Bobby sat curled up in a corner of his cell, trying not to move. Arnaud's tests had been nothing like the tests Kevin had performed. Arnaud's tests had hurt a great deal. And, just to make matters worse, Bobby's head was pounding with one of the throbbing headaches that signaled oncoming quicksilver madness. Arnaud hadn't bothered to give him any counteragent. Of course, Bobby was probably going to be dead soon, so it didn't really matter.
Just then five men in lab coats came into the room and started walking toward Bobby. Bobby backed even further into the corner, his eyes wild. He'd heard Arnaud talking about surgery earlier, and he wasn't in the mood to die. He was about to turn invisible and risk the pain and insanity when Kevin stepped into the room. Bobby looked up at him in confusion. What was he doing here? Kevin nodded at the other men in lab coats, and they lunged forward and grabbed Bobby.
Bobby's expression turned to one of shock and dismay. "You're with THEM?" Kevin winced a little, but he said nothing. Bobby shook his head sadly. "I should've known..."
The men in lab coats dragged Bobby into another room and pushed him down on a gurney that had been modified with straps for the arms and legs. They strapped him down tightly. Bobby knew he should be more worried about what was going to happen to him, but all that he could think about was the fact that he'd been betrayed by Kevin, and just when he was starting to trust the guy too. He couldn't bring himself to believe that Darien was in on this though, he just couldn't.
The men in lab coats wheeled Bobby's gurney into a makeshift operating room. Kevin reached over and picked up a needle, attempting to inject it into Bobby's arm. Bobby struggled as much as possible, but after two or three tries Kevin managed to succeed. He leaned down and whispered, "Relax, it's not anesthetic. Pretend to pass out." Bobby wondered for a split second whether or not to believe Kevin, and then made his decision. He closed his eyes and relaxed his tense muscles, hoping he was giving a convincing performance. Apparently he was, because the guards began to undo the straps around his arms and legs.
Bobby lay perfectly still, waiting for the perfect opportunity. Then he opened his eyes and lashed out with one of his feet, kicking one of the men in the midsection. The man doubled over, and Bobby leaped up off of the hospital gurney, punching another one of the men. Kevin punched one of the men as well, but after the man fell to the ground he winced in pain and rubbed the hand he'd used to punch the man. Bobby managed to knock the other two men to the ground, and then ran for the door.
Kevin ran up to Bobby, grabbing his arm before he ran out the door. "We need to get Darien."
Bobby turned around and looked back at Kevin. "You know where he is?"
Kevin nodded. "Follow me."
The two of them started running toward Darien's room. However, as they rounded a corner, they came face to face with three big men. Bobby threw himself back around the corner, muttering, "Aw crap." Suddenly an alarm started shrieking in the background. Bobby winced. Now everyone in this entire complex would know something was wrong. Bobby sighed. He had to make a decision, and he had to make it now. Either he could turn invisible and risk madness, or he could stay in sight and be captured. It took all of a fraction of a second for him to decide he'd rather be crazy than dead.
Bobby quicksilvered and ran back around the corner, where Kevin was standing against the wall with his hands above his head. Bobby grabbed a machine gun out of the nearest guy's hand and began firing it at the other terrorists. Naturally, the terrorists were more than a little shocked to see a gun shooting at them while floating in midair. Kevin, however, had the good sense to fall to the ground and attempt to protect himself from stray bullets. Seconds later, all of the terrorists were lying dead on the ground, their bodies riddled with bullet holes.
Bobby reappeared, dropped the machine gun he'd been holding, and leaned down and picked up another one, pulling it out of one of the terrorist's lifeless hands. He walked over and helped Kevin to his feet.
Kevin looked around the hallway, shaking his head. "This should probably shock me, but after all that's been going on lately, it really doesn't."
Hobbes shrugged. "Ah, this is nothing. The other day I saw a guy with his head blown off."
Kevin glanced over at Hobbes. "The walkie-talkies?"
Bobby nodded. "Oh yeah. Blood all over the walls, too." He pulled the machine gun up into a firing position and looked over at Kevin. "So, are we gonna get Darien out of here or not?"
Kevin motioned with his hand. "Come on, he's this way." Kevin and Hobbes ran the rest of the way to Darien's cell. Finally they reached the door to Darien's cell. Kevin opened the door and stuck his head inside, but no one was there. He frowned. "This doesn't make any sense. He was here earlier!"
Bobby looked in the room too. "Well, he's not here now." Suddenly he fell to the ground, gasping in pain and clasping the back of his neck. After the pain subsided he looked up at Kevin, a hint of fear in his eyes. "I think we've got a problem."
Kevin's eyes widened. "Arnaud might have had some counteragent synthesized in his lab."
"Well, let's go then!"
Kevin glanced in the cell again. "What about Darien?"
"He's not in there, and he'll be a lot safer if I'm completely sane when we find him."
"You've got a point." The two of them began to run down the halls, Kevin keeping a frantic eye out for the lab, Bobby keeping a frantic eye out for any of Arnaud's henchmen. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Kevin stopped in front of a pair of wooden doors. "This is it!" He threw the doors open and ran into the room, but stopped suddenly, nearly causing Bobby to tumble into him. Bobby started to ask Kevin why he'd stopped so abruptly, but then he saw why. Darien was sitting on a medical table, and Arnaud was aiming a gun directly at his head.
Arnaud looked up at Bobby and Kevin. "Hello gentlemen. I was wondering when you were going to arrive. Hobbes, I'd suggest that you put down the gun. And don't even think about quicksilvering. If you disappear I am perfectly willing to shoot Fawkes in the head."
Bobby frowned. "Shut up, The Phone."
Arnaud smiled. "Why should I? After all, I have the upper hand. Now, put down your gun, or I shall be forced to take drastic measures." He pressed the gun even harder against Darien's temple as he said this. Bobby sighed and reluctantly placed his gun on the ground, kicking it over to Arnaud's feet.
Darien gave Kevin a serious look. "Kevin, do you remember what we talked about earlier?"
Kevin shook his head fearfully. "I can't."
Arnaud frowned. "What are you two talking about?"
Darien's eyes grew intense and he said harshly, "Let him shoot me!"
Kevin shook his head fervently. "No!"
Arnaud smacked Darien on the side of the head with his gun. "Shut up." Bobby could feel the itching sensation building up in the back of his head. He tried to brace himself, but he still wasn't prepared when the pain exploded in the back of his head. He fell to the ground, crying out in pain. Arnaud looked over at Bobby in surprise, giving Darien the chance to grab Arnaud's gun hand and slam it repeatedly against the wall. Arnaud cried out in pain and dropped his gun at the same time as Bobby began to stand up, with an evil grin on his face and eyes the color of blood.
Bobby pulled himself to his feet and immediately lunged for Arnaud, slamming him into the wall. Bobby then proceeded to wrap one of his hands around Arnaud's neck and lift him bodily off the ground with a strength that was almost inhuman. Arnaud tried to pull Bobby's hand away from his neck, but to no avail.
Bobby leaned forward until his face was mere inches away from Arnaud and hissed, "I should kill you right now. But I won't. I want to have some fun first." He removed his hand from Arnaud's neck and Arnaud fell to the ground, gasping for breath. Bobby leaned down and picked up Arnaud's gun, regarding it with an eerily calm expression on his face. Then he smiled and lifted up the gun, aiming it directly at Arnaud's head. "Bang. You're dead."
"Wait," Arnaud said, his voice still raspy from when Bobby had been choking him, "We can make a deal. I've got counteragent."
Bobby's smile widened. "Don't you get it, The Phone? I don't want the counteragent any more." He laughed. "I like being this way. No more fear, no conscience to drag me down..." Bobby took a deep breath, savoring the moment. "Oh, it feels great to be free."
Darien looked over at Bobby. "You didn't feel that way when you were around Vivian."
Bobby gave Darien a quick glare. "Shut up."
But Darien continued, ignoring Bobby's comment. "In fact, if I remember correctly, you felt quite the opposite."
Bobby turned around, aiming the gun at Darien. "I said shut up!" Arnaud immediately took his chance and lunged at Bobby. The two of them fell to the ground in a tangled heap, and the gun skittered across the floor to Kevin's feet. Kevin leaned down and hesitantly picked it up. Meanwhile, Arnaud slammed Bobby's head hard against the concrete floor, leaving him barely conscious. Then he stood up.
Kevin pulled the gun up and aimed it shakily at Arnaud's chest. "Hold it right there," he said, his voice quavering a little.
Arnaud gave Kevin a condescending look. "Oh, come now, Kevin. We both know you couldn't shoot me." He took a step closer. "You're a scientist, not a killer." He took another step. "You couldn't hurt a fly." He took another step; one more step and he'd be able to grab the gun out of Kevin's hands. He smiled triumphantly. "And I know you won't kill me." A gunshot rang out through the room. Kevin was shocked to realize that the sound had emanated from the gun in his hands. Arnaud looked down at the newly made hole in his chest, utterly shocked, and then looked back up at Kevin, with a strange look on his face that could almost have been pride or admiration. "I didn't think you had it in you..." Then he fell to the ground, dead.
Kevin looked down at Arnaud's dead body, then at the gun in his hand, and sank slowly to the ground, unable to believe what had just happened. He looked up at Darien, shock and disbelief on his face. "I killed him... Oh God, I killed him."
Darien gave Kevin a sympathetic look. "Well, it's not like he wasn't asking for it."
Bobby began to stir. Kevin stood up quickly. "Don't move!" He yelped, training the gun on Bobby. Bobby sat up, looking at Arnaud's body, and then up at Kevin. He raised his hands in the air slowly. Kevin walked over to Darien and pressed the gun into his hand. Darien immediately aimed it at Bobby.
Kevin began digging frantically through a nearby refrigerator. After several minutes of frantic searching, he straightened up, a triumphant look on his face. He held up a vial full of blue liquid. "I've got it!" He said enthusiastically. He picked up a needle and filled it with counteragent, preparing to inject the needle into Bobby's arm.
Then several of Arnaud's henchmen stormed through the door to the lab, took one look at Arnaud's dead body, and fired their guns directly at Kevin.
Darien immediately returned fire and managed to shoot all the terrorists who had charged through the door, but it was too late. Kevin had been shot repeatedly in the chest. He fell to the ground, dead. Darien looked over at him frantically, yelling, "Kevin?" He tried to run over to Kevin, only belatedly remembering that even walking wasn't a good idea for him right now. Within seconds he was sprawled on the floor. Darien pulled himself over to Kevin as fast as he could, placing a hand on his brother's chest, feeling the blood, seeing the empty eyes staring up at the ceiling, and finally realizing that his brother was dead.
A lone tear rolled down Darien's cheek. "Kevin..." He was going to say more when he felt the cold nuzzled of a gun barrel on the side of his head. He looked upward and saw Bobby standing there, his crimson eyes glinting with hatred as he aimed the machine gun he had brought with him earlier directly at Darien's head. Darien looked down at Kevin's body, then back up at Bobby with hollow eyes. "Look, if you're gonna shoot me, just do it, okay?"
Bobby looked down at Darien in confusion. "That's it?" Darien nodded. Bobby frowned. "You're supposed to be afraid."
Darien laughed bitterly. "Sorry, I'm all scared out."
"You're supposed to ask me not to kill you."
"Why should I? You'll probably just kill me anyway."
Bobby shook his head angrily. "You're trying to confuse me."
"Am I?" Darien asked, quietly reaching behind him toward Kevin's dead hand, the one with the needle full of counteragent in it. He took it out of Kevin's hand and gripped it tightly. Then he pulled his arm out from behind his back and kicked at the gun in Bobby's hands with his good leg. The gun went off, but the bullet merely impacted into the wall by Darien's head. Bobby howled in pain as Darien grabbed him and forcefully injected the contents of the syringe into his arm. The gun slipped out of his hand and clattered over to Darien's feet.
Darien picked up the gun and placed it where it was in arms reach. After a few minutes, Bobby began to move. Darien looked at him warily. "Are you yourself again?"
Bobby sat up. His eyes were normal. "I guess so..." Darien sighed in relief and put down the gun. Bobby looked around the room, remembering what had just happened. "Oh man." He looked over at Darien, and Kevin's body lying on the floor. "Oh man, I'm so sorry..."
Darien shook his head. "It wasn't your fault."
"Yes, it is. He wouldn't have been shot if I hadn't... if I wasn't..." Bobby couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. He sighed. "I'm sorry about the gun thing, too."
Darien leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes for a moment. "It's okay. That wasn't you."
Both of them were silent for a minute, each of them thinking about the loved ones they had lost in the last twenty-four hours. After a while, Bobby stood up. "You ready to get out of here?" Darien nodded. Bobby leaned down, grasping Darien's arm and helping him to his feet. He grabbed the now half-empty vial of counteragent that Kevin had used to fill the syringe with in his other hand. "Then let's go."
**********
Bobby knelt in front of Vivian's grave and felt a stray tear roll down his cheek. It was his fault that she was dead, he thought. It was his fault. He closed his eyes and thought about what had happened in the past couple of days. Soon after he and Darien had gotten out of Arnaud's complex, a group of men in suits had showed up. Fortunately, they'd been with the good guys. They'd gotten Darien to a hospital, and they'd offered Bobby a deal.
As it turned out, counteragent was very expensive stuff to make. Bobby would have had to steal several thousands of dollars just to pay for one shot of the stuff. However, the Agency- that was what the men in suits had been working for- was willing to make him a deal. He worked for them as an agent, and they gave him counteragent. He'd felt like he was getting the raw end of the deal at the time, but he didn't say anything. After all, it was the best chance he had at staying sane. He still wasn't sure whether or not to except the deal, but the itching sensation in the back of his head told him time was starting to run out, and he'd have to make a decision soon.
Bobby opened his eyes and saw Darien slowly making his way over a nearby hill, using a cane to help him walk. He walked up and sat down beside Bobby, groaning a little as he bent over. He sat there silently for a few minutes and then looked over at Bobby, cocking his head slightly to the left. "So, are you coming to Kevin's funeral?"
Bobby sighed. "I'm not sure."
"I think he would have wanted you to come." Darien paused for a while, deep in thought, and then asked the question that was foremost in his mind. "You gonna take the deal the Agency offered you?"
Bobby stared down at his feet. "I'm not sure. They make it sound like I don't have much of a choice."
"Yeah, well, you probably don't. But don't worry. It can't be all bad."
Bobby laughed a little. "Do you know something I don't?"
Darien paused a moment, looking at the cane in his hands. "Well, I've been working for these guys ever since I got kicked out of the FBI. They're not that bad, once you get used to 'em. And if you agreed, I might be able to pull a few strings, set you up with a partner you can trust."
Bobby glanced over at Darien, the beginnings of a smile appearing on his face. "Are you volunteering to be my partner?"
Darien returned the smile. "That's exactly what I'm saying."
Bobby laughed a little. "You know, I think my chances of joining this Agency thing just doubled."
"And maybe, someday, they'll figure out how to get the gland out of your head."
Bobby glanced over at Darien. "I hope so."
"So, does that mean you're in?"
Bobby thought for a moment and then nodded. "I guess so."
Darien pulled himself to his feet. "Come on, then. It's time you met Claire."
Bobby stood up, giving Darien a quizzical look. "Who's Claire?"
"Your Keeper."
A roguish smile spread across Bobby's face. "I like the sound of that..."
And the rest, as they say, is history...
The End
