the voters. He never understood why Whimbelldon always won the mayoral election in Megatropolis, but he did. Big D never voted for him, that was for sure.
"Any road," the mayor continued, "with these new laws, I'm afraid some changes are going to have to be made here at the Secret Security Headquarters, you understand."
"What kind of changes?" Big D asked.
"Well, since I've passed this law about no one under the age of twenty-one having a part time job . . . . " the mayor said.
"Yes?" Big D asked. He didn't like where this was heading.
"I need you to . . . . . disband the Impossibles."
"WHAT?"
Big D jumped to his feet and slammed his fists down on his desk so hard, everything on it shook a little.
"You expect me to fire my best agents?" he asked. "The best crime fighters Megatropolis has ever seen? Are you out of your mind?"
"Well . . . . . I mean, they are teenagers, after all . . . ." the mayor said, nervously. "And since it's obvious that there's someone out there who's targeting teenage boys . . . . . and the fact that two of the missing teenage boys have turned up dead . . . . ."
"Mr. Mayor, you have got to be out of your mind if you think I'm going to . . . . ."
"Do you want this psycho to target them, Big D? Would you want that on your conscience?"
Big D stopped. Then, slowly, he sat back down and sighed. Mayor Whimbelldon had him on that one. Big D certainly did not want the other two Impossibles to disappear on him like Fluey had.
"Very well," he said, reluctantly.
"Good, good, good," the mayor said. "Well, I must go. Lots of other places to spread the word, and make our fair city a safer community!"
And with that, Mayor Whimbelldon left. Big D began massaging his forehead.
"Is it any wonder why I didn't vote for him?" he said. Then he pushed the button on his intercom.
"Yes, chief?" Phyllis asked.
"Send for Agent Fluid Girl and Miss Smith," Big D said. "And let me know when Coil, Multi, and Critch return. I have something to tell them, and I'd rather do it all at once. I hate to do it, but it has to be done."