Chapter Fifty Two: Chat Box

Kally stared at her computer screen once more. Several days had passed since she'd encountered Ms. Kendrick and her temper. Her shoulder still ached from the encounter, but at least the cuts inside her mouth had pretty much healed, though she had a nasty bruise on her cheek that would likely take some time to go away. And so long as she didn't jostle her shoulder too much, she was good to go.

She'd worn the sling the first two days, which had hampered her progress, but at least she hadn't been totally useless. She knew how to henpeck, which had its uses. And the first thing she'd checked when she'd first gotten back into the lab was to make sure the data chip was not the one she'd left in the port. It wasn't. And since she hadn't seen Loki since he'd called Dr. Bosch, she hoped he'd taken it outside of the facility where he could plug it into another computer and execute the program she'd created.

The main problem had been that she didn't have a clue where they were and Loki hadn't told her. She'd have programmed that into the algorithm, but since she didn't have the kind of information she needed, she'd had to design a two-way radio of sorts instead. First, it would seek out the distinct signature of Sammy and flag her attention. Then it would open a secure "channel" for Loki to communicate what he needed to her. Since she wasn't sure how technology savvy he was, she'd tried to make that part as simple as possible.

Kally knew they were living at a different rate of time than the rest of the world, thanks to Loki's comments. But it still didn't help when she knew she had to wait longer than everyone else outside the field of influence. What might be slow to her could actually be him barely making it to a place where he could execute the program. And there was no telling how long it would take for the forces to muster themselves, let alone for Loki to return and get them ready for that event. Timing was, of course, critical and absolutely impossible to sync up.

It might have made things easier if she'd been able to work things out with Hiro, come up with a game plan of their own for when things went down. But she was stuck in her lab under the watchful eye of her guard dogs. And Hiro was recovering from what had to be the worst thing that had ever happened to him, at least physically, in life. There were obviously some emotional traumas he hadn't shared that trumped his current condition, though she had no idea what they were and wasn't sure if she should ask. She just hoped he wasn't as bad off as she imagined he might be.

The door opened and she couldn't help but flinch a bit. Ms. Kendrick hadn't shown up since that day but there was always the possibility the woman would. She visibly relaxed as she noticed Dr. Bosch out of the corner of her eye. He'd provided a sling and painkillers, which she only took when the pain became unbearable. "Back for another checkup?" she inquired, not bothering to move away from the computer. Ms. Kendrick was probably watching somewhere and would come at her again if she thought the girl was slacking.

Dr. Bosch moved into the room with his medical bag in hand. He had the tablet tucked firmly inside in case the current medic on duty didn't call him should something happen with Hiro. "Something like that," he replied as he set the bag down on the desk and opened it. "Just making sure there are no complications or other repercussions from the other day. Now say 'ah'."

Kally did as instructed, her chair turned to face him as he slid a tongue depressor between her lips. She wasn't sure this was all really necessary but it made the day a little less tedious with nothing else to do but stare at a computer monitor and type away at code she hoped would never be used. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes as he shone a penlight down her throat and at her still existent tonsils and whatever else he might see down there.

"Okay," he said as he took the wooden stick out of her mouth and placed it in a small bag. "Looks good. No inflammation. No pustules or redness." He then checked her ears, her nose, her eyes, and felt the glands on her neck. He then had her breathe deeply for him as he checked her lungs and heart.

Kally complied with all his requests. "Is this really necessary?" she asked when he took out the blood pressure cuff after taking her temperature. It was normal, though he hadn't mentioned that point out loud, making her wonder what game he was playing. She'd seen the readout on the digital thermometer when he'd turned it slightly her way, almost as if he'd covertly wanted her to see it.

Dr. Bosch didn't deviate from his actions as he pumped up the pressure cuff. "Just making sure you're healthy," he supplied. "Hiro developed a fever and I want to make sure it isn't catching."

His announcement made Kally jerk, much to the doctor's frustration. "Wait. Hiro's gotten sick on top of everything else?" That was not good news by any stretch of the imagination. How were they supposed to escape this place if he was still out of commission?

"Hold still," Dr. Bosch ordered as he finished checking her blood pressure, which had gone up a bit with his announcement, but was otherwise normal, all things considered. He began to gently knead her injured shoulder. "Any pain? I see the swelling's gone down. How's your mobility?"

Kally winced a bit as he forced her arm to rotate in a slight circle. "Yes, there's some pain. It still hurts." She grit her teeth, far from pleased with how he'd ignored her question. "Now what about Hiro?"

The doctor gently released her arm before taking his best medical stance. "I believe it was due to emotional and mental strain but can't completely sure about that. The fever's broken now but he'll be out of it when he comes to again so I'll need you to bring him back to his senses." He glanced pointedly at the nearest camera. "Otherwise I'm not sure what mental state he might end up in."

It didn't help that the upper management was more than ready to have him move onto the next phase of testing with the two subjects' DNA. That meant he'd need more material to work with, which was something he wasn't exactly thrilled about. Part of him had hoped to find something physically off to delay things but Kally appeared to be in perfect health, minus the injuries from before. He had to find a way to stall things.

"Now, is there anything you should tell me that might complicate your recovery?" He gave Kally a pointed look, hoping to convey the need to create a situation. "Anything at all? It's fine if there's nothing, but you need to tell me if even the slightest thing is off from what you consider normal. We can't take any chances. After all, Hiro's fever was not of the typical type."

Kally blinked a few times, sure he was trying to tell her something but not sure what. Outside of the whole dislocated shoulder thing, she felt the same as usual. She was used to working under a lot of stress, and no one had put her in other physical danger. Not to mention she felt fairly certain this whole facility was hermetically sealed to keep out pathogens. Just why would he want to know if something was off when it was obvious nothing was?

Despite the blood she'd swallowed after Ms. Kendrick's super slap, she hadn't had an upset stomach, which had been nice. She really, really hated throwing up. She leaned back against the chair, hissing slightly as she put too much pressure on her shoulder, causing her to close her eyes against the pain. She hadn't taken any painkillers that morning.

"You do know what he's trying to do, don't you?"

Kally's body tensed, her eyes still closed as she saw Professor Othin's face in front of her. She shook her head slightly, trying to put all the pieces together, but there were still too many. Not only that, but she'd had odd dreams as of late, which didn't help on the sleep end.

"He wants you to come up with a reason to postpone the enemy's plans. He's giving you every opportunity to come up with something to hold them at bay. It doesn't matter how small, but you really should do something before the silences stretches too far."

She let out her breath in one long sigh that was barely audible, her closed eyes scrunching up a bit, her brows wrinkled from the motion. "What should I do? I don't have enough time to manufacture a migraine. And I don't have any other ideas."

"Allow me to help you then. I apologize in advance. This is going to hurt but it is necessary in the long run."

Before she could even brace herself, Professor Othin reached out a hand, pressing his thumb firmly against the space between her eyes that some called the Third Eye. He traced a shape on her skin, a rune she didn't know. Pain shot up from where his thumb made contact and she nearly screamed. What in the world had he done to her?! It hurt. In fact, it almost made her skin feel like it was on fire. She reached for the shock collar around her neck, which suddenly felt too small for her throat. She clutched at it like it was cutting off her air flow. How could a rune so powerful exist? She didn't know and didn't have any more brain power to contemplate it as the pain intensified.

Dr. Bosch stared in momentary shock as a tremor ran through Kally's body before she reached up to the collar around her neck, making gagging noises. This wasn't exactly what he had in mind but the fact that her lips had started to turn blue told him this was not faked. "Guard! Release the collar! Now!" He felt the adrenaline rush through him as various symptoms sprang into existence right before his eyes.

Kally went rigid as she tried to dig at the collar, a shock going through her from the device, which did nothing to help matters. She slid from the chair to the ground, twitching. The air was getting a lot thinner and she gaped like a fish out of water.

"Release the collar now!" Dr. Bosch yelled as he knelt by Kally's side, one hand on her wrist to check her pulse. He could see her neck reddening from constriction. He wasn't sure how, but the collar had contracted around her throat. "Dammit! Release the collar or she'll choke to death!"

An audible clicking sound filled the air and the collar fell open. Dr. Bosch snatched it up and threw it to one side as Kally gasped, sucking in air. Her entire body trembled as if from a seizure, her eyes wide. Her breathing was ragged, filled with grunts of pain. Then her head flew black, almost ramming into the ground with the force as she screamed.

Dr. Bosch barely managed to keep her from smashing her skull into the floor by cushioning it with one hand, though he could hear his knuckles pop from the impact. "I need a gurney and a cart in here stat!" He ordered the guard who had entered the room, the control to the collar still in his hand. "Now!" He repeated, giving the man a look.

The guard rushed to obey, leaving the door wide open as Dr. Bosch tried to figure out how to stabilize his patient. She was kicking off a lot of heat now, which was totally at odds with her previous temperature. Something had decidedly snapped somewhere and he had no idea what. And while the timing was spot on to keep her out of the next stage of DNA experimentation, this was more than a little alarming.

Kally reached over with her right arm and grabbed Dr. Bosch's left in a vice-like grip, her teeth clenched now. Her eyes flew open, seeming to go even wider than they already were. And there was decidedly something wrong with the irises. The colors inside seemed to be swirling like the insides of an active volcano, except it wasn't red but a combination of amber, green, and gray. It almost reminded him of watching a digital rendition of high frequency audio fluctuating on a computer screen. Were the blood vessels in her eyes going to rupture?

Dr. Bosch didn't dare do anything until he was sure he knew what was going on. This behavior was so far from anything he understood that he couldn't even begin to fathom a way to treat it, if it was even treatable. And unless he could come up with some kind of answer, the upper ups would be less than congenial about the delay, as much as he was grimly happy about it. He just hoped that whatever it was didn't kill her.

One of his medics rushed into the room with the requested gurney, a second following with the crash cart and a paramedic's bag. Dr. Bosch tried to remove Kally's hand from his arm as the two medics lowered the portable bed to allow a safer transfer from the floor. But no matter how hard he tried to loosen her fingers, he couldn't.

"Start an IV and fluids and apply oxygen," the doctor ordered, giving up on trying to free his arm. Instead, he moved to slide his free arm under Kally's tensed body, one of the medics assisting to get her onto the gurney while the other pressed an oxygen mask against her face. Once she was on the portable bed, the first medic prepared the necessary equipment to insert an IV catheter. Dr. Bosch could only supervise as he pulled out his stethoscope with some difficulty, trying to listen to Kally's pounding heart.

The second medic moved to place leads on Kally's chest now that the oxygen mask was secured. He also applied a disposable blood pressure cuff and attached all to the appropriate portable monitor. "Heart rate and blood pressure are through the roof," he reported as the monitor began tracking their patient's vitals. An alarm confirmed his words as red lit up the screen.

"Let's get her back to the lab," Dr. Bosch grunted as Kally's grip tightened on his arm. He could feel the bruises forming. He nodded to the other medic, who held the attached saline bag so gravity could take over. Almost as one, they pushed out of the room and headed down the corridor.


Leaving the Hydra facility was a little disorientating, though it didn't last long. It almost felt like Loki just had to pop his ears, except his ears didn't need popping. He glanced from side to side, making sure no one else was out there, and that they hadn't found the body of the guard he'd taken out of the picture. Sure he was in the clear, he made a run for his rental and the map inside.

After some finagling, he got back on the road and peeled out towards the nearest location likely to have an internet café. It probably would have been easier to use his magic to get there but his SUV had sat at the base of the mountain for more than long enough to cause suspicions and needed to move anyway.

It took him another hour to reach the first town with anything promising. And, after some asking around, he found a library with a computer he could use, though he was non-too-pleased with the time limit they gave him.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Loki plugged the data chip Kally had created for him into the drive. Almost immediately a popup screen appeared on the monitor, asking if he wanted to execute the program on the chip. He hovered the mouse of the icon for a moment before confirming his choice. The image disappeared like something being sucked down a black hole. Now he had to wait for Kally's AI to respond and hope it didn't take too long. Already, he was feel a bit antsy for the time he'd been away.


GoGo was awake when Honey returned to their shared room. It was just after six thirty in the morning but the adrenaline junky couldn't make herself sleep any more, regardless of how little sleep she'd actually gotten. "Morning," she greeted her companion as she entered the room from the hallway. "You're up early."

Honey nodded. "I couldn't sleep so I went to find some tea and ended up talking with Natasha." She wasn't sure she could call her the Black Widow anymore, unless she wore the iconic suit. "And then Hiro's aunt showed up."

That got GoGo up in a hurry. "What?! When?! How?!"

Honey gave a nervous kind of smile. "She got anxious when Hiro and the rest of us didn't respond to her phone calls and decided something was wrong. So she flew in early this morning and just now went to bed. I don't think she slept a wink the entire flight over."

GoGo pulled on her clothes, debating on smoothing her bed head before going to find the others. "Does she know about Hiro and Kally?"

The chemist nodded. "She got right up into Tony's face and punched him," she admitted. "Then Natasha set her down and explained what was going on."

"Oh man," GoGo groaned. "This is going to make things so much more complicated! Wait, did you say she slugged Tony in the face?" She had a piece of gum halfway to her mouth as she turned to look at Honey with shocked eyes.

Honey Lemon nodded. "I saw it with my own eyes," she confirmed as she went to find an outfit for the day. Part of her wanted to go back to bed but knew that wasn't likely to happen. Maybe she could get a nap in later.

GoGo let out a whistle. "Man. I would have paid good money to see that!"

"I believe something can be arranged," JARVIS spoke up from a wall speaker. A projector activated, showing the event in the middle of the room in glorious 3D.

The adrenaline junky winced when Aunt Cass's fist made contact with Tony's face, though she couldn't help but let out a bit of a laugh. "I bet that hurt! Think I could get a copy?"

"Of course. I will send it your email."

"Sweet." GoGo popped the gum into her mouth, gave it a few good chews and then blew a bubble. By the time she was done, Honey had changed out of her pajamas and into something more her usual speed for the day. "So, do the others know yet? About Hiro's aunt, that is."

Honey shook her head. "You're the first one I told. I didn't think it would be appropriate to go into their room while wearing my pajamas."

GoGo had to admit she made a good point. "Come on," she said, taking her companion in hand. "Looks like we'd better get Fred and Wasabi up to speed before something else happens."


Loki almost jumped when a low beep sounded from his chosen computer. The screen flashed briefly before a chat box popped up. He had to take a moment to compose himself before he read the first message.

Kally, is that you? Where are you?

It looked like the program had worked. Loki almost danced for joy but didn't. Now he had to decide if he was going to pretend to be Kally or be the outside party. Either way, he had no intention of letting this AI know he was Loki. Chances were good it would give that information to the others, and that was something he did not need. It would make his information seem that less valid in their eyes, especially in light of his past experiences with SHIELD and the Avengers.

Kally?

If he didn't answer soon, everything might just blow up in his face. Well, it was all or nothing, he supposed.

This is a friend of Kally's. I have information on how to find her.

The curser flashed, waiting for whatever response might be given to his words. Had he made the right decision?

How do I know this isn't a trap?

Loki almost cursed. Apparently Kally had made a really smart AI. But he supposed he should have known. This was the daughter of one of the brightest minds he'd ever known. It was no wonder she'd inherited her mother's genius.

You don't. But if it makes you feel better, you can test me.

He didn't think programs had feelings but it seemed like the best thing to say given the circumstances. Trust was a sort of feeling, he supposed. And he desperately needed this thing to trust him right now.

The curser flashed for a long time this time. He was just about to call the whole thing off when more text scrolled across the chat box.

Who is the one Norse god Kally has always looked up to?

Loki blinked at the question. How in the world was he supposed to know the answer to that? It had decidedly never come up in conversation. And he'd never known to ask in the off chance something like this would happen. So he frowned at the computer. Just what kind of game was this AI playing?

Okay, think this through, he told himself. There had to be something there in everything he'd learned about her. He doubted it was Thor. That man was just outright boorish and an oaf. Definitely not the kind of person Kally would look up to. But he also doubted she looked up to himself. Most people didn't use Loki as a standard of living, as much as he wished they would. It would be nice to be accepted for once.

Chances were good it wasn't one of the lesser known gods. He knew which ones were better known on Earth. He'd spent enough time there, after all. Then it hit him. Runes. Who was the foremost expert on runes, something she seemed good at? It had to be Odin.

Odin, though that's not exactly something that comes up in casual conversation. You are a tricky little program.

Loki almost thought he could hear the thing laugh. He, Loki, the god of mischief, was being laughed at by a computer program. He pursed his lips and scowled at the screen, hoping this thing didn't have a webcam.

That is correct. Only someone who's spent time with Kally would know that, even if it didn't come up in conversation.

Well, at least it was big enough to realize it wasn't something that would come up in general talk. He rolled his eyes. What was this world coming to? This thing was almost as bad as JARVIS, who he'd only come in contact with on a few occasions. He was still a bit surprised he'd managed to get past Stark's guard dog program when investigating there earlier. Kally certainly had her mother's genius, proved over and over again.

Now will you accept what information I have?

Part of him hoped his acerbic tone came across the connection. Kally had been right about her program, not that he'd ever doubted her, but the thought had crossed his mind. Why was everything always so complicated?

Give me the information and I will pass it on to those who can use it.

Finally! They were finally getting somewhere. He just hoped this Sammy's idea of the right people were the people he was thinking about. Anything short of the Avengers would likely not be enough. Well, he'd have to trust it knew what it was doing. He needed to get back to Kally and Hiro as soon as possible. Anything could have happened in his absence.

Very well. You can find Kally and her friends at the following location.

He then proceeded to give her all the information he had on hand.