What woke me was something I'd never forget. I was still trying to figure out what was happening as I sat there trying to blink awake. The light over the bed was on, and Twin Two was saying something to me. It was slowly coming to me. Two had patted my head or something to wake me up and now he was fighting like mad to wake me all the way up. I shook my head and looked across the bed to see a nurse, this one was a different nurse than the one before, holding Two down with one of her hands on his chest while holding something sharp in her other hand.
"Hey, what goes on here?" I suddenly asked aloud, trying to understand what in the world was happening.
"Will you tell him to please keep still before I end up hurting him." the nurse said to me as she once more pushed Two back down onto the bed.
"Keep her away from me!!" Two sniveled as he looked at me with pleading eyes.
"Whoa! Hold on," I raised my hands to calm the two down. "Suppose you both tell me one at a time what's going on here."
"I'm trying to give this," the nurse glanced at Two, "thing an injection, but he won't let me."
"She's trying to hurt me, and I can't phase to protect myself! She even turned on the lights and I don't have my sunglasses!!" Two angrily looked at the nurse, who, in turn, gave him the same look back. All I could do was shake my head in amazement as the nurse and twin argued and fought in front of me. After Two simmered down the nurse rolled up Two's shirtsleeve and moved her syringe close to his arm, but he jerked his arm away before the nurse could do anything. Frustrated, the nurse grabbed Two's wrist hard, trying to pin him down. What she got back was a firm smack in the face from Two's free hand.
"That hurts!" Two shouted at the shocked nurse as he rubbed his throbbing wrist.
"Hah! You just wait, freak, I'll show you what hurts in a minute!" The nurse put her hands on her hips and gave Two an evil look.
I sighed and rolled my eyes as I thought of what to do.
"Listen, Two, she's not going to hurt you. She's just going to…" My words trailed off as I looked at Two, then looked at the nurse, who were both staring at me in silence. Before I could say anything else, two male nurses came into the room.
"Sorry we're late. Did you call for us?" one of them asked.
"Yes, turn this naughty boy in the proper position needed so I can show him that bad behaved patients get punished." the nurse said as she glared at Two. Two stared at the nurse out of the corners of his eyes and swallowed hard.
The nurses knew what the other one was talking about and immediately walked over to Two's bed, pushing me out of the way. Two shut up and cowered as the two new nurses firmly but gently grabbed onto him. I was afraid of what Two would do to them, but surprisingly he let them touch him. The nurse, who had been fighting with Two, checked her syringe while the other two turned the squirming and scared twin in the position that she had wanted. At seeing what they were about to do, I slowly walked out into the hallway while feeling sorry for Two. It felt good to stretch after being shut up in that room all night. But even out in the hall I could hear poor Twin Two and the nurses. Good thing there weren't very many people in the ICU room during all of this. I slowly put my hand to my face to cover a smile when hearing Two's scream of pain that told me the nurse had succeeded in giving him the shot, finally.
A little later the nurses finally came out of the ICU room. The one who had been in there first came up to me. "You may go in now. I think he's learned his lesson."
"Why did you have to do that?" I asked angrily.
"Do what?"
"You know what," I firmly said. "If he didn't want you to give him an injection, you shouldn't have given it to him like you did. Don't you have any pity for two scared progra—uh—people who have just been through a tormenting time?"
The nurse looked at me like I was crazy then walked off.
"Apparently not," I sighed, walking toward the ICU doors. I went in to find Two (his bed sheet pulled up to his chest) in a rather sulky, pouting mood. He wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt and softly rubbed the place where the nurse had given him the injection, which was an area that I'll—uh—leave unmentioned for the time being. One was awake and talking to Two. I stopped in a part of the room where I could hear their conversation and see them, but where they couldn't see me.
"You big baby," I heard One playfully say to his brother as he held his hand in front of his mouth to hide a laugh. "I told you not to act up."
"Why didn't you tell me that they give injections in that area?" Two sniveled.
"You didn't ask me. Besides, I thought you knew."
"I didn't know," Two pouted. "Where did the nurse give you your injection?"
One pointed at the upper part of his arm.
Two scowled.
"Well, she would have given it to you there too if you hadn't acting like you were being deleted. It's your own fault that she gave it to you where she did."
"Humph!" grunted Two.
"Such a baby," sighed One under his breath as he shook his head.
"I heard that, One. I'm NOT a baby!" Two angrily glanced at his twin.
"You act like one sometimes—a big assassin program like you fussing and crying over a measly little shot."
"Oh shut up!" Two snapped. "If that nurse stuck you where she did me, you'd cry too." Two began to blush a little.
I couldn't help but giggle at the two twins' conversation, just listening to them made me think of two kids. I wanted to hug poor Two, but I didn't dare for fear of what he might think or do. I started to walk over to them.
"If I had my razor I would have whacked off some of that nurse's hair and—" Two stopped at seeing me approach.
"Shame on you, Two!" I gasped at hearing his last sentence. Two lowered his head at the scolding I gave him.
"Why is everyone against me today?" Two sniffed.
"Naughty boy," One teased as he shook his head at Two. Two clinched his fists, growled, and crossed his arms over his chest and continued to pout.
"I see you're awake." I said as I approached One's bed, still trying to hide my laughter at the Twins' teasing of each other. He jumped a little at seeing me. Two glanced at me. I looked at him and smiled. With a tear stained pouting face, he looked down at the bed and quietly fingered the sheet.
"The nurse told me you learned your lesson." I said to Twin Two. Two looked up at me and nodded his silver dreadlocked head before another tear escaped his eye.
"Poor baby," I whispered to myself under my breath then I turned back to One who was still trying to figure me out.
"You probably don't remember me since you seemed to be in a state of shock the night I found you both. I'm the one who rescued you and Two after Merovingian tossed you out."
One continued to remain silent as he cut his eyes at me.
"It's okay, we can trust her. She's good." I heard Two say, from behind me, in a low pouting voice.
"Are you feeling ok?" I asked One quietly.
"Better than how Two's feeling right now." teased One before he started to snicker.
"Will you lay off?" said Two, starting to get up. I stopped him and eased him back down.
"You just wait, brother, I'll get you back." Two sniffed away a tear then turned over the other way and pulled the sheet tight around him.
"I think he's more embarrassed than anything." One smiled, looking down at his hands then back at me.
"Two told me why Merovingian did this to you both," I said in a lowered voice. "I'm sorry it had to happen."
One playfully ran his fingers over the sheet and looked at me again. "My eyes hurt," he quietly said. "Please turn the lights out."
"Sure," I replied, getting up and turning off the light over One's bed, then turning to do the same to the one over Two's bed. Two was lying huddled up under the sheet with his face buried in his pillow, softly crying. The poor guys were suffering from our world's torments. After flipping off the light, I gently ran my hand over Two's dreadlocks and rubbed his shoulder, like I would have done to a frightened child, then I turned back to One.
"Is that better?" I asked as I watched One rub his eyes with the backs of his hands.
"Yes, thank you," One took his hands away from his face and blinked his eyes a few times before turning to face me. "Where are my sunglasses?"
"I-I'm not sure. I wasn't with you when you were brought in here. I can ask the nurse where they are if you want."
"No, that's ok. Just keep the lights off and I'll be fine. Same with my brother,"
"Anything you say." I smiled.
I got up and walked over to Twin Two's bed again.
"Two," I whispered, "are you okay, buddy?"
Two slowly looked at me over his shoulder then turned over to where he'd be facing me. He lay there and stared into my eyes.
"I hate this place." he sniffed.
"I know, I know." I cooed.
"I'm an assassin, a rogue program—tough, menacing! I want to be free! I want to kill!"
I made a hush sound as I placed my hand on Two's dark lips to soothe and calm him down.
"Being in this dreadful place is so embarrassing," Several more tears rolled down Two's cheeks. "Not being able to phase at will makes it worse! And they took our sunglasses away and keep turning the lights on!" Two closed his eyes tight when a nurse across from us suddenly turned on a light over another patient's bed. By now I had come to realize that the Twins' eyes were sensitive to light, which explained why they wore their dark glasses all the time. Without them, they seemed to be in a great deal of pain whenever someone turned on a bright light. When the nurse turned the light off again, Two opened his eyes. Before I knew what I was doing, I had picked up a corner of the sheet and started to wipe the tears from his eyes and cheeks. He seemed to enjoy it. Evidently, under that assassin aggressiveness that the Twins had, they really liked and enjoyed being pampered, even if they didn't want to admit it sometimes. Perhaps I was seeing a side of them that no one else had seen before. Maybe the Twins didn't want to be all tough and mean but were forced to be that way by the Merovingian. Maybe deep down inside they were sweet, innocent creatures who only wanted to have fun and live a regular life like everyone else, but didn't know how to.
"What's your name?" Two finally and softly asked, interrupting my thoughts.
"Call me Angel." I said quietly.
"Nice. Suits you well," He smiled. "No one's ever been this nice to us before."
I reached out and brushed one of Two's dreadlocks to one side of his face as he continued to smile.
"I'm tired." he said quietly.
"Must be what that nurse—" I stopped myself. "I mean… It's probably the medication."
I quickly searched for a topic to change the subject to. "Uh, by the way," I started while glancing over at One. "Do either of you know why Smith would be here?"
Both Twins looked at me.
"Smith?" they both said together.
"Smith is," One said.
"—here?" Two finished.
"Yes. He tried to kill you two then tried to kill me. If I hadn't have been here who knows what might have happened to you last night."
"Smith is," One began.
"—right now working for," said Two.
"—the Merovingian," One finished.
My head began to spin as I looked from side to side trying to follow the Twins' conversation, which they carried on by finishing each other's sentences and phrases.
"And that means?" I interrupted.
"We've got to find some way of stopping them both."
"How did he try to kill us?" One asked.
"He was about to inject you with this." I pulled out the syringe from my coat's pocket and held it up. In the darkness it was hard to tell what the liquid was inside of it.
"Let me see that." Two said as he reached for the syringe. I handed it to him.
"I know what this is. It's a vaccine." he said as he looked over the syringe and held it up in front of him.
"A vaccine," I repeated, sounding a little dumb.
"What do you do when your computer gets a virus?" One quizzed me.
"Easy. Just install an anti-virus program on it to…" It was beginning to hit me.
"Bingo!" One said. "The vaccine in that syringe is better known as an anti-virus program used to get rid of viruses and rogue programs such as ourselves. One dose of that in our code would probably be enough to nearly delete us, if not delete us. I've seen the Merovingian use it on programs that didn't quite live up to what he wanted."
"But how did Merovingian and Smith know we were here?" I asked.
"The Mero," Two began.
"—has security cameras around his house. He probably saw you rescue us then sent Smith out to finish us off before we could tell you everything about their plans." One finished.
"How do we stop them?" I glanced at both Twins.
"Give us a laptop." Two answered.
"Do you have one?" One asked.
"Yes, I have one. It's back in my room at the hotel I'm staying in."
"Get it and bring it to us." both Twins said in unison.
"We can use it to program our powers to work again."
"Then we can phase and heal and get out of this place!" Two gladly said with relief.
"Will you two be ok here while I'm gone?" I asked in concern.
"Don't worry," One started.
"—about us," Two finished.
"Just go! No telling what the Merovingian is planning at this moment."
Without another word, I grabbed my coat and told the Twins good bye and rushed out of the double doors and into the hall. After pushing the elevator button I waited for it to come up. Once it opened I was again horrified to see Smith standing in front of me.
"You," I gasped. "But I thought the guards took you away!"
Smith didn't say anything but instead gritted his teeth and started toward me. I forgot about the elevator and ran for the emergency stairs. Smith ran after me.
