Disney owns, I don't. Life sucks. Check out Her Mission, by pbow, definitely an interesting read for sure!

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Ascent and Descent – Chapter 4

Susan awoke to darkness and heat, and bolted up quickly, terrified at what she would see. Her eyes adjusted quickly, and she scanned about her for her brothers, certain that they must be lying nearby. Instead, she saw the cold, sterile walls of a hospital room surrounding her.

She took a breath, calming down momentarily, before she noticed the large cast on her arm. Hefting it gently, she looked at it, as if fascinated by the very sight of it. Her gaze traveled to her other arm, noticing the IV tube, and following it to the bag of fluid hanging from the pole.

The door opened, and Susan blinked at the brightness that suddenly caught her, blinding her. The lights flipped on, bathing the room in light.

"Think you could give me some warning before you do that?"

The nurse nodded, though Susan didn't see it. "Sorry about that Ms. Go, but I have to check you out before you move too much."

Susan lowered her hand, still blinking in the harsh light. "I'm feeling fine, a little warm maybe. What about my brothers, are they okay?"

"Michael had a few scratches and cuts, but he had managed to dive behind something. He was largely protected. And I'm not sure how, but William and Wendell are fine. We think you and Henry managed to protect them from the worst of it when you shielded them with your bodies. You should be fine as well, a minor concussion and a broken arm, though we were worried when you didn't wake up right away."

"Wake up right away? What do you mean?"

"You've been here for three days now, and…"

"WHAT?"

The nurse laid a restraining hand on Susan, trying to get her to lie back down. "It's all right. Your brothers are just in the next room sleeping, you can see them in the morning."

Susan tried to push back, but the nurse had the leverage on her, and Susan found herself lying back on the bed. After a moment, she gave up the struggle, and the nurse released her. "What about Henry, you didn't say anything about him."

The nurse looked away for a moment, but Susan caught the motion. "He's still being treated I'm afraid. Something about his condition…"

"I want to see him!"

"I don't think that would be wise…"

Susan leapt up quickly, glaring quickly at the nurse, who backed off quickly. "I'm going to go see my brother. Where is he?"

"Ro…room 427… a… a couple floors down."

Susan quickly bolted from the room, the IV forgotten as it was yanked from her arm, the stand and bag clattering to the floor. The nurse stared after her, trembling. For a moment, just a moment, it looked like green flames had encased the girl's hands. She shook it off quickly as a trick of the light, and went to the phone, calling the fourth floor to warn them that she was coming.

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Susan pushed through the opening elevator doors, ignoring the cast as she used it to leverage herself out of the elevator faster. Pausing only to check the sign indicating room numbers, she bolted down the hallway, glancing left and right to try and find Henry's room. She started past one room with observation windows when she noticed the room number.

427…

She looked back through the window, really noticing the patient lying within. It looked nothing like Henry. Strapped down securely across the arms, chest, and legs, this looked more like a body builder than her scrawny big brother. His chest and arms were huge! The hospital gown he wore accentuated all of the muscles, as if the gown they had dressed him in was several sizes too small. She scanned closer through the pale light, and gasped as she could make out the features of his face. It was Henry!

Susan's hand flew to her mouth as Henry suddenly bucked under the restraints, his chest heaving, his back arching in agony. Susan reached for the door handle when a hand landed on her shoulder.

"I wouldn't go in there if I was you."

Susan whirled quickly, looking up at the doctor who only looked at her forlornly. "Why can't I go in there?"

"You might get hurt. The first time it happened… let's just say, he put two of our nurses into emergency."

Susan glanced back through the window, watching as his muscles visibly rippled and twisted. "But he's in agony! Can't you do something?"

"We are doing everything we can, but we've never seen anything like this! I'm Doctor Franklin, please… come with me, and I'll tell you everything."

Susan looked back at her brother, a small tear threatening to escape. Slowly, the doctor led her back to his office, sitting her down in the chair. He went to the water cooler, pouring her a drink, before taking a seat on his desk, leaning down towards her.

"How are you feeling?"

Susan downed the drink quickly before glaring up at the doctor. "I'm pissed, I'm scared, and I'm freaked out that I've been unconscious for three days, only to find my brother like that. How do you think I feel? And do you have to keep your office so warm, it's like a sauna in here?"

The doctor gave her a moment to settle down before he continued. "Those are all perfectly normal reactions to what has happened to you. Can you tell me, what's the last thing you remember?"

Susan cast her eyes downward, her hands gripping the seat handles tightly. "We were having a barbeque… we were having fun, and then… this light, in the sky… it was coming closer. Me and Henry grabbed the twins and tried to run… after that, it's all a bit of a blur."

"It was a comet, or a small fragment of one anyways."

"A… a comet?"

The doctor rose, grabbing a small remote off the table. "Your security system caught the incident on tape, catching the motion of the comet's descent." He hit play, and the screen lit up. Susan watched as the camera shifted quickly, catching the comet's entry. She winced as it struck the tree house directly and the tree shattered, before the screen went fuzzy. She was shaking when the doctor turned off the tape. "It cut off there, when the explosion disabled the camera. When it hit, it created quite a stir, and that's how we found you. We haven't found any trace of the comet though, it seems to have disintegrated on impact."

"That comet… it looked…"

"Strange? We know. We're not sure what it was that caused that kind of a visual effect. What we do know is that it released some kind of localized radiation burst, one that affected all of you. It doesn't seem to have affected Michael or your younger brothers that greatly, they seem to be fine. But you and Henry… well, you saw Henry."

Susan glanced up scared. "What… what will it do to us, to me? If it's doing that to Henry…"

"We don't know yet, that's why your brothers are still here, under observation. We want to make sure there are no lingering effects from what might have happened. We haven't even been able to isolate the radiation you were bombarded by, so we have no idea how this might affect each of you. But you have to remain calm, we are doing everything we can to help you all."

Susan rose quickly, surprising him. "If you don't know what we got hit with, how can you help us?"

"We need to find out what is happening, or it might get worse. Henry might only be the first. We will find what is happening, I promise you! Now, I think you should rest, your body has been through a lot! Get some sleep, I can answer all your questions in the morning."

"But…"

"Rest." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "I know your brothers will be anxious to see you up and about in the morning."

Susan grudgingly rose and, after casting one last look back at the doctor, left quietly, shutting the door behind her. The doctor cast one last glance at the door, his smile fading, before sitting back down behind his desk. Picking up the phone, he dialed a number from memory, and waited for the connection. It was picked up quickly.

"Yes Director, I'm continuing the analysis… no, I haven't noticed any of the same deleterious mental effects… Understood. We are still monitoring the eldest, he hasn't awoken yet… It is possible, that due to their age, their bodies were better able to integrate the radiation. Was any trace recovered at the scene?… No, of course, I understand. The blood samples also turned up negative once the sample was removed from the body. It appears a living incubator is required for the radiation to stabilize… Understood, Franklin out."

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Susan awoke quickly when she heard the door to her room open, and saw the surprised looks on the faces of Will and Wendell. In an instant, they were on her, almost knocking her out of the bed in their enthusiasm to be the first to hug her.

"You're awake! You're awake!"

Susan tried to get a little breathing room, without tossing them across the room, and just smiled. "Glad to see you little monsters too. They been treating you good in here?"

"Yeah, they give us all the jello we can eat, and…"

"… let us race in the wheelchairs when it's not busy!"

Susan held tight to the twins, making sure not to press too hard with the cast on her arm. She glanced up and saw Michael standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame.

"Hey."

He nodded, smirking at the scene. "Hey. You seen Henry yet?"

"This morning… or last night… whenever I woke up. You okay, you don't look so good?"

He stood up straighter, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Susan shrugged as best she could. "I don't know, must be the lights in here, you look a little… I don't know."

Michael shrugged nonchalantly. "I feel fine."

"And how are my favourite patients this morning?"

The twins turned smiling towards the door, while Michael just turned his head. "Fine Dr. Franklin."

Will jumped from the bed to stand before the Doctor. "Dr. Franklin, Dr. Franklin, how's Henry doing?"

Doctor Franklin smiled. "I have some very good news, it looks like he stabilized a few hours ago. His muscle contractions and rapid growth have slowed immensely, and his vitals are returning to normal. We think he might wake up any time now. Now, I really should check your sister out, to make sure she's feeling fine."

"I'm feeling fine doc, nothing to worry about here. I want to hear more about this radiation you were talking about, and what it might do to us."

Doctor Franklin entered the room smiling. "In a moment. First, I want to check the injury from last night. You might not have noticed it in your haste, but the nurse did have to put a bandage on it and clean you up last night from when you pulled out your IV like that. That was incredibly dangerous you know."

Susan just shrugged, lifting her arm for him to look at. "I'm fine, barely hurt."

Franklin pulled back the bandage, and taking a swab from his pocket, gently dabbed at the dried blood. "Still, it's always good to… this… is where the IV was, wasn't it?"

Susan just smirked. "I would think so, they couldn't very well have put it on the other arm with the cast there, now could they?"

Doctor Franklin dabbed again, before moving the light closer to her arm, looking closely. "This… this is remarkable, there's not even a mark!"

Susan twisted her arm slightly so she could see, her eyes wide. "Well, I mean… it wasn't that bad to begin with. Maybe it just healed, you know?"

"Not this quickly though. You said your other arm wasn't bugging you either last night. Can you flex your muscles under the cast for me, and tell me what you feel?"

Susan squeezed her hand tight, feeling the muscles of her arm tensing, but felt no pain or discomfort at all. "Like I said doc, it feels fine."

Doctor Franklin rose quickly, moving to the phone. "Yes, X-ray, I need a room now, have you got anything for me?… Thanks." He put the phone down, turning back to Susan. "I think we should take another X-ray of that arm."

"Sure, whatever you think is best." Susan rose, casting a last look over her brothers, before turning and following the doctor out of the room.

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"This… this is remarkable! I've never seen healing at this rate before."

Susan just rolled her eyes slightly. "Oh come on, so I'm a fast healer. It couldn't have been that bad if…"

"You had a triple facture of the radius. We considered putting a plate in your arm to help strengthen it for healing, but decided against it. We weren't sure how your body would react to the foreign object in your system at this time. Now… your arm is completely healed! There isn't even a scar on the bone to indicate where the fractures occurred."

"But that's not possible… is it?"

"I think this might be a side effect of the radiation exposure, but we'll have to run further tests to be sure. For now, just go back to your room, and spend time with your brothers. A nurse will be by later to remove the cast, since you won't need it any further. And we'll let you know the minute Henry wakes up."

Susan just rubbed the cast on her arm, looking down at it. "Sure Doc… thanks."

She left his office, and he rose to close the door behind her. Quickly, he returned to his desk, dialing a very familiar number. "Yes ma'am, I know I just reported in, but the girl… she's already displaying abilities… Rapid healing… Understood. I'll report in immediately if any of the others begin displaying… Thank you Doctor Director!"

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Susan re-entered her room to find Michael lounging on the bed, flipping through television stations, while Will and Wendell polished off a tray of food in front of them. Seeing the food, her stomach grumbled.

"Did they bring my breakfast?"

Will and Wendell looked up sheepishly, before glancing at the tray in front of them.

"We're sorry…"

"… but we were still hungry!"

Susan glared at them, but her expression softened. "I'll just have to go to the cafeteria then. Probably better food anyways down there."

Michael glanced over briefly, his channel surfing uninterrupted. "So what did the Doc say?"

"Apparently…" Susan snatched the remote from him, turning off the television to his dismay, "… I heal very fast. They're taking the cast off later, since I don't need it anymore. Now, you guys are going to come down to breakfast with me, and we're going to get some decent food into you."

Michael grudgingly rose. "Fine, whatever. And you're right about the light in this place, you look a little green to me. Wonder what it is that's causing it."

Susan glanced down at her arm, as if noticing for the first time. "I guess I do look a little paler than I usually do. So much for that tan I had been working on, I'll have to start all over again. Just let me brush my hair, and we'll get going. Someone DID get me a brush, didn't they?"

Susan glanced between them before groaning. "Fine, let me see if they have anything here." She walked into the bathroom, turning on the light. To her surprise, there was a brush sitting on the edge of the sink, so she grabbed it and began working the knots out of her hair. She paused as she looked more closely at her reflection.

I am a lot more pale than I should be, no way I could have lost this much colour in just three days… and I do look a little… green, don't I?

Giving her head a quick shake, Susan finished brushing her hair, before joining her brothers for breakfast.

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Author's Notes – Wow, I'm really delaying on the updates lately, aren't I? Sorry about that folks, I'll try to get them out faster.