Chapter 37
The next morning the fire Planeteer and his guest were allowed to wake up in their own time, the remaining Planeteers deciding that they had probably been up half the night catching up on old times. Both of them awoke to an unpleasant discovery.
"Ewoo, gross. What's that awful smell?" Wheeler was the first to regain consciousness, and his outburst caused Trevor to also stir from his sleep and find his own nostrils invaded by the scent of freshly deposited kitty doo doo.
"Aw crud, I think Booger's still showing his disapproval, looks like he didn't bury his last little present to me," the slightly older man winced, recognizing the familiar smell that now lingered in the small room.
"Man, that really stinks! Specky Techie, I don't know what you feed that animal, but it needs work if that's what comes out the other end," Wheeler griped, shuffling off the bed and opening every window he could find. He even felt the need to open the door if it would get the stench out.
"Good morning!" an approaching Linka hailed as she saw that her companion was awake.
"If you like fresh air, babe, I wouldn't come any closer" the redhead warned, causing Linka to knit her brow in confusion. "Booger left a little present somewhere in here, and we've only got smell to go by," the expectant man explained, turning his head back into the room. "How's the search and destroy mission going mate?"
"Can't find my glasses; and, no, I'm not gonna play minesweeper with the cats offering. You'll just have to wait till I find them. Ah hah got 'em." Trevor finally located his specs; taking them off last night, he knew he had left them on the shelf nearby; the only problem was he had failed to make a metal note of which shelf and exactly where he had left them. Outside, Wheeler giggled at his friend's temporary quandary.
"What is funny?" Ma-Ti quickly joined his two friends and looked curiously into the open hut behind Wheeler.
"Booger decided to show his disapproval over being in a strange place by leaving a smelly message overnight. Trev's trying to clear it up, but he was still looking for his glasses and insisting he wasn't going to play mine sweeper with the doo-doo. It's just funny – just like on an episode of Saturday Night Live or something."
"Minesweeper?"
"You know the old game? Well Trev's eyesight is so bad that, without his specs, he might as well be playing minesweeper with anything on the floor; and with the doo and the floor both being brown, he's more likely to step in what Booger produced before he sees it." Wheeler carefully explained, but no one laughed
"Why did you not help him?" Linka scolded the plump man, failing to see why he would leave his guest to search for and dispose of the stink bomb on his own.
"You seriously think I can see anything on the floor better than he can?" Wheeler gestured back indicating his stomach. "Last night, I woke up having to pee, and I stepped barefoot into onna Booger's fur balls because I didn't see it. That was absolutely nasty!"
"Got it. Area decontamination complete." Trevor emerged holding a plastic bag in his hand.
"No mask and gloves this time?" Wheeler lightly teased seeing his friend not wearing his bandanna and rubber gloves, something he had seen on the cat owner when he visited during that June week that seemed so long ago.
"Mask and gloves?" Ma-Ti raised one eye brow as he shot his curious glance Wheeler's way and then over to Trevor.
"Oh yeah, my nuclear suit," Trev laughed as he dropped the packet into the waste bin outside "When I first got Booger, I used to wear rubber gloves and have a bandanna tied over my nose and mouth. I stopped doing that when onna the gloves ripped and my bandanna got misplaced. By the time I found it, I realized I didn't need it anymore."
"It was so hilarious!" Wheeler chuckled. "Trev looked like he couldn't decide whether to perform surgery or rob a stage coach!"
"And when Wheeler started laughing at me that first night, I asked him if he wanted to scoop out the box. He said someone in his condition wasn't supposed to touch cat boxes. How convenient." Trev cracked a sly smile.
"Hey, you think I wanted to move your cat's doo-doo?"
"You're gonna be movin' doo-doo soon enough," Trev reminded the future father as he gestured to the redhead's plump baby belly.
"True, but at least mine will grow outta that when they're about 2; you're gonna be scoopin' poop long after my kid uses the can on a regular basis. Don't indoor cats live to be 17 years old? I've heard some even get into their 20's depending on their health."
Since the episode with the feline land mine had been cleared up, the pair of pals decided to shower and throw on some comfortable clothes. Once both men were fully awake and dressed, it seemed like a good opportunity to eat breakfast before finding something to amuse themselves with that day.
"Let's take it easy today, huh?" Wheeler asked as Trevor lightly leapt to his feet ready for a day of fun with his best buddy.
"Take it easy? You?" he asked with a puzzled look sparkling in his chocolate brown eyes. "Normally, that's my line." Trev loved physical activity as much as Wheeler did; however, he was the one more likely to stop first and want to take it easy.
"Listen, you really wore me out yesterday; and I didn't realize it until we stopped moving around so much. Trouble is I can't be that active right now thanks to…" the redhead pointed out. Last night he really had felt tired, more so than usual; and it wasn't a feeling he enjoyed much, for he sorely missed being as physically active as he had once been during his pre-pregnancy days.
"Ok, why don't you decide what we do today and get some rest, and we can be a bit more active tomorrow when you feel better."
Wheeler nodded, as he realized it was a fair plan. The sun was shining brightly through the windows, and there was a cool breeze blowing along the islands rich greenery. It really did seem a shame to stay indoors on such a fine day!
"So what are we doing then?" Trev asked as Wheeler finished washing his breakfast bowl in the sink and put it away.
"How about we start with a gentle walk, then come back here and watch some tube?"
"Ok, sounds like a plan," the Christian man smiled, walking towards the Planeteers communal closet and retrieving his shoes. Once he tied up the laces, he was ready to go. After helping his heavily pregnant compadre tie his own sneakers, they happily left the room and surfaced into the fresh air.
"Hey what's that?" the brunette man suddenly gasped as he and Wheeler walked across the residential area that was heading for the more dense cover of the trees in the middle of the island.
"Er, it's the zip wire; built it ages ago. It goes right from the top of Mount Hope to here," the redhead explained as he gestured in the direction the wire was strung.
"Cool, can we try it?"
"You can if you want; I'm too heavy at the moment."
Trevor looked a bit crest fallen, for he didn't really want to have a go if his best friend couldn't. Suddenly, he brightened as a sword of inspiration pierced him. "Hey, Ginger Dude, when you get your figure back maybe we can ride it together!" he suggested, feeling excited at the prospect of playing with his life long pal like they did when they were kids.
"When I get my figure back? Come on, Trev, I haven't even had this kid yet. Give me a chance. I'll probably be celebrating my 24th birthday before I can ride it again." the fiery father to be shot back, making his companion laugh heartily. "Come on, let's finish this walk."
As Trevor Summers joined his buddy on the well trodden trail Wheeler reached behind and gave his friend a noogie, one he thought was well deserved. Eventually, they made it back to the common hut when Wheeler was showing signs of fatigue.
"So what should we watch? MASH, Star Trek, Friends?" Wheeler flicked through the TV guide and read out a few of the options.
"How about we just channel surf till we find something we like," the technician suggested, grabbing the remote, quickly flicking buttons, and watching as the channels sped by.
"Hey what was that? Go back a minute," Wheeler spoke up, seeing a familiar children's program briefly light the small screen.
"You wanna watch Sesame Street?" the Brunette laughed once he saw his friend's choice of program.
"YipYipYipYipYipYip," Wheeler immediately voiced his agreement using the dialogue of one of his favorite characters that happened to be showing on the set's monitor.
Immediately at that moment, Gi entered the common room, looking for one of her study books.
"What are you two up to?" she asked when she caught the best buddies apparently having a pillow fight and, all the time, laughing and talking in a strange fashion.
"Greetings," Wheeler called out putting on a slightly nasal tone and imitating a certain red Muppet.
"Hello" Trev responded as he voiced the Muppet of his choice before both collapsed into more giggles.
"Ok you two, explain," the Asian woman demanded in hopes her state of confusion would be cleared up.
"We found an episode of Sesame Street to watch; that's a kids' show that played when we were little," Trevor started.
"There used to be two characters on their called the 'YipYips,' aliens from outta space who were sent to explore Earth," Wheeler continued the thread while Gi settled against the table to listen.
"None of the other characters ever saw them, so nothing was ever explained to them; and it was just really funny to see them respond to everyday items. Hey, Ginger Dude, do you remember when they met the telephone?" Trevor winked at his pal.
"Oh yeah man that was classic!" Wheeler grinned as he remembered the creatures peeking in through a window and seeing a black 1970's vintage rotary phone.
"Let's hear it then," Gi giggled; she could tell the two young men were dying to tell her the details. She watched as they both got up, Wheeler grabbing his cell phone on the way.
The guys headed over to the cordless phone that sat on its base, and they began making wibbling noises as if landing from outer space.
"Earth Earth Earth."
"yipyipyipyipyip."
"Ooooohhh."
"Greetings."
"Hello."
At this point, both young men were staring at the phone in awe; it was a moment when Linka decided to enter the room. She looked at her companion and his friend behaving oddly and then walked over to where Gi was beckoning her.
"What are they doing?" she whispered in the water Planeteers ear.
"It's a sketch from some old TV show they used to watch when they were kids; I have to admit it's really funny."
The Russian also settled down to watch the show as Wheeler and Trevor appeared to communicate with the lifeless object. Trevor had picked up the note book that the Planeteers used for messages and was flicking through it, looking at the phone and then apparently at a picture or description in what he called "Earth Book." after a minute, he turned to Wheeler and said, "Cow?"
"Cow."
"Yipyipyipyipyip," the guys chorused in union, then directing their attention towards the phone they began to communicate to it in what they thought to be the appliance's native language.
"Mooooooo."
"Moooooo."
They appeared to wait for a reply, but none came; so Wheeler looked at his technician friend and said, "Not cow, nope nope." He grabbed the book and the play continued with them attempting to communicate with the phone by meowing like a cat and then clucking like a chicken. Still their attempts failed to get a reaction out of the lifeless object.
After a while, Gi and Linka saw Wheeler subtly press the speed dial on his mobile phone; obviously, the gag needed the phone to ring. By this point, everyone on Hope Island had gathered to watch the show and was trying not to laugh and disturb the performance. The phone rang loudly, and both Wheeler and Trev reeled back as if shocked. It rang again then Wheeler leaned in as his character appeared to figure out the telephone's language.
"Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing," he said, and the phone rang again.
They both looked excited, and Trevor then leaned in to attempt to talk to the phone.
"Briiiiiiiiiinggg," he said; again, the phone seemed to reply.
The sketch ended, and both men were heartily applauded by the five people who were gathered around watching the hilarious spoof.
"Oh, that was fantastic!" Kwame praised the performers as he clapped.
"I can see why you like that sketch," Gi said between fits of laughter.
"You two sounded like Rigger with the 'yipyipyip' and 'nope nope nope'," Ma-Ti commented, wiping the laughter sparked tears from his eyes.
"Perhaps he watched too much Sesame Street as a kid!" Wheeler happily joked, leaning on the back of the sofa; he couldn't believe how much fun he was having with his best friend!
"Whose turn is it to cook dinner tonight?" Ma-Ti queried, not really wanting to bother checking the Rota.
"This says it is Wheeler and Gi's turn," Linka observed as she read the page that was posted on the refrigerator door.
"No, it's not," Trevor piped up as he rose from one of the beanbag chairs and headed for the kitchen. "I think whoever wrote that was wrong." His chocolate brown eyes twinkled with inspiration as he found the excuse he needed to pay back a kindness the redhead had given him on the night of his belated birthday celebration. "Somehow, I think that the last thing Wheeler wants to do while packing all that extra weight is cook - especially if he's been on extra KP while you guys go out on missions. Lemme do it ... as long as you don't mind Chinese. It's just about the only thing I can cook that seems to come out perfectly." He blushed at the confession that his cooking wasn't always the tastiest in the world.
"You do not have to do that, Trevor," Ma-Ti kindly said with a half smile. "You are our guest."
"And you shouldn't have to cook all by yourself. We're trying to feed 7 people. Besides, we always cook in pairs, unless someone is cooking something extremely easy. What did you have in mind to fix for dinner?"
"Well, the only food I can cook without ruining is honey glazed pork with a veggie/noodle side dish."
"Oh I love that! It's one of my favorites! Let me help you with some of it. That's one of the first meals I ever learned to cook as a child." Gi excitedly bounced passed the techie. "You do realize I don't mind preparing the main course. Maybe you should just work on a side dish wile I cook the rest."
"I really wanna do this." With that, the Christian genius headed for the kitchen and searched through the drawers and cabinets for everything he thought he would need. "Do we have any ready made spring rolls?"
"We don't need those," Gi snorted out a chuckle. "I can make them while you make the pork and the side dish."
As soon as he had retrieved the last of the food stuffs he needed for his meal preparation, Trevor donned Wheeler's baby blue barbecue apron that featured a begging puppy looking up at a grilling steak, the words GEE, I WISH SOMEONE WOULD DROP A PIECE OF THAT printed beneath the picture. A quirky idea suddenly came to mind, and Trev began to imitate the characters from the classic Star Trek series as he worked.
"Give me full power, Scotty; we've got to get through the time vortex before it closes up!" He gave the order in his best Captain Kirk voice as he dropped fresh vegetables into the food processor. Then mimicking a panicky Scottish accent, he countered upon turning the machine on its highest setting, "I cannot give 'er any more, Jim; she'll blow!" As the veggies were being chopped to the size Trev wanted, he continued his little dialogue between ship's engineer and commanding officer. "'Mr. Scott, we have only seconds before that vortex closes up, leaving us in Klingon space in the year 2151, and you know that isn't the safest place to be. I'm responsible for this ship and her crew, so give me maximum warp factor!' 'Aaagh, Captain, the warp core is overloadin' now as it is!' 'You have your orders, Lieutenant!' 'Captain, the warp core is about to breech; I cannot keep the engines goin' like this. If I do not shut 'em down now, the ship will explode!'" After saying this last line, he switched off the processor and dumped the shredded veggies into a bowl.
Commander Clash and the Planeteers couldn't help laughing at the Trekker's antics, and the role play seemed to get funnier by each passing minute.
"Doctor McCoy, come look at this," the cook then said as he adopted a deadpan voice. "It appears that these creatures come from the planet Noodlon 5." Upon eyeing the twisted pasta strips, he switched to his best southern accent and carried on another dialogue between the Vulcan science officer and ship's doctor. "'Mr. Spock, these aliens are near dead. Look at how hard their bodies have become. They're supposed to be softer than this.' 'It appears they have been out of their native atmosphere for too long a period of time.' 'I have to save 'em. I'm a doctor, sworn to protect life, not leave aliens to die.' 'That is illogical thinking, doctor. The only purpose these entities can serve now is to become macaroni pictures at human summer camps.' 'Blast you, Spock! I'm a doctor, not an arts and crafts teacher!' 'I believe it would be logical to prepare these creatures for their next phase of existence - as food for the crew.'" With that, he poured the noodles into the pot of boiling water
By now, Trevor's audience was so deep into laughter that their guffaws were reduced to silent expressions that resulted in teary eyes and red faces.
As the entertaining amateur chef continued his task, he sliced the pork with the kitchen knife he found in the drawer, this time copying the voice of Ensign Chekhov. "'Captain, the phasers fired directly on the Romulan wessle; it is heavily damaged.' 'I want it destroyed, Ensign. Fire phasers again until it's in bite sized pieces.' "Aye, sir.'" After he finished dicing the meat Trevor switched over to his best Lieutenant Uhurah voice. "Jim, there are Klingons on the starboard bow," he said as he poured the honey glaze onto the meat and found he had to scrape some of the honey goobies off of the spoon.
At this point, Wheeler couldn't resist joining the fun, not with that classic line being used. Sitting up, he started singing one of his and Trev's goofball songs:
"Star Trekking across the universe,
On the star ship enterprise under captain Kirk,
Star Trekking across the universe,
Only going forwards 'cause we can't find reverse"
Wheeler loudly sang out the words, leaving everyone to listen and making his best friend laugh before joining in with the first verse
"There's Klingons on the starboard bow, starboard bow starboard bow, There's Klingons on the starboard bow, starboard bow captain,"
Soon everyone was joining in with the chorus until they all fell about laughing. Trev had been trying to concentrate on dinner but had found it impossible, and it laid still awaiting completion on the counter before him. Finding that singing had made him thirsty Wheeler entered the kitchen just as Trev finished his mixture, the bespectacled man couldn't resist continuing his star Trek theme.
"Captain, we have an intruder on the bridge," Trevor said in his Chekhov voice before switching into Ensign Sulu mode. "Captain Kirk, this is the infected colonist that Doctor McCoy brought aboard from the planet Transistan, the one we are transporting to Star base F8 to have that parasite surgically removed from his stomach." Wanting to shoo Wheeler out of the area, the creative man resumed his Captain Kirk voice and said, "Ahhh yes, that's right. This poor fellow has been infested with the dreaded pootazoid parasite that causes its host to grow fat and then fart for 3 months in order to get thin again."
Upon pushing a resisting Wheeler out, he did, in fact cause a gassy episode in the pregnant man, who promptly side stepped into the den, leaving Trevor to battle the vapors. "Ewww, Captain, their has been a leakage of noxious gases in the nutritional preparation area!" he groaned, assuming the persona of an unknown crewman. He then adopted Spock's voice. "We are having the same problem on the bridge, Crewman. Seal the sector and send the quarantine guys in ... and Dr. McCoy be sure to activate the correct breathing apparatus until the leakage is contained." "Doctor McCoy, life support on the bridge is failing, and the entire area is filling with methane gas. Request a decontamination unit immediately!" he ordered while impersonating James T. Kirk and fanning the air with his apron. As soon as the fumes had cleared, Trev placed the dinner in the oven and set the timer, assuming Sulu's character one more time. "My chronometer is running forwards, sir." As he exited the kitchen, he did one grand finale before flopping into the rocker. "Captain's log Stardate 1112.96. Despite the delays we encountered with the time vortex, the discovery of the doomed noodle people, the encounter with the Romulans and Klingons, and the methane gas leak, we are still going to make it to our Rendezvous point with the surgical team on Starbase F8, who will safely remove the parasite from the colonist."
"Trevor, this is absolutely scrumptious," Gi offered her complement to the brown haired Brooklynite who blushed immediately, his cheeks growing a raspberry pink. He had never had someone actually praise his cooking before.
"Da," Linka agreed after swallowing a bite of the tender meat, "this is ... how do you say ... completely cylindrical."
The bespectacled gentleman giggled at the Russian's butchering of the common 1980's catch phrase. "Uh, are you trying to say 'totally tubular'?"
"Oh yeah, Trev, when they taught Linka how to speak English, they conveniently left out American slang and catch phrases," Wheeler informed his close friend before helping himself to some of the veggie/noodle side dish.
"Gotcha," Trevor nodded before finishing off the last bite of one of the spring rolls.
"I will never forget when Wheeler told us about that dream he had on his 21st birthday when he saw me in a wedding dress. He pronounced it 'Boishie Moy'. Heeheehee." the blonde couldn't help chuckling at the memory. "When I heard him saying '...and I found myself staring at her and saying Boishie Moy', I could not resist saying 'Do you not mean Bozhe Moy'? After all the times Wheeler has corrected my English, I just had to correct his Russian."
"That was one whacked dream," the redhead said, recalling the vivid images that permanently changed his views on over-consumption. "Those kids were totally outta control, and they were driving me to financial ruin. Linka was no help spouting off orders; Plunder was trying to foreclose my house; and everybody else was mad at me for having all those kids. I was never so glad to pull out of a dream - until I started having nightmares during pregnancy. Trust me, these dreams I've been having since the night after I found out I was knocked up are more real and worse, especially this last one I had after watching an episode of The X-Files a couple weeks ago. Man, that was nasty!"
"Why do I get the feeling I don't wanna hear any more?" Trevor commented as he felt the uneasiness creep through his body.
"Come on, buddy, it was just a dream." Wheeler decided to see exactly how far he could go with his best pal. "There were just some aliens, warlike conditions, baby mutants-"
"Don't go there!" the more tender hearted man interrupted in hopes it would stop the descriptions from getting more graphic.
"But I didn't get to the blood or the dead people yet."
"And you're not gonna either!" the guest continued to argue.
"Man, it was scary-"
"No more o' that, Ginger Dude; I'm serious."
"Wheeler, if this makes Trevor feel uneasy, then maybe you should not talk about the dream around him," Ma-Ti suggested to the oldest of the eco-activists.
"Guess you're right, little buddy," Wheeler appeared to relent upon seeing the ashen face of his dearest friend. "It was just a stupid dream anyways." A brief pause elapsed before Wheeler decided to pull the ultimate head game. "Just a stupid dream where this ugly mutant burst outta my stomach like in the mov-"
Before he could finish his tale, Wheeler found a spring roll making a one way trip into his mouth, and he looked to Trevor with a bemused expression shadowed in his eyes.
"Told you I was serious," the Christian gloated, feeling quite pleased with himself for taking a stand and paying his truest friend back with the same level of annoying behavior.
"Suddenly, the room thundered with laughter, and Wheeler passed quick glances to all of his company before biting into his eatable gag and turning the make shift mouth restraint back into a dinner item to be chewed up and swallowed.
"Oh cool, looks like there's a good murder mystery on the tube tonight," Wheeler exclaimed as he glanced at the TV listings and mentally made plans for the viewing that night.
"So is 7th Heaven," Trevor commented. When he felt his message was not getting through, he prodded, "My favorite show in the whole world, that I never miss." He looked at his best friend with puppy dog eyes.
"Awww, come on, man, missing it just once wont hurt. I really wanna watch this show," Wheeler argued, sounding like one of Trev's siblings had when they wanted to commandeer the TV from their youngest brother.
"Wheeler, do not to being so selfish; Trevor is our guest, so we should let him watch the Seven Heavens show."
With a sigh, the redhead reluctantly agreed and passed the remote over to the techie, who had settled himself on the beanbag chair, and was grinning widely, celebrating his conquest.
"Wheeler, your show is repeated tomorrow night, you do not have to miss out totally," Kwame pointed out, looking at the listings for the next few days and seeing his friend smile again.
"Ok, sorry for being selfish," the American apologized; geeze what was with him lately? If something didn't go his way he felt like the whole world was against him; he desperately hoped this was just another side effect of being pregnant, for he couldn't stand to be like this for the rest of his life.
Early the next morning, Wheeler woke up just as Linka left a note on his desk that explained that they'd been called on a mission and would see him later. He yawned a greeting and wished them good luck before rolling over and going back to sleep.
The four active Planeteers and Commander Clash were on a clean up mission that seemed to take the entire morning, and they didn't appear to come home any time soon; so this left the two best buddies alone to decide how they were going to entertain themselves.
"Hey, Trev, wadaya say we float on some inner tubes and play the cloud game like we did when we were kids?" Wheeler suggested as he cleared his place setting and dropped his dishes into the sink.
"Sounds like a plan, Ginger Dude," Trevor accepted the idea and then tilted his cup to his mouth so he could finish out his sweetened ice tea. Suddenly the beverage decided to adopt a mind of its own, and it ran over the ice cubes like a babbling brook streams over a bed of rocks. Unfortunately this resulted in an accident that proved to be slightly embarrassing for the Christian man. "Oh man" he murmured as a small stream dribbled down his chin and all over his T-shirt.
"23 years old, and you still need a bib!" Wheeler teased, "What's the matter with you, buddy?"
"You're laughing, but this is the only T-shirt I have right now. I was gonna do a wash tonight."
You'd cook outside without a shirt on. Trust me, I learned that the hard way," Wheeler stated as he remembered how he rued the day he went without a T-shirt and got a painful sunburn just before going on the very eco-mission during which his DNA had initially been harvested by Dr. Blight. "You can use onna mine. The ones I have with the Planeteer insignia haven't seen the light of day since the munchkin made me outgrow them. Let's go getcha one."
"Thanks, man," Trevor expressed his gratitude as the boys filed out of the room and headed for Wheeler's hut.
A few minutes later both boys were changed into swimwear and shirts, and they hiked down to the beach with their floats.
"Uh, Trev, a little help?" Wheeler sheepishly requested his buddy's assistance after his tube escaped from him for the fourth time.
"Oh," the Christian immediately rolled off his float when he realized the trouble his expectant friend was having. "Lemme hold it for you, and you can just fall into it."
Wheeler backed up to the inflatable ring and fell backwards on Trev's cue, landing onto the toy with a mighty splash and causing both of them to break into a fit of laughter that took five minutes to finally pass. They spent a good ten more minutes identifying the shape of different clouds until they ran out of targets with which to play, so they decided to just lie peacefully on the tubes and talk about all that was going on in their lives during the recent months.
"So, Trev, how do you think you'll like your new job? Think your boss'll treat ya better?"
"If you wanna get technical, I'm not gonna be officially working yet; I'm gonna be in training starting in early January. Once I finish the courses, then I become a full time employee, and the benefits would kick in six months after that."
"How do you pay the bills if you're not working yet?"
"All my money is from that freelance job I have with Computer Guys, you remember … that company where we go to people's houses and see what's going on with their systems. It's just not as much money, but the training is only for about 6 months to a year depending on if I opt to take the seminars on adaptive software like Drag And Dictate or those talking programs for people who can't see the computer screen very well. Mr. Jellico, the guy who'll be my new boss, does recommend I take the extra classes since the Americans with Disabilities Act says that computers have to be accessible for anyone who can do the job. The only bad thing is if I miss some class days, I have to make them up during their catch up session, which falls on the last Saturday of each month, and that could extend training some more."
"Hey, some scratch is better than none I guess," Wheeler commented as he started to twist his ring around and around on his swelling finger.
"You OK?"
"My fingers are getting a little swollen, wouldja mind holding onto my ring for a few minutes while I try to get the swelling down, Specky Techie?"
"I don't have any pockets."
"Just stick it on your finger."
"I don't wanna hurtcha. Besides, I might set my shirt on fire; it set me back 30 bucks, and I wanna make sure it lasts more than just a few months." Trev indicated the recently purchased and open Hawaiian shirt he wore over the borrowed light blue Planeteer shirt.
"And all this time I thought the shirt was a present from your Aunt Mary!"
"Very funny." Trevor smirked as he took the ring and put it on his finger. "I sure hope I don't cause any accidents with this thing."
"Just don't say the word 'fire'," Wheeler advised as he comfortably leaned back to just enjoy the over all atmosphere and sunshine, his right hand submerged in the cool water.
"Right don't say, 'fire' . . . Uh-oh . . . " Trevor murmured as he saw the red beam shooting from the crystal and in the direction of a nearby sand bar. "Oh man I just set it off." Trevor covered his eyes. "Did I hurt ya, Wheeler?" the technician asked, trying to look through his fingers, not realizing he had caused one of Blight's spider spy cams to disintegrate and an unsuspecting crab to become a crispy critter.
"No, you fried a crab though. First lesson, Planeteers are supposed to protect wildlife not cook it." Wheeler held up the rather dead crab that didn't miss the accidental beam.
"Oooops." Trev shrugged and mentally told himself not to say the f word again as he watched the pregnant man tossing the charred remains into the ocean.
About five minutes went by, and Wheeler noticed that his best friend was so busy concentrating that he looked in his direction. "Will you relax, what are you thinking about anyways?" he finally asked
"Just reminding myself not to say . . . well . . . you know . . . F-I-R-E."
"Oh gimme that back, my fingers are not so swollen anymore. Now will you just chill!" the redhead commanded, resulting in a brief water fight between the buddies of 20 years.
Meanwhile, Blight was monitoring the two unsuspecting men, and she came to a conclusion that made her blood boil when she saw her images go to black after the tiny transmitter had been destroyed by the Christian's innocent mistake.
"What the hell is this!" she exploded as she shook one of her gloved fists in the air.
"It seems, my dear doctor, that Pyroboy is training a new guy to take over for him now that he is . . . ahem . . . no longer fit to be a Planeteer. I'll bet he ordered him to aim for your spider cam."
"I didn't impregnate the brat just so he could train a new man to take over his power and keep the team from getting crippled!" Blight raved.
"Then I guess we'll just have to take the eco-cadet in with the flaming father-to-be."
"Good thinking, Mal Baby. We can keep the Planet-punk-in-training tied up and out of the way so he can watch our little press conference in private. Then I'll take some of his DNA and shoot him up with my induced pregnancy formula so he would eventually be unfit too. Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" she cackled wickedly.
"Oh, man, I gotta pee," Trevor complained as he squirmed uneasily in his tube.
"I thought that was my line," Wheeler quipped as he finally slipped his ring onto his finger.
"The tea I drank is starting to get to me. I did have two large tumblers before we came out here." Trev said. "Be right back, buddy." With that, Trev rolled off his tube and headed for the common hut to relieve himself.
As Blight brought her barge closer to where her prospective prisoners were floating, she came to the annoying realization that one of them was no longer there.
"Where's the junior pyro-punk!" she shouted as she slammed the desktop with her hand. "No matter, we'll wait for him."
"I'm afraid we can't do that, my blonde bombshell, the currents will only work in our favor for another two minutes. If the punkateer's protégé doesn't come back in time, we'll just have to take Hot Stuff and leave without him."
"At least I can get the fire freak exposed to the world press and force him into reclusion. Send out the sleeping gas, Mal darling."
"Right away, doctor," Mal obediently carried out his owner's orders and sent a sedative fog in the direction of the inner tube that held a relaxing Wheeler.
The whole ordeal was one to which the fire Planeteer was completely oblivious. He drifted into sleep and didn't even know that the rope that held his float had been cut by Mal's laser and that the currents were carrying him right into the opening on the barge that eventually swallowed him, thus making him Blight's prisoner again.
Trevor felt about ten pounds lighter after having relieved himself of the water he was packing. He couldn't wait to get back into the ocean, for the tropical humidity left him feeling sticky. When he arrived at the dock, he noticed there was no sign of Wheeler or his float. Could the redhead be hiding as a prank?
"Yo, Wheeler! Where didja go, man!" he called out to find he was to receive no answer. "Wheeler?" Quickly realizing that his pregnant pal couldn't go very far, even if he was able to roll out of his tube without help, Trevor ran to where the other tube was still floating. All at once he made the shocking discovery that the rope that was supposed to hold Wheeler's float had been neatly cut, apparently by a laser. "OH no!" he cried out as he barreled in the direction of Gaia's hut.
"Huh?" Wheeler slowly began to regain consciousness and found he was no longer in the toasty sunshine, but in the damp darkness of the bowels of Dr. Blight's barge. He was still lying in his inner tube, feeling completely foggy and struggling to gather the strength to sit more upright. Unfortunately, he was unable to move very much, and he could not figure out just where he was; all he knew was it was dark and dingy, and that it smelled horrible in there.
"Well, well, well, how's my little plump-a-teer? Did you miss me, sweetums?" Dr. Blight cooed as she entered the desolate chamber and cast her dark shadow over her captive.
"Like I miss my wisdom teeth," the groggy man droned.
"Awww, you look so cute, my pudgy punk-a-teer," the villain cooed as she pinched her prisoner's cheeks.
"What do you want me for, Blight?" Wheeler demanded before coming to a heart stopping conclusion. "Wait a second, what didja do with Trevor? You'd better not hurt him, or I'll kill you!" His cornflower blue eyes fell upon his large belly. "I dunno how, but I'll kill you!"
"Oh, is that your trainee's name?" was all Blight said before turning her back to her captive. You two get in here and give our celebrity his first class seat!"
"Okie dokie, doctor," one of the bumbling lumberjacks, who were the infamous Pinehead brothers, complied as they ran in and closed in around Wheeler, intent on snatching the still groggy pregnateer and "escort" him to the bridge and place him in a cramped chair. Suddenly, Blight hit a switch at her control panel that caused a sturdy cage to drop, leaving Wheeler trapped inside.
"What am I doing here, doctor Demented?"
"In honor of your blessed event, I thought I would take you to a little party and introduce you to my friends . . . who work for the world press! I'm sure they would love to meet the world's first pregnant man. Hahahahahahaha!" She began to look her prisoner up and down, admiring her handiwork. "You've filled out nicely, dearie, and you do have that motherly glow. Too bad you're not due to go into labor in front of the reporters; it would be a bigger scoop than finding Bigfoot! Hahahahahahahaha!"
"That's so funny I forgot to laugh," Wheeler snarled as his face flushed a hot red.
"Just relax and enjoy the ride, Daddy duphis, we'll be arriving at the press conference soon enough. I can't wait to see your pregnant face when you find yourself in front of all those reporters, all wanting to see you in all your expectant glory. What do you think, Mal Baby, does he need a little make-up and his hair combed before he makes his debut? He has to look all pretty for his audience."
"Not a bad idea, Doctor Blight."
"You won't get away with this!" Wheeler snapped as Mal's mechanical arm passed through the bars and came after him with a pale pink powder puff and then a comb, while the Pineheads snickered in the background. This totally sucked! He was trapped; he was about to be exposed to the world press; and he had no idea that Trevor was actually safe.
As Trevor ran to the Crystal Chamber with all his might, his heart pounded furiously in his chest, threatening to explode within him. With every heavy step that sank into the sand, he found himself mentally repeating over and over, "Please, God, let Wheeler be all right." By the time he made it back to the sparkling hut Gaia called home, he was pretty winded and had to collect himself before he explained the dire situation to the dark skinned spirit.
"Gaia! Wheeler's missing! I just left him for a minute so I could take a bathroom break; and, by the time I got back, he was gone . . . tube and everything. At first I thought he was hiding on me, but then I noticed the rope connecting the float to the dock was cut. Looks like it was done on purpose." Trevor was in such a state that he sounded like he was rambling his sentences together without pausing.
Gaia could see the panicked expression in Trevor's brown eyes, and she did her best to try to calm him down. "It's going to be OK, Trevor; we'll find out what happened."
"I don't have onna those fancy heart power rings like Ma-Ti has. Do you think you can use that Planetvision thing to find him? I mean if you can see stuff that's going on in Africa, then can't you use it to find Wheeler? Please, you gotta find Wheeler" Trev's eyes switched from panic to a pleading sincerity.
Gaia, who had just been monitoring the Planeteers' progress on their clean up mission, waved her hand and changed the image to reveal a scene in which Blight had a caged Wheeler in her clutches, promising to show him off to the World Press.
"My, my, my, don't we look pretty," she taunted, "I think our little fire bug is ready to meet his public."
"You can't force me to do this, Blight, I'm not going to be made into a news headline!" he stubbornly crossed his arm over his waist as if to protect his unborn babe.
This flash only lasted a minute before the earthly entity changed the channel back to where the Planeteers were. "Planeteers, we have another emergency!" she firmly delivered her tidings, focusing her energy and her image on her eco-activists. "Dr. Blight has captured Wheeler again, and she is getting ready to show him off to the press as the world's first pregnant man. If his condition is leaked to the international media, he will never know a moment's peace again. You must rescue him before those reporters see him."
"We're on our way, Gaia!" Gi promised through the transmission before Ma-Ti appeared to activate his ring and concentrate on Wheeler's thoughts.
Gaia deactivated the image, only to turn and see a shaking Trevor leaning against the wall, looking like he was about to faint. "Oh dear God, why did I leave him?" he muttered to himself, thinking that this whole awful thing didn't have to happen. It was bad enough that his best friend was missing, but for him to be missing because of a capture? It would have been better if he were sound asleep on a stray inner tube whose rope slipped from the dock. Both scenarios were horrible, but at least if he were adrift, the Planeteers could find him, and there would be no threat of life altering news coverage.
"Trevor, Wheeler is going to be all right. Commander Clash and the Planeteers know what they're doing, and they won't stop until Wheeler is in safe hands again. You might want to go fix yourself something to drink and calm down. I know you're a man of faith, so it won't hurt to say a prayer for him too."
"I shoulda just peed in the water like the animals do," Trevor silently scolded himself as he exited the chamber and headed back to the common hut for a soft drink.
"We're here, Daddy Dumb-head. Time for your coming out party. Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" Blight announced to her caged captive with an evil cackle. Mal Baby, time to give our celebrity his center stage seat.
"Oh, yes, Doctor; it's Showtime."
"What makes you think I'm gonna go along with this, Blight!" Wheeler shot back angrily.
"Somehow, I don't think you'll have a choice, Bio-brat," Mal sneered as he lifted away Wheeler's cage and the Pineheads grabbed the pregnant Planeteer by the arms, leaving him trapped between them.
Wheeler knew he had better show his protest against having been captured, but he also felt like he was in no physical condition to win in a fight. Even if he did manage to free himself from the men's grasp, he could run the risk of being seen by an overzealous reporter who might be sneaking around for a preview. Wheeler hardly noticed his being marched from the bridge to the place where he would have his unwanted time in the lime light. The goons ultimately half dragged and half carried him to a strange, open room and left him to awkwardly stagger to his feet and catch his balance by steadying himself against one wall.
As soon as Okie and Dokie were a safe distance away from Wheeler, a shimmering force field suddenly popped up around the abductee, and a set of heavy curtains unfolded around him. This was it; game over. Just when those curtains would be pulled back to reveal a mob of reporters was anybody's guess. Wheeler knew he just couldn't stand there and wait for his life to be ruined by endless media coverage, so he wracked his brain to figure out if there was some sort of escape.
Out of the blue, Wheeler found his eyes were attracted to something directly above him. Was that an opening in the top of the force field just above the curtain racks? The stage area was completely devoid of furniture or any objects on which to climb, so Wheeler found himself wondering how he would reach the top. Perhaps he could jump up and climb out and sneak off to safety when Blight's back was turned. After all, he not only had to rescue himself and his unborn child; he had to find out what happened to Trevor.
"Here goes nothing," Wheeler said to himself before leaping as high as he could, only to miss reaching the top of the force field and land roughly on his right ankle. When he made the terrible discovery that he could not come to his feet, he felt the baby kick him hard, apparently in disapproval of what he was doing; so he tenderly stroked the bump and said to his little one, "Well, I guess this is it, munchkin. Daddy's gonna be front page news. Who'd of thought I wouldn't want my fifteen minutes of fame."
Meanwhile, back on Hope Island, Trevor found the root beer he drank did no good in calming him down; and despite his prayers for the Planeteers' success and Wheeler's safe return, he couldn't help punishing himself. It wasn't until he took his empty bottle to the recycle bin and smashed it into the container that Gaia, who was passing by, noticed the dark haired man's current emotional condition.
"Trevor, I'm telling you that Wheeler will be all right. The Planeteers won't let the media get to him."
"I can't help it. I'm the one who left him alone out there; and now the media's gonna find out about him. He's been afraid of that since last spring... If I were there with him, I coulda stopped the capture."
"Trust me; Dr. Blight would not have let your presence stop her from carrying out her plan. You would have been captured too."
"I coulda gotten him outta there before she woulda grabbed him!" Trev insisted that his compadres current peril was his own fault.
Come with me, and I'll show you just how wrong you are." Gaia wrapped her fingers around Trev's wrist and towed him back to the Crystal Chamber. "I hate to show you this, but you leave me no choice," she added somberly. "There would have been nothing you could have done to stop Blight from taking Wheeler. She would never have just backed away from her plans to expose him to the press, even if you were right there. She would have taken you too and kept you out of the way while she went ahead and showed Wheeler off to the media." With the wave of her hand, she brought a very hard hitting and eye opening movie to life, where Trevor was the unplanned star.
"They're both there, and neither of them suspect a thing. The tides will only work in our favor for another couple of minutes, so it's now or never, Doctor. Shall I launch the sleeping gas now?"
"Do it, Mal, Baby. Pleasant dreams, eco-freaks," Blight grinned as her computer crony sent the sedative fog to the two men, who had no idea they were about to become Dr. Blight's latest captives.
Some images floated on the giant crystal with no dialogue, and Trevor found he had to lean against the wall and prepare to slide to the floor if he were to feel faint. The silent movie revealed the shadow of two guys floating on their inner tubes and being enveloped by a strange fog. A clearly visible white laser cut through the murk, severing the lines that held the floats to the dock. The two slumbering fellows floated straight toward the barge that was Dr. Blight's traveling lair, and they were promptly swallowed up inside the opening that reminded Trevor of a mouth. The next flash showed a still unconscious Wheeler lying in his tube, his wrists loosely bound to the handles with the section of rope that had once secured the raft to the dock.
"How convenient," Blight cooed as she rolled a comatose Trevor onto his stomach and pulled his wrists across in back of him. "This is the first time my prisoners actually came with their own rope. Hahahahaha!" With that, she took what was left of the line from Trev's tube and used it to tightly bind his hands into place. "Let's give him his back stage seat, Mal, diddims. Then we can put the daddy on display."
"I love the way your mind works," Mal grinned as he used his metal claw to lift Trev into a chair while spraying an extra puff of sleeping gas at Wheeler for good measure.
The next image caused a host of butterflies to manifest in the distraught man's stomach, and he found himself wanting to slide to the floor, for he wondered just how long he would stay conscious. On the shimmering screen, he saw his slumbering body being held into a wooden chair by a robotic arm while Blight approached him with a roll of duct tape. The claw was holding the helpless man by the middle, so Blight began wrapping the tape around his chest, securing him to the chair back. When she was satisfied that Trev's upper body was trapped, she unraveled the tape around his lap as well, careful not to run any of the sticky substance around his middle so she could use her formula on him later. Trevor began to regain consciousness as Blight was wrapping his legs just below the knees, and he immediately wanted to know what was happening and where he was. When no answer came, the computer geek opened his eyes and started scanning the room. It wasn't until Blight had taped her "guest's" ankles together and secured them to the cross bar at the bottom of the chair that he realized he was immobile from the neck down.
"What is this!" he wanted to know, trying hard not to let the fear come through in his voice.
"Just making sure you sit still for a little show I want you to watch. I would be insulted if you walked out in the middle of this movie. Hahahahahaha!
All at once, Trevor's fears for himself were overshadowed by his concern for a buddy he could not see. "What have you done with Wheeler?"
"Don't worry about him, honey-child. He's not going to be harmed; I'm not stupid enough to jeopardize my own experiment." She noticed her duct tape had run out, and she cursed as she stepped away with the empty roll in her hand. She returned a couple seconds later with a scarf that she intended to use to silence her hostage. "By the time I'm through, Pyroboy won't know a moment's peace because every time he appears in public he'll be hounded by reporters. She then applied and started to knot the scarf over her captive's mouth. "He'll become a recluse on Dope Island and have to quit the Planeteers to become a hermit, and the world will be mine!"
"You'll never pull it off, lady," was Trevor's muffled comeback, "God's looking out for Wheeler, and He'll protect him."
Blight reached back and tightened the knot on the geek's gag, making sure he couldn't talk through it. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's rude to talk when a movie's about to start?" she taunted.
"Mmmmm, mmmmmm," the prisoner protested as he found he couldn't move even one centimeter under the ropes and tape that rendered him a true captive audience.
"We hope you enjoy our feature presentation," the evil woman announced before cackling malevolently and leaving Trev alone in the compartment with a monitor that would show the dreadful presentation that would star an unwilling father-to-be.
Yet another brief flash showed a very overwhelmed Wheeler surrounded by flashing cameras and microphones, and Gaia glanced over to Trevor to find he was curled up on the floor with his hands over his face.
"I know the images I just showed you were disturbing, Trevor, but I had to show you that there was nothing you could have done to prevent Wheeler's capture. In fact, if you were captured too, there would have been nobody to alert me that something was wrong, and who knows what Blight might have done to you. I was keeping an eye on the other Planeteers, so I couldn't have known what happened to Wheeler. You did him a great favor by leaving him alone because you avoided getting captured too." With that, she helped the trembling man to his feet and gathered him into a comforting hug. "Go and get some rest and keep praying, and Wheeler will be home before you know it."
Trevor simply gulped, nodded and quietly shuffled back to the common hut to continue his prayers and lie down on the couch for a nap. Gaia was right; all he could do now was wait and pray.
Wheeler felt his bare ankle swelling and throbbing painfully, and each angry beat that coursed through the injured limb caused him to grow more anxious and frightened with every passing second. His eyes welled up, but he didn't want anyone to see the hot tears streaming down his cheeks, so he blinked hard in order to stop the salty drops from falling. If not for his current state of mind, he would have thought to send Ma-Ti a message to let him know what was happening to him and that Trevor was in trouble too. As if having an unspoken prayer heard by God, Wheeler immediately received a mental communication with the youngest of the eco-activists.
"Wheeler, we are on our way to rescue you. Are you all right?"
"For now, but you gotta hurry, Little Buddy, otherwise I'm gonna be on the 10:00 news for the rest of my life. I think Blight has Trev too, so you gotta get him outta here before she does something to him,"
Wheeler sent a silent message of his own.
"It will be OK, my friend," Ma-Ti assured his redheaded pal before going into a temporary communication silence and then returning a thought message, "and you do not have to worry about anything happening to Trevor. Gaia said he is with her on Hope Island and that he is safe. He is frightened, and he is praying for you, so you do not need to think about him being in trouble. Do not lose heart, Wheeler, we will get you out of there before those reporters see you."
The assurances from the Kyapo Indian brought some comfort to Wheeler, but not enough, for he would only feel safe after Commander Clash and the Planeteers finally rescued him and returned him to his home again. The rug-rat within his belly wiggled as if wanting to comfort its daddy, and Wheeler wrapped his arms around the bump, whispering, "Your mother's a witch, isn't she...well it doesn't matter...Daddy's here looking out for you. No matter what, kiddo, you can always count on me."