Chapter Nineteen: A Taste of His Own Medicine

Finding Von Braun proved easier than they thought, however, it was skirting the guards and sneaking through the building that proved tough. Though, somehow, they managed.

Von Braun was holed up in an office, hunched over his desk, muttering to himself and taking notes. The sight of him filled Lisa with anger, but she kept it in check. Instead, she reached into her pocket for the syringe and vial, filling one with the other while Ben quietly locked the door. She positioned the filled syringe above a vein in Von Braun's neck, and jammed it in, emptying the contents before he knew what hit him.

Ben threw off the cloak and held the scientist at bay, one hand over his mouth, while Lisa cut her invisibility power.

Recognition filled Von Braun's eyes as he set them upon Lisa. She growled, "Make one sound or one wrong move and I swear you won't live to see the sunrise."

Von Braun glared at her, and she glared right back. She was much better at it. "You," she said, "are the cause of all my problems. You're the reason he got sick, because of your drugs. And, now, that drug is in you."

This made his eyes go wide. She now noticed that they were large and brown, like a puppy dog. This did not sway her attitude.

"Yes," she said. "The drug you made for me is now flowing in your bloodstream. As I'm sure you're well aware, it's not made to be used on humans." She paused, straining her telepathic powers to pick up any trace of what the drug was doing to his system. "The stuff could probably kill you if left to its own devices," she went on.

Von Braun had been struggling against Ben's hold, but now his struggles started to weaken. The drug was taking effect much faster on the scientist's older body.

"Let him go," said Lisa to Ben. "But be ready to make a move if need be."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Do it."

Reluctantly, Ben let him go. Von Braun tried to shout, but nothing came out but a dry wheeze. He tried to stand and run, but his legs collapsed. Once again, he glared at her.

Lisa folded her arms across her chest. "How do you like how it feels? This crap you injected into me…" She held up the empty syringe. "This got into my friend and almost killed him. Thankfully, a cure was found, and I'll give it to you, after you promise never to bother me again."

"No…" Von Braun wheezed.

"Mm," she murmured. "I figured you'd say that." She went to the desk and looked over the papers on it. Every one of them had information about her. She gathered them up and stuffed them into the sack. Von Braun tried to stop her, but Ben knocked him down.

"You don't know what she's capable of," he warned.

Lisa could tell Von Braun was losing his focus as the drug in his system spread. Even so, he asked in a whisper, "Just tell me…what are you?"

"Exactly what you thought. I'm an alien. And that's all you need to know. Either leave me alone, or suffer with this stuff in your system until it kills you. I have no qualms whatsoever with letting it do so." In truth, she did, but she wasn't about to tell him that.

"You…my research…"

"Is rightfully mine, as it's about me." Her wings flared red. "I would've taken care of you long ago if I knew you'd been after me since then."

"You can't…" He put his head in his hands, trying to get his thoughts together. Lisa could sense the weakness setting in.

"Promise me you'll leave me alone, and I'll give you the antitoxin. Don't suffer needlessly."

The scientist collapsed onto his back, breathing heavily, fighting to stay conscious. "I can't…" he gasped. "All my work…my life's work…"

"Get yourself a new damned hobby!" Lisa snapped. "You can't make a living out of making another's life a living Hell! If I have to keep an eye out for you forever, I won't be able to live! Don't you get it? Earth isn't my favorite planet in the cosmos, but I happen to like it here! I find…I find what I need here. I am not a guinea pig for your experiments. I'm a living, breathing person! Okay, so I'm not human, but who gives a damn? I can give you a list of people who don't."

Von Braun stared at her, his eyes watering. He looked almost…pathetic. Lisa almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

The scientist was quiet for a good minute, then, "All right…I promise…"

Lisa knelt next to him and stared into his eyes. "Don't lie to me. I hate it when people lie to me. I can always tell if someone's lying to me."

"I'm not…honest…"

She searched his mind, straining her powers once again. She had to be sure. Finding nothing that told her he was telling an untruth, she brought out the second vial and syringe. Checking once more to make sure he was true to his word, she finally injected the antitoxin into his bloodstream. She'd had Medicus tweak the recipe a little, making sure that, while it would still work, it'd work slower than the one he'd administered to Gary. The guy still needed to suffer for what he did to her.

Lisa pocketed everything and gestured for Ben to gather everything and stand beside her. To Von Braun, she said, "If I ever, ever get word that you're after me again, I swear you will regret it for the rest of your life."

She took Gary's jacket and the sack of materials while Ben folded his cloak over one arm and placed his free hand on Lisa's shoulder. With one, final look at the still-incapacitated scientist on the floor, Lisa growled, "The rest of your life. You have my word on that."

Lisa, Ben, and everything with them disappeared in a flash of light.

End chapter nineteen.