A/N: Last chapter! Sorry it's so short. I fully intend to write some follow up stories later. Dwayne'll get to see a lot more page time. :) Thanks for sticking with me! I hope you enjoyed reading all this.


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Chapter 9: The End?



"Honestly, I don't remember anything that's happened over the past two months," Matthew sat on the edge of the hospital bed. Dr. Poindexter had removed most of the external implants that the Legion had made. Now, the only evidence they were ever there was the small bandages.

"It's probably better that way," Dr. Slate decided, "None of what happened was through any fault of your own."

"Something's been bothering me, though," Poindexter murmured, "Number Seven said that he had made SEVERAL copies of himself... We seem to have destroyed two - the first one that was in the ARG-4, and the one in Matthew... What if there are more?"

Dr. Slate pursed her lips, "I'm afraid will just have to wait and see."

General Thorton sighed, "How much does it take to get rid of these menaces...?"

"Don't sweat it," Jo said, leaning against the wall, "Sooner or later, we'll get 'em all."

"I'd rather sooner than later," Thorton grumbled.

Dr. Fetten entered the room, drawing the eyes of all assembled, "I have good news... Lieutenant Hunter is doing just fine." He immediately raised a hand to forestall any questions or comments, "He's awake now and before I say anything else, I'd like him to be present. If you'll follow me..."

"I'll stay with Matt," Dr. Poindexter said, gesturing to indicate that the rest should go.

Dr. Slate, General Thorton, Rusty, and the Pit Crew followed Dr. Fetten to the ICU where Dwayne lay in a bed. "Hey, guys," he said, weakly raising a hand in greeting, "Where've you all been?"

Jo chuckled, "Where've we been? I think the question is where YOU'VE been!"

"Ah, you know me..." he smiled faintly.

Dr. Fetten cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, "As you can see, we had no trouble removing the external... pieces with Dr. Poindexter's instructions. I'm not entirely sure how, but you're wounds from before seem to have healed rather nicely. It's quite remarkable really..."

"Great..." Dwayne said, "So I'm cured?"

"Ahh... Not exactly..." the doctor hesitated before continuing, "We weren't able to take out everything..."

Mack frowned, "What'da you mean?"

He scratched his head, looking a bit uncomfortable, "You see... The extent of his previous injuries... Ahhh... Well... It seems that some of the implants were used to stabilize his condition. They took on the function of regulating his nervous, respiratory, and circulatory systems."

"So?" Dwayne found that he didn't like the way the doctor was hesitating in his explanation.

"Well..." Dr. Fetten licked his lips nervously, "When we tried to remove them, you went into cardiac arrest..."

Dr. Slate gasped, "His heart stopped?!"

"In short, yes," spreading his hands helplessly, the doctor shook his head, "I've never had anything like that happen... And as soon as we reconnected the implant, it remedied the... problem..."

Garth glanced at the others, "That doesn't sound good, does it?"

"After conferring with Dr. Poindexter, we decided that it would be best to leave things as they are..." Dr. Fetten said.

"Oh, no, no, no, no!" Dwayne struggled to sit up, "You are NOT leaving that stuff in me!"

"I'm afraid we have to..." sighing, Dr. Fetten sagged, "It seems that these implants have taken over for your nervous system, which, in turn, controls everything else. Removing them would be pretty much guaranteed to kill you. These components have begun to integrate themselves into your body, and they will continue to become more so. Even this early, you can't survive without them."

Dwayne looked pale, "Isn't there anything...?" Dr. Fetten shook his head negatively.

Rusty, who had been doing his best to follow the conversation, interrupted, "So.. does that mean Lieutenant Dwayne's part robot?" The gathered humans all turned to look at him, surprised. The small robot sheepishly ducked his head, unsure of exactly why they all stared at him, "What...?"

"Oh, Rusty..." Dr. Slate knelt down and gave her creation a hug.

"Part... robot?" Dwayne raised an eyebrow, "How creepy is that?"

Drawing himself up to his full height, Rusty raised his chin, "What's wrong with being part robot?"

The Lieutenant shook his head, "I'm NOT going to answer that... Someone else can field that one."


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After the others had left, Dr. Slate lingered at Dwayne's bedside. She tried several times to explain how happy she was that he was safe and sound but found that she couldn't quite force the words out. Instead, the two made small talk about what the weather had been like and what the Lieutenant had missed while he was... indisposed.

"Sounds like things were pretty exciting," Dwayne commented.

"I suppose so," Erica shrugged, staring at her hands in her lap.

Frowning, Dwayne reached out and gently touched her arm, "What's wrong, Doc? This isn't like you."

"Nothing's wrong," She told him, "Everyone's back where they're supposed to be."

Raising an eyebrow, Dwayne gave her a crooked grin, "So, did you miss me?"

Her response caught him off guard. Turning her face away, Dr. Slate covered her hand with her mouth. She didn't trust herself not to cry or do something equally embarrassing.

"Hey... It was a joke... Don't take me seriously, okay?" trying to cheer her up, Dwayne smiled, "They've got me doped up on all kinds of weird pain killers. I'm pretty much high as a kite."

Despite herself, a giggle escaped Dr. Slate, "I can imagine."

Satisfied, Dwayne settled back in bed, "You know, I'm going to be just fine here. You look like you need to get some sleep. Why don't you take the kid and head home?"

"If you're sure..." she said uncertainly as she rose from her seat.

"Yeah! I'll still be here tomorrow. Doesn't look like the doctors have much intention of letting me go anywhere."

"All right..." Dr. Slate smiled warmly as she started away. Before she had gotten too far, she paused and turned back for a moment, "I... I'm glad you're all right..."

Touched by her concern, Dwayne could only nod, "Thanks..."

Turning away, Dr. Slate collected Rusty and walked out of the ICU. Dwayne allowed himself to relax and stared at the ceiling. //What was that look in her eyes?// He found himself frowning as he considered her reaction. Shaking his head, Dwayne told himself that he hadn't seen anything other than the concern of one friend for another.

//But... what if it was more?// Allowing himself to ponder that rather appealing thought, Dwayne drifted off to sleep.


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