Title: The Best Laid Plans

Author: Silverkitsune

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Static Shock is the property of the WB and all other associated networks and creators. The characters of Tracy, Derrick, Aden, Carlos, Dr. Kumar, Dr. Cruz, Jenny and Ankit however do belong to me.

Authors Note: Let it never be said that one person cannot spork another person into action. Ok, first off. I don't believe in posting something that has multiple chapters, and never finishing it. As a reader and a writer it drives me insane. So no matter what happens I will finish this story, (I have most of it worked out in my head), it just may take me a while. Between school and work I'm lucky to find the time to sleep and eat let alone write. But one way or another this will get finished. That I promise you. Until then I hope you'll enjoy chapter eleven.

Part 11

To his horror, Virgil found that Adam had not been kidding about the coffee. Immediately after he'd collapsing into the nearest chair, Adam had wordlessly set a paper cup full the steaming dark liquid in front of him then made a b-line for the fridge. Reaching across the table, Virgil plucked a small, pink package of Sweet'N Low out of the basket that sat in the center. Tearing the top off, he dumped its countenance into the paper cup sitting in front of him, and sloshed the black liquid around a bit for good measure.

"Oh, yeck," he said after taking a tentative sip. Staring down at the cup, Virgil sighed and reached for another package.

Adam slid into the seat across from him, a steaming cup of coffee in one hand, and a brown paper bag in the other. Eyeing the growing collection of empty, rolled-up pink packages he gave Virgil a shrewd look. "There have got to be at least fifteen packages of Sweet'N Low in that thing by now."

Virgil shrugged, and tore the top off another package. "There are seventeen, and it still taste like you boiled a gym shoe in it. How do you and Sharon drink this crud everyday?"

Adam blew over the top of his drink and flashed Virgil a grin. "I guess it really is more of a grown-up drink. If you want I can try to find you some hot coco. Glass of milk maybe?"

Crumpling the paper package in his hand, Virgil scowled. "It's fine." Tossing the package to the ground he picked up the cup. He grimaced and took another sip. It may have tasted like warm mud, but he was on his last limb and desperately needed the caffeine.

Maybe some of those little cream things will make it semi-bearable,he thought doubtfully.

Adam gave him a look over the top of his cup. "You're going to pick-up all that trash later, right?"

"What kind of superhero would I be if I went around littering the building that belong to the people saving my best friend?" Virgil snapped back. "One of us has to uphold the dignity and honor that comes with being a defender of justice, and since you're stealing someone's sack lunch right now, it looks like it'll have to be me."

He was beginning to think it was fated that he and Adam be left alone in situations where there was nothing to do but wait, and have painfully snarky conversations with one another. Superman had pulled out a few moments ago to patrol Metropolis, and now he had no one to distract him from Adam either.

The other meta-human rolled his eyes and took a bite out of a thick sandwich. "Whatever you say oh attractor of socks," he mumbled in-between chews. Swallowing, Adam whipped his mouth of the back of his sleeve. "By the way, I think it's time for you to give me that little explanation."

Virgil set the cup down in front of him. "What do you want explained?" he asked. "I can't tell you much."

"Oh, you know," Adam said with a wave of his hand. "The basics: Who? What? Where? When? Why? I'd appreciate it if you started with the, Where?"

"We're somewhere outside of Metropolis," Virgil said. "Some sort of lab. I don't know much about this place, except that they know a hell of a lot about the Lethe that was shot into Ritchie. Some reporter friend of Superman's actually did a whole article about it last year when the drug first showed up." He paused. "I think he said his name was Clark or something like that." He dismissed the thought with a wave of his hand. "Anyway, it only got so much attention because some big-wig's son shot up and got sick. This place was researching it and was able to help him out. Unfortunately, since Leteh wasn't a big problem everyone forgot about it when a bigger problem came up. It's apparently really rare, and Superman says he hadn't worried about it getting into other cities because it was so hard to find around here."

Virgil pointed in the direction of the double doors. "I don't know who those people are except that they run this place and the Big S said I could trust them. That gets the Who? out of the way. You all ready know the What?, and the Why? and as for the When?." He looked down at his watch. "It is now 8:28 P.M. on Saturday, October 21. Are we all nice and happy now?"

Adam nodded. "You know Sharon's right. You are grumpy when you're tired. You think you'd never pulled an all nighter before."

"Try two all nighters," Virgil groaned.

Adam shot him a surprised look. "Say what?"

"The night Ritchie disappeared I only got about an hours worth of sleep before the sister from the Black Lagoon woke me up. I didn't get any sleep that night at your apartment, and I spent the rest of the day flying to Metropolis."

"You mean to tell me you've been using your powers at full blast for two days, and running without sleep," Adam asked in disbelief.

"You know Adam, I love it when you feel the need recap my very simple explanations," Virgil responded.

"Bet you haven't eaten anything either," Adam accused waving the half eaten sandwich at him.

"Well, no."

"Kid," Adam said in an exasperated voice. Leaning over he plucked the cup out of Virgil's hands. "You should know better then to wipe yourself out like."

"What are you doing?" Virgil asked.

Shouldering off his jacket, Adam handed it over to Virgil and stood. "You see this jacket?"

Virgil raised an eyebrow. "Yes."

Adam pointed to the wall. "You see that nice clean looking corner?"

"Yes."

"You're going to be taking this jacket, and walking over to that corner and sleeping."

Virgil moved to protest. "But-"

"No, you were idiotic enough to drain yourself like this. I'm surprised you're still able to form sentences right now, and you're no good to me if you pass out." When it looked as though Virgil was going to continue his protests, Adam sighed. "If they come out to tell us anything about Ritchie, I'll wake you up, I promise."

Grudgingly, Virgil stood and accepted Adam's jacket. Sleep sounded like such a good idea, that he was willing to ignore the fact that he was following orders from Adam. Stretching out across the hard floor, he bundled Adam's jacket into a ball to use as a pillow, laid his head down and fell into a dreamless sleep.

Hours later, a warm hand on his shoulder woke him. Rolling over, Virgil blinked groggily at the olive skinned woman standing over him.

"You need to get up now," Dr. Kumar said.

"Is something wrong?" Virgil asked shaking the cobwebs from his mind as he sat up. "What time is it?"

"Not as of right now, and it's almost 11:30 p.m.," she told him. Grabbing his hand in hers Dr. Kumar helped him to his feet. "Walk through that door against the wall. It will take you through the greenhouse and into another hallway. There's a bathroom on your left."

Nodding, Virgil walked across the room, then through the door. He was engulfed by an uncomfortable humidity as he made his way through the greenhouse; a variety of earthy, wet smells wafting under his nose. The hallway was cooler and darker, and the abrupt change in temperature helped clear his head and wake him up. In the bathroom he removed his mask, and splashed water over his face. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he was pretty sure he was getting a zit on his chin, but the nap had helped a great deal. Running a quick hand through his hair, Virgil pulled his mask back on and headed out.

As he walked through the greenhouse for the second time, Virgil took a closer look at his surroundings. The room stretched out on either side of him with the ceiling and walls made of a thick glass and a gray cement floor. More plants than he could hope to identify with only a years worth of biology under his belt covered every available space. Most of them were green in color, but he thought he could make out a few more exotic looking plants hidden further in the back. He didn't stop to investigate.

Both Adam and Dr. Kumar were seated at the table when he got back. Adam looked as though he'd just been told that Sharon was breaking up with him, and he didn't meet Virgil's eye. The doctor waved him into the empty seat.

"Please Static, sit down." She'd poured herself a cup of coffee, and she took a small sip of it before continuing. "Adam and I were just having a nice chat."

"About what exactly," Virgil asked suspiciously shooting Adam a glare.

"Static," Dr. Kumar said. "What exactly do you know about heroin?"

"Not too much," Virgil admitted. "Why?"

Dr. Kumar folded her hands over the table - top. "Do you know what acute intoxication is?"

"No."

"It's when the body has received the maximum dose of heroin that it can tolerate," she began. "Respiration will slow down, sometime to the point where a person's toes and finger tips will turn blue, and there pulse can become very slow. In a very extreme case, a person may fall into a coma and possibly die."

Virgil nodded, confused but attentive.

"Adam tells me that Ritchie was showing many of these symptoms when you first found him, and that you argued over whether or not you should take him to a hospital," she continued. "Now, I am aware that you are inexperienced when it comes to dealing with most illegal drugs. I am aware that you are still very young, and that the drug found in your friend's system was not heroin. However, I am also aware that Lethe is one of the rarest drugs in the United States right now, and if I had been asked prior to this meeting whether or not a person exhibiting these symptoms was most likely to be under the influence of Lethe or acute intoxication due to heroin, I would have put my money on heroin." She paused to take a sip of her coffee. "In short, it's a miracle that you're friend is not dead. So let me say this. The next time you feel the need to hold someone's reputation at higher value than their physical well being, I'd like you to remember that while a reputation can be remade it's not always the case with a human life, you stupid kids."

Virgil sat in a stunned silence, feeling as though all the air had been knocked out of him with one swift blow. Dr. Kumar took a long look at the two of them, and her expression softened. "That being said, I'd also like to say that what's done is done. You can't change what happened, and you did get him some help." She gave Virgil a pointed look. "I would also suggest that you learn to trust your instincts."

Dr. Kumar calmly sipped coffee, surrounded by a patient air, while both Virgil and Adam sat with identical looks of guilt etched across their faces each of them waiting for the other to speak. Virgil expected that the three of them would have permanently stayed that way if another voice had not chimed in.

"I see we're playing good doctor bad doctor again, Shivangi." Dr. Cruz came next to the younger woman's chair. "I never do get to play bad doctor."

Dr. Kumar smiled. "It's because I'm much better at striking fear into the hearts of others." Standing, she gave the two boys a nod. "Well, I've said my peace, and I'm sure Dr. Cruz would like her turn to speak." She frowned suddenly. "I am going to go make sure that Jenny and Ankit haven't killed one another yet."

"She really is nicer than she seems," Dr. Cruz said as Dr. Kumar departed.

"Oh, sure," Adam said. "Just a bit rough around the edges, right?"

She nodded. "Exactly. Now, you must be wondering about you're friend." Pulling a chair out, she slowly eased herself into the seat.

"Is he going to be ok?" Virgil asked.

"The drug is being purged from his system," Dr. Cruz responded. "Unfortunately, whether he'll be "ok" is still uncertain."

"Why?" Virgil asked.

Dr. Cruz sighed. "The problem with Lethe is that it's a very new drug. The catastrophe about Lethe is that we can't pin point exactly what component makes Lethe, Lethe."

Adam, shook his head. "I'm not following."

Dr. Cruz stood, several of her joints making verbal protests against the action.

"Of course not. Follow me and I'll do my best to explain."

Virgil followed Dr. Cruz across the room and into the greenhouse he'd passed through moments before, Adam trailing behind.

The hot sticky air made Virgil shift in his costume as he followed the Hispanic woman down several aisles of plants. He shifted his eyes from his leaders white coated back to the cement floor stepping around bags of earth, water hoses and dodging a variety of long reaching plant life.

"Here we are," Dr. Cruz mumbled to herself, stopping in front of a tall door. She opened it and motioned the two of them to follow. The air in the new room was cooler, and Virgil shivered at the sudden change of temperature. In front of him was a long corridor full of tables. Sitting on top of each table was a long trough of sorts, each full of rich black earth. Growing in each of these troughs was a dark red flower.

"We have to give the poppies their own room," Dr. Cruz said plucking one of the many blood red flowers that sat quite comfortably in bed of soil across the tables in front of them. "They only like to grow in cooler temperatures. The soil has to be kept at around 60-65 degrees F. I've gotten them to germinate at 80 degrees F as well, but they don't like it very much." She opened her hand, displaying the flower under Virgil's nose. "Papaverus Somniferum or the sleep poppy. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

The only place Virgil had ever seen a poppy was on screen during the Wizard Of Oz. No one in his house had much time or interest in gardening, but even he couldn't deny the beauty of the delicate red plant in front of him. He nodded.

Pulling the flower back to her chest, Dr. Cruz slipped her free hand into her front breast pocket. It came out holding a scalpel. "I'm sure Dr. Kumar told you about the comparison many like to make between Lethe and heroin?"

"Yeah," Virgil said dryly. "She touched on that somewhere in between ripping our souls out and eating them."

"The reason everyone loves making that comparison," she continued. "Is because heroin is Lethe's mother, and the two of them are both a part of the same drug filled family."

Lifting the flower into the light, Dr. Cruz squinted, and pushed the tip of the scalpel into the pod resting at the very center of the poppy. Once it was inserted, she dragged the scalpel down its side. The cut began to ooze a whitish substance that dripped onto her fingers.

Virgil leaned in to get a better look.

"If this substance were dried, if all the water were passed out of it, it would form a brown sticky gum. The gum would be what we call opium. From opium we can extract morphine, and then morphine can be converted into heroin." She paused. "It sounds simpler that it really is, but I'm giving you the short version. Now, none of the junkies you meet on our fine city streets buy pure heroin. Heroin gets passed from it's producer, to a series of middle man who all cut a little bit out of what they're given and then mix in a variety of interesting products."

"Yeah, I know how that works," Adam grumbled.

"Now, lets say someone had some heroin," Dr. Cruz continued. "And along with cutting it down and mixing it with, oh let's say baking powder, they mixed in a third component. This third component caused a reaction in the drug, and created an entirely new product. The new product would be Lethe. The problem is I don't know what that product is. Dr. Kumar and I've been studying it since last year, as well as trying to recreate it, but it's like searching for a needle in a haystack. There could be any number of combinations, and until I know the precise formula I can't get a clear picture of all the side effects happening in the body that I can't see. Not only that, but whoever 'cut' the Lethe given to your friend added something to it that is causing even more unknown side effects then before."

Placing both scalpel and flower onto the table, the older woman suddenly looked very tired.

"I'm not sure whether your friend will ever be completely alright, I can't give you a 'yes' or a 'no.' For all we know a side effect may show up years down the road. The only thing I can tell you is that we can keep him alive if nothing else. He should wake up within the next day or so, he'll be as weak as a kitten, but alive."

At the word "alive" Virgil felt himself release the breath he'd been holding. In Virgil's book, as long as you were alive there were chances and possibilities. Ritchie had chances and possibilities. Only when you were dead did it mean you were out of options. Well, at least it did in most circles.