Chapter 6
GrayMatter And The Matter Splatter!
When Matt Grayson came into work on Monday, his co-workers stopped in their tracks at the sight of him. At first glance, one could say Matt came into work looking the same as usual, same coat, same shoes, same haircut. What was turning heads and dropping jaws about Matt appearance was one simple thing.
He was smiling.
"It's just not natural." Stan deadpanned. He'd been taken aback in the beginning as well, but quickly acclimated to his friends strange attitude. He'd tried to test the waters to see if Matt had magically grown his sense of humor back, but when Grayson cheerfully told him to stuff it, Stan knew that this cheery attitude was only a thinly veiled red herring.
Grayson ignored Stan, idly pouring a cup of coffee and whistling to himself as he added some sugar and cream. What did Stan know? Grayson was acting more natural than he had in months! Soon, Gutierrez would announce Roddy's termination, and Matt would finally be promoted to the position he'd deserved all along!
"It's gotta be an omen or something…"
"Oh, get over it Dupp! I'm in a good mood, it's not like I punted a baby or anything."
"When you're in a good mood, nothing good comes of it. The last time something like this happened, you'd filled all the football teams lockers with shaving cream and hair, and we both got detention for a month!"
Grayson chuckled at the memory. Those bullies had asked for it! No one gave him a wedgie in front of the class and got away with it!
Grayson stilled as he noticed Stan also chuckling at the story and then Stan smiled at him. For a moment, Grayson could almost remember why he and Stan had been such good friends. Matt frowned and set his coffee on his desk as he sat down. Stan and him had been close once, joined at the hip really. The only reason they'd grown apart had been because of his own hubris.
As Stan went back to typing, Matt couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Stan had been a good friend, and even now, while he was no doubt a sarcastic jerk, he was also the only one in the office who still talked to him after he'd failed to get his promotion.
Stan cared, in his own way, and in his cheery mood, Matt couldn't deny the yearning he suddenly felt to reconnect. Maybe after he took Roddy's spot, he could try again? He wouldn't let the power go to his head this time, and maybe then he wouldn't feel so alone any-
"Goooood Morn'nin! Production starts today everyone! The Pinnacle chip is officially realized! Give yourselves a pat on the back you geniuses, just look at'er!"
Roddy MacStew came into the office with his usually energy and flair, smiling like a kid on Christmas and holding up a small, metallic plastic chip for all to see. Grayson's jaw dropped in horror, eyebrows twitching as Roddy walked around the office, showing off the finished chip to his eager employees.
Stan cringed in some sympathy adjacent emotion as Grayson bumped his coffee in shock, accidentally spilling some of it on his sleeve and hissing in pain as the scalding liquid seeped into his shirt. Grayson was in so much shock he didn't even slap Stans hand away as he took out a tissue and dabbed Matt's shirt.
"How? How?! He-He shouldn't be-"
"Eeeeasy there, GrayMatter. Remember? There's that special limited production sale? We're sending out about one hundred of those things around the Washington DC area like, five months in advance for double the price? Marketing strategy, I think? It's supposed to hype up the product before it's official worldwide release."
Grayson's eyes narrowed on Roddy as the man pulled out a box and started handing out chips to all the staff like candy at a parade.
"He shouldn't. Be here."
Stan sighed and leaned back from Grayson, tossing the coffee soaked tissue he'd dried Matt with into the trash.
"You keep saying that, but have you seen our employment files? I keep checking and believe it or not, Mr. MacStew's been in there every time. It's super weird, I know. Have you ever considered that maybe he works here because he might be good at his job?"
Matt sent Stan a venomous glare and and stood abruptly, making his way over to Roddy with threatening purpose.
"Oh, 'ello, Grayson! Here. Gutierrez said I could get one for everyone in the office!"
Matt clenched his jaw and stiffly held his hand out as Roddy handed him a chip. Grayson pocketed it quickly and grabbed Roddy's forearm with barely restrained anger.
"Can I talk to you?" He hissed, struggling to not squeeze the circulation from Roddy's arm.
Roddy actually looked worried for a moment, his brows creasing in concern. It was gone in a flash though, and MacStew nodded. As Grayson led Roddy away, Stan motioned negatively to Matt, trying to impart some desperate message through hand movements and distressed facial expressions.
Matt sent him a single scowl and led Roddy into the hallway, careful to shut the door behind him.
"Did you talk to Gutierrez today?"
Roddy frowned a bit and nodded. "Well, of course. He wanted to tell me production was running smoothly and showed me the finished chips. I asked him if I could give everyone a sample too. What's wrong Grayson?"
Matt thought about how to broach the subject he wanted without incriminating himself at the same time. An idea popped into his head and Matt's demeanor softened as he leaned against the hallway wall, gesturing Roddy to lean next to him.
"Mr. MacStew...Can I call you Roddy?"
MacStew nodded and leaned next to Matt.
"Course ya can! What's bothering you?"
"Thank you….Roddy, I'm worried about the chip."
Roddy straightened up as Grayson spoke and frowned.
"Why would ya be? The chips working just fine!"
Grayson schooled his features into what he hoped looked like a worried and friendly expression.
"I know, but...Roddy, all those packages you added, I know you didn't mean any harm...I'm just worried they might clash with the original code in the Pinnacle chip. I don't want to sound rude, but it's a bit unfair that you would add all this code into the chip without getting any review from everyone else. It just doesn't seem right to me, and if anything were to go wrong…"
Roddy paled as Matt spoke, a genuine look of distress on his face. Matt held back a grin as he finished. His plan was working to perfection.
"Do you really think something could go wrong? I was so sure I'd done everything right…"
"Well, you can never really know, can you? I mean, even I need someone to look over work. Mistakes happen, no matter how careful you are. I don't want to worry you, I just wanted to make sure. If the chip is sent out with a flaw, who knows what could happen?"
At this point, MacStew looked considerable less energetic and peppy then he did just a few minutes ago. Grayson hid his sneer and instead patted Roddy's shoulder in faux sympathy.
"Cheer up! I'm sure Gutierrez would forgive you for any mistakes. And besides! It's only about one hundred orders, I'm sure if there are any mistakes, you can get them all fixed up before the official release!"
Roddy nodded sadly, pushing himself away from the wall, he sighed.
"Yeah, I'm sure...Listen Grayson, I-I think I need to check on some things for a bit. Can you tell the staff I'll be off for a bit?"
Grayson plastered on a plastic smile and nodded kindly.
"Of course. You just get along now and take care of whatever you need. I can handle things on this end, so no worries!"
MacStew nodded gratefully and quickly made his way down the hall. After MacStew had turned a corner, Grayson finally let himself grin in sadistic glee. For a supposed prodigy, Roddy was painfully easy to manipulate. Just a little prodding and he was second, third, and fourth guessing himself!
"Have fun finding my virus, Roddy old friend…"
Stan had been pestering Matt for three minutes straight and Grayson was on his last nerve.
"Seriously, what did you say to him? I swear if you threatened our boss-"
"He just told me had something to work on. Let it go. I didn't do anything!"
Dupp gave Grayson his best I'm-watching-you glare and went back to work, glancing back at Grayson every few moments suspiciously. Matt just scowled and went back to work, glancing back at the door to the office every few moments in worry.
He'd hoped that Roddy would find the virus and report it to Gutierrez by now, but he was worried that Roddy might actually be able to take care of it himself. He hated MacStew, but even he had to admit that Roddy was smart. He only hoped that Roddy was too guilt ridden to try and hide his "mistake' and just turn himself over to Gutierrez for punishment.
Almost three hour later, Roddy still hasn't come back and it was really starting to worry him. What if his virus had somehow been deleted by Roddy's new code? What if Roddy just got rid of it himself? What if Gutierrez didn't fire Roddy?!
Grayson stood, no longer able to just sit and wait. He had a feeling he would regret doing this, but he needed to see the fruits of his labors! He'd spent months on this plan, and countless hours, he wouldn't let last minute interference ruin it all!
"Please don't do something stupid." Stan sighed, not even bothering to look up from his computer as Grayson pushed his chair back in. Matt didn't bother to answer, pocketing a small device before speed walking to the door and making his way to Gutierrez's office.
As Grayson weaved through the hallways, he thought over his plan and all its flaws.
He knew Gutierrez favored Roddy over him, and the notion of Gutierrez covering up Roddy's 'mistake' wasn't impossible. He also knew that unless truly pressed, Gutierrez wouldn't fire Roddy without a very good reason. He'd been hoping he wouldn't have to do this, but in the end, Grayson was nothing if not prepared to resort to blackmail.
Grayson stopped in front of the security ridden office door of Armando Gutierrez and steeled himself. He took a deep breath and meekly asked one of the guards if he could speak to the boss. The guard cracked open the door, then looked over to Matt and nodded.
Grayson walked briskly into the large office and immediately made his way over to Gutierrez's desk, pulling his hands from his pockets and slamming them into the desk loudly.
"How can you allow the chip to be sold?!"
Gutierrez looked nonplussed in the face of Grayson's outrage, not bother to look at the offending hands abusing his desk in favor of pouring himself a glass of sparkling wine.
"We are a company who sells computer chips, Grayson."
Grayson finally pulled his hands away from the desk and stepped back angrily.
"You know what I mean! That chip is flawed! How can you just-"
"I, am the owner and President of Apex Industries, that's how. I have reviewed your complaint, and have seen to it that no flaw resides within the Pinnacle chip. At least, not to my knowledge."
"I told you there was something wrong with it the code. I told you who was responsible. You are willingly allowing this to reach the public! What if someone gets hurt?!"
Gutierrez took a careful sip of wine as Grayson spoke, calm and collected as always, before setting his glass down and facing Matt.
"Lets stop with these games, my friend. Tell me what you really want. Is it Roddy? I suppose you're still sore about that promotion..."
Matt balked at Gutierrez's words and flushed with rage and embarrassment as he casually recalled his promotion.
"THAT-That has nothing to do with this!"
Gutierrez smiled, knowing he struck a nerve, he sat up and grinned.
"Oh really? Then I hope you can trust that MacStew will take care of any flaw that may or may not reside within the Pinnacle chip, won't you? Your worries are unfounded, my friend. If there is anything wrong with the chip, Roddy can take care of it, and probably already has!"
"But-"
"That is ENOUGH!"
Matt stepped back in fear as Gutierrez stood and scowled down at him in frustration.
"Your constant questions and needling tasks me so! This is the last time you enter my office for such foolish reasons! Is that understood?"
Grayson opened his mouth, then quickly shut it and nodded mutely, barely able to contain his protests. Gutierrez was silent for a moment, then smiled and straightened his suit before sitting once again.
"Good! Now run along, my friend. I have work to do."
Matt glared, but nodded and quickly made his way out the door. He gave the security grunt a sour look and began the long walk back to his office. At least it felt long. Everything felt longer and more painstaking after getting yelled at. Grayson's expression turned to a grimace of anger as he clenched his fists.
He took in a slow, shaky breath and sighed. He needed to calm down, no matter how humiliating he'd found that whole experience, it was all worth it if his plan worked. Grayson made his way back through his office door and walked over to his desk, not acknowledging Stan's questioning look in favor of putting on his headphones and turning on his computer.
Grayson held his breath as he activated a small program and listened.
"-icity. Tell Andy I don't pay him for his opinions, I pay for results! Have you discovered the sequence yet? ...Well, get to it then!"
Grayson grinned like a maniac and held down a victory laugh as he raised the volume on his headphones. It worked! The recording device had been a special invention of his own, completely inconspicuous and undetectable! Gutierrez would never find it! And now, he had a device continuously recording all his shady dealings right under his desk!
He was only able to access its recordings within the small wireless range the device held, so he could only listen to it when he was at work, of after downloading it and taking it home. Still! This was foolproof! You couldn't go wrong with good old blackmail. Soon, Gutierrez would let something juicy slip, and then Roddy was as good as gone!
So his chip plan had been a bust? He wasn't giving up until Roddy was gone and he had what was rightfully his!
"-hope you can give me better results tomorrow. Goodbye."
"You know what? I think this smile is ever more creepy than the one you had this morning."
Grayson jumped as Stan frowned at his gleeful expression. He stuck his tongue out at Stan who snorted at the childish act. After making sure the program was still recording, Matt took off his headphones and went back to work, a small smile still on his face. After all, things were looking up.
Roddy MacStew wasn't one who second guessed himself often. He often found himself not only being right 99% of the time, but having near 20/20 foresight when it came to important projects. He'd been promoted to head of the Pinnacle chips development for more than just his good looks!
Roddy sighed as he continued scrubbing through packages of code worriedly. That's what made this project so different, he supposed. He'd been surprised when he was first promoted. Not that he hadn't been gunning for the position, but so had a sizable portion of the staff at Apex. Everyone and their mother had wanted that position, and it had seemed that only one person was truly meant for it. It hadn't been him, it had been Matt Grayson.
Grayson was a genius, no doubt about it. That man had managed to climb the promotional ladder so quickly at Apex that some had rightly assumed that this promotion had been just one in many. It had been during that time that Roddy had been hitting his stride.
Grayson had spotted him from across the room at a staff meeting one day and in that moment, a beautiful rivalry was formed. It had started out small, with contests to see who could finish a project more quickly or efficiently. It had then moved onto bigger arguments over who could build a functioning robot during their lunch break. Roddy would admit that this period had been one of his favorites.
The rivalry had only ended when, out of the blue one day, he had found himself being called to Gutierrez's office and promoted to head of the Pinnacle chips development. After that, Grayson was scarce and more reserved in his presence. Roddy had tried to show him he was still open to banter, the man had all but closed off.
As Roddy took a swig of his bitter coffee, he couldn't help but yearn for the good ol days when he hadn't had to worry about things like career changing chip flaws or public opinion. He'd spent the rest of his day looking through near endless lines of code and data searching for any sign of a flaw or corruption in the chips code after talking with Grayson.
He'd at first been happy with how familiar the man had been with him, then in a near panic when Matt had displayed his concerns. It was now Tuesday, six am and he was still looking through everything for some sign of a mistake. Every time he'd come close to just letting his worries go, the guilt of the potential flaw residing just out of his reach kept him going.
"Just thirty seven more…"
Roddy slowed down as his eyes caught something odd. At first is didn't look out of place, but when he looked closer he realized what he saw did not belong.
"What are you…?"
Roddy started scanning over numbers and after a moment he went pale.
"Oh shit…"
Roddy, suddenly much more awake then he'd been a moment before, began bookmarking and scanning line after line of nefarious code intermingled within own. This was bad, very, very bad.
"But what...What are you doing to my chip…?"
MacStew opened another program and started running tests. He had to know what the potential damage to property and quality was, at the very least it would give him some idea what this weird code was going to do to-
*ZZZT-CRACK!*
"Whoa!"
MacStew jumped back as the program stuttered to a stop, monitor flickering one of the millions of test sequences the program had input.
"..." [=g3,8d]\&fbb=-q]/hk%fg"..."
*ZAP!*
Roddy gasped as his computer sparked and smoked, monitor beginning to flicker more violently. He felt a shiver of fear and ran out of his office just as a flash of blinding light erupted from the room.
"WHAT IN GOD'S GOOD NAME-?!"
The blinding light began to flicker once more before sputtering out, taking the power out of Roddy's office completely. MacStew was frozen in shock, unable to bring himself to re-enter his room after the violent incident.
"That...That's no flaw...That's-I don't know what, but that's no run-of-the-mill flaw!"
Roddy hesitated for a moment, then marched back into his office and retrieved the box of Pinnacle chips Gutierrez had given him. He was sure the chip inside his computer was fried at this point, and he needed to do more tests.
As he made his way to one of the computer rooms, Roddy found himself remembering the sequence that had flashed across the screen before exploding.
"What was it again? " [=g3,8d]\&fbb=-q]/hk%fg"?"
MacStew sat in front of one of the office computers and installed another Pinnacle chip into it quickly. He needed to see what exactly he'd brought about, and more importantly, how much damage it could cause.
Roddy cringed as he thought of all the staff he'd happily given chips over to, and all the people who'd paid extra for the promotional sale. He almost wanted to stop, just let the flaw stay hidden. But he couldn't. He had to do the right thing, at the very least so he could sleep at night.
As he started the computer up and started another testing program, Roddy cracked his knuckles. He had to do this for all those innocent people who had trusted him. His co-workers believed in him and he wasn't about to let them down!
"Alright then! Let's figure out exactly how ugly ya are!"
"Aaachoo!"
Grayson sniffed pitifully, grumpily taking a tissue from Stan and blowing his nose. He'd gotten the flu Tuesday, and only been able to drag himself to work on Thursday out of sheer desperation to listen to the recordings he knew he was falling behind on.
"This is just sad. Go home GrayMatter. You look like death's ugly twin brother pestilence."
Grayson as too tired to be angry at Stan so he pouted instead, only making Stan even more worried. If Matt didn't even have the energy to sneer at him, he must be really sick.
"Don't-*Sniff!*-Don't call me that."
Stan smiled. At least he could still argue.
"What? Pestilence? It's not my fault your trying to infect the entire office."
"I didn't mean to sneeze on the coffee pot! They were overreacting when they tossed it into the garbage…"
"I'm surprised they didn't get out the hazmat...Listen, I get you wanna work on whatever it is you're currently obsessing over, but you should really go home. You're worrying me more than usual. You're gonna give me gray hairs man, c'mon!"
Grayson leaned away from Stans pleading in confusion for a moment, relaxing as he realized that Stan was actually concerned about him. He almost wanted to go home because of the display. It wouldn't be too bad if he took just one more day off, would it? Maybe he could just catch up on some of his recordings and then he'd go home.
"I- AAaaaachooo!-I just-*Sniff!*-have to do something first. I'll go home right after, I promise."
Dupp looked taken aback that his pleading had actually worked, then smiled warmly. If he didn't know any better, he'd say he was seeing a little sliver of his old friend in that grumpy husk. Stan got up and using another clean tissue, picked up Grayson's cup as well.
"You look like you could use some hot tea."
Grayson frowned in confusion, shifting to get up himself.
"I can-"
"Nope! I don't want Susan yelling at me cause I let you touch her tea bags. You stay here and finish whatever your so focused on."
Matt smiled in appreciation, turning to his computer and leaving a slightly bewildered Stan behind him. Dupp hasn't seen Matt smile like that since...Stan shook his head and went over to the office kitchen, a small hopeful smile on his face. Maybe he and Matt would be reconnecting after all.
Grayson opened his special program and started sifting through sound files. So far, there were five sound files comprised of twelve hour long segments. He groaned internally at the thought of listening to sixty hours of nothing but Gutierrez. His already had a headache from all the sneezing, he wouldn't survive it!
Matt opened the currently active recording, deciding to just listen in for a few minutes and then head home. He set his headphones onto his aching head carefully and pressed play.
"-uch! That vexing hoodlum will pay for this!"
Despite his head ache, Grayson turned up the volume in interest. Whatever had gotten Gutierrez so upset was worth learning about.
"-derstand sir. You seem to have some traumatic iritis, orbital wall fracture, and eight ball fracture. You're lucky you got treatment so quickly sir, you could have lost your eye."
"I do not want people seeing me like this. Can you offer me some less conspicuous bandages?"
"I'm sorry sir, but I need to stress how urgently you need these bandages. I can give you an eye patch that will cover the bruised and bandaged area, if that helps."
"...Fine. Is there anything else I should know about my injuries?"
"Just keep those bandages on, try and avoid any contact if possible. Your eye in in a very precarious state right now. If anything were to happen, you would need intensive surgery to save it, and even then you might not be able-"
"Alright! That's enough. I understand doctor, thank you. You may leave, I have some...business to attend to."
"It won't put stress on your eye, right?"
The sound of Gutierrez sighing left a satisfying clump if audio static on the recording program on Grayson's screen.
"Yes doctor. I will be sitting all day."
"Good. Call me in if you have any problems or questions, okay?"
"Of course…"
Grayson listened as the sound of shuffling feet and closing doors were heard, then after a momentary silence, the distinct sound of a dial tone.
"Gravity? Yes, I'm fine. That blue menace managed to almost make me lose an eye though... No, I don't think we should...He's not alone Gravity, we need to be smart...Exactly...Yes, we need more time to prepare before we try and capture him again. Hopefully, after you learn more about that Pinnacle chip."
Grayson was so shocked he didn't even notice Stan setting down a hot cup of tea on his desk, amused at his expression. Stan didn't bother getting Matt's attention, simply pushing the tea into his co-workers hand and waiting till he took a slow sip of the hot beverage.
"-sequence yet? Well at this point I don't even know if I want it...Well, you did not see him! He was insane. If we're going to extract that chips abilities, I want to make some major adjustments. I refuse to end up like that maniac, Freakazoid."
At this point, Grayson had taken out a notebook and was scribbling down notes like his life depended on it. Some of his more interesting notes read, "Freakazoid? Insult, or?" and "The Pinnacle chip's abilities?".
"-in my office, yes...Well, that's up to you, my friend. When I do capture him, because I will, you can run any tests your little heart desires."
Matt froze at that. In his office? Did that mean his device had picked up on-
"Oh my gosh!"
Stan frowned as Grayson almost knocked his tea off his desk in his excitement. Matt went back and opened the audio files from Wednesday, excitement bubbling in his stomach. Or maybe it was nausea? He really needed to go home.
Matt opened the audio file and skipped past long silences until the audio spikes started up. Then he listened to Wednesday's episode.
Due to lack of interest, please go reread chapter one through three for a rough approximation of what Matt Grayson is hearing.
Grayson had stopped taking notes a few minutes in, something akin to shock and wonder taking over as the miraculous events unfolded. It didn't sound real, in all honesty. It was like someone took the audio from some silly cartoon voiced by his co-workers. He had only taken one note, but in his opinion, it was the only one he needed.
"-can hit me all you want Gutierrez, I'm not telling you the sequence!"
"Is that so? Then, how do you feel about me hitting someone else?"
"Who- You leave Dexter alone!...Wait...Who's-"
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHGH!"
"STOP!"
"Hm? Are you feeling more talkative? Tell me the sequence Roddy, and I promise I'll let the boy go."
"...Fine…. It's " [=g3,8d]\&fbb=-q]/hk%fg"."
"..."
"...What?"
"How on earth did you say that out loud?"
"Jus' give me a pen."
Grayson had written down the strange sequence, unsure as to what it did, but positive it was vital. Why else would Gutierrez torture MacStew for it? Speaking of MacStew, he'd been so sick he hadn't even realized he hadn't seen hide or hare of the man all day. Had Gutierrez really fired him while he'd been gone?
"Hey. I thought you said you were heading home? You've finished all your tea GrayMatter"
"...Stan?"
Stan sat up at his name being spoken. Matt almost never called him by his first name anymore.
"What's up?"
"Where is Mr. MacStew?"
Dupp frowned at the mention of Roddy. He was fine with but Matt became a wreck when it came to him, and despite being super sick, this was the most sensible Grayson had been in a while. He'd rather not deal with a raving mad Matt Grayson while he was still spewing germs like a kindergarten flu outbreak.
"Why? Aren't you happy he's not around right now?"
"Where is he though? I haven't-*Sniff!*-seen him all day."
"He hasn't been around for a few days now. I just assumed he was busy." Stan shrugged
Matt grew quiet as he connected the dots and came to a disturbing conclusion.
"It worked…"
Despite everything, the chips strange abilities, Freakazoid and Dexter Douglas, Gutierrez, despite it all, he'd finally gotten rid of Roddy MacStew!
"What? What worked?" Stan inquired as Matt suddenly stumbled to his feet.
Grayson turned to Dupp and just shook his head.
"I have to go...home. I'll-*Sniff*-see you tomorrow."
Stan frowned at Matt's strange behavior, standing to give Grayson a pat on the shoulder.
"Well, okay then. Take care of yourself GrayMatter."
Grayson simply nodded and shuffled to the office door quickly. Dupp tried to rid himself of the nagging feeling of something being horribly wrong. Matt was a weird guy, so maybe he just needed a good night's rest to get himself back together.
'He never lets me call him GrayMatter.." Stan thought, sighing as he forced himself to sit down before he did something stupid, like run after his frie-former best friend. Matt was fine, just sick. He'd be back tomorrow like nothing had even happened in the first place.
Dupp bit his lip, sorely tempted to open up Matt's computer and find out whatever it was he had been listening to. Grayson would find out he'd snooped, no question. Stan busied himself with menial work and silently cursed Grayson and himself.
"I really am gonna get gray hairs at this rate…"
Matt Grayson had been in a daze the entire drive home, driving in a manner reminiscent of a drunk, blind, ninety year old dog instead of a mildly ill thirty five year old man. Had he been in his right mind, he would have been horribly embarrassed at all the angry honks he got. Thankfully, Matt had more pressing matters on his mind, so he was functionally deaf when it came to frustrated car horns and the sound of his landlord yelling at him for using too much electricity.
Matt pushed past his entry way and hurried to his room, immediately tossing aside clothing from his laundry basket until he found what he was looking for.
"Aha! There you are…"
Grayson pulled out his coat from the pile and grabbed the Pinnacle chip out from the pocket. He felt foolish for forgetting it now, but when he'd first gotten it, he'd assumed that this chip would be discontinued.
Grayson made his way over to his computer desk and sat down, setting the chip next him as he started up his programs. He needed to use this opportunity while it was still fresh in his mind. From what he heard, this chip was capable of making the impossible, possible! Grayson opened a special file of discarded inventions, ones either too expensive or to impossible to bring to reality. Matt looked over to his chip and smiled. Impossible for now at least.
As he skimmed over schematics, his eye caught one of his old favorites. It was his old transference machine! He'd always wanted things he knew he'd never have, mentally and physically. His transference machine had been his hypothetical solution. A device that could transfer intelligence and strength, in equal measure. Of course, it was all hypothetical. The power needed for such a device was impossible to generate.
"Impossible...Such a funny word, isn't it?" Matt mumbled happily, downloading the file into one for his programs. This chip would be the catalyst for a new era of technology, and Matt Grayson would be damned if he wasn't going to be at the forefront of that!
Stan Dupp paced around the office coffee machine, brows creased in worry.
On one hand, he wanted nothing more than for Matt to take another day off work and finally give himself some much needed rest. On the other hand, that wasn't like Matt at all and the fact that Matt was late was very worrying. Grayson would go through thick and thin to get to work and Stan was pretty he'd seen him come to work with a broken foot before. The hospital staff had been pretty mad about that. Apparently, he'd escaped right after surgery and they had spent the whole day calling the office and demanding he come back for stitches.
"Now I'm just making myself more worried! Jeez GrayMatter, why can't you be normal for once?"
Stan sighed and finally poured himself a cup of coffee, adding three sugars and a cream and making his way back to his desk. He wasn't getting paid to mother over his friend after all.
As Stan used his free hand to pull out his desk chair, his phones suddenly buzzed, startling Stan into almost dropping his coffee. He set his mug down quickly and pulled his phone out of his pocket, then pressed answer.
"Stan Dupp, who's this?"
"Stan? It's me. Can you-AAaaaChooo!-come over?"
Stan pulled the phone away from his ear at the loud sneeze, frowning in concern at how congested Grayson sounded.
"Uh, I- Yeah. Do need me to bring you some soup or something? You sound- Well you don't sound good."
"No, no, you do-*Sniff*- don't have to go to the trouble. I just need a little help with something."
Stan pulled on his coat and pushed his desk chair in as he made his way to the office door. Matt never asked for help, so that fact he was was enough for Stan to cut work and head over without hesitation.
"You still in that four story complex next to the Library?" Stan asked as he made his way down the hall to the Apex Tower entrance. He idly patted his coat pockets to make sure he still had his keys, feeling slight relief as he felt the familiar bulge of his Goodbye Tabby key chain.
"Yes I-*Sniff*- I'm still in room two seventeen. Thank you Stan, I hate to be a burden-"
"Don't be stupid GrayMatter, you're sick, it's part of the job description." Stan joked, unlocking his car and sliding into the driver's seat. "You hang tight, I'll be over in five minutes, ten tops."
"Alright...See you soon."
"See ya!" Stan hung up and stowed his phone in his pocket, then started his car. As Stan drove to Grayson's apartment, he shifted anxiously in his seat.
Matt Grayson had many faults, but the one that grated Stans nerves the most was his stubbornness. He never wanted constructive criticism, never compromised, always had to have the last word, and God forbid you ever try to help him in any way! Stan had had some of his worst fights with Matt over his hard headed attitude, and it had been Matt's stubborn ways that had ultimately ended their close bond.
If Stan was being honest, he'd even came to admire Grayson's determination, despite it's aggravating side effects. Stan wasn't a very imposing person, nor was he overly friendly. He was an average, sarcastic underachiever with a smart mouth and nothing to back it up. That's why he'd wanted to be Matt's friend when they first met.
Matt was smart, determined, hardworking, and when you got close enough, he could be really fun. While Stan wanted nothing more than to blame Grayson for their broken friendship, he knew he was half to blame. He hated to admit it, but Matt had been right when he'd said he was holding him back.
Stan slowed as he caught sight of a familiar drive through, then turned left and went to order. He missed Matt, if he was being totally honest. They weren't exactly close anymore, but when they had been, they'd both been a lot happier. Maybe this was the turning point?
"Will that be all sir?"
Stan pulled out a twenty and nodded. "Yeah. Oh! Can I get some saltines too?" He pulled the bucket into his car window and set it on the passenger's seat next to him.
"Here you go sir. Have a nice day!" The cashier said, handing him a handful of saltine cracker packets and flashing him their best customer service smile.
"Will do." Stan said. He stuffed the saltine into his coat pockets and after a moment of thought, put a seat belt around the bucket.
"Safety first!" Stan said a he pulled out of the drive though.
It had taken him less time than usual to finish his device, but that may have had something to do with the fact that he'd been falling in and out of consciousness so often he'd felt like he was in a montage. Also the fact that half his parts were stolen Apex supplies and his main power source was a yet untested piece of scientific sorcery.
"AAAaaaachoo!...Oogh…" Grayson groaned, slumping onto his bed and rubbing his eyes in exhaustion. He seriously needed to sleep. His head was pounding like his landlord when rent was late, and he only seemed to be getting sicker.
He looked down to the finished device laying in his lap. It was a fairly simple design, and looked kind of like a glue gun who's cord was a wrist attachment instead of a plug. Theoretically, the Pinnacle chips flaw would be irritated from within, and the resulting power surge would power his invention. Intellect or strength could be selected with a small switch, while another would delegate if the effects would be temporary, or permanent.
"Now-Sniff*-I just need to test it…" Grayson sighed, falling back onto his bed and staring into space. He'd been hoping to be functional by now, and had been planning on going to Apex and using his invention on Gutierrez. In his current state, he couldn't even walk a few feet without getting dizzy, much less go to work and steal his bosses intelligence.
"If I could just stop being so uselessly ill-"
Grayson shot up so quickly he saw stars. That was it! He could just steal a healthy person's strength, and therefore, their health, and he'd be as right as rain!
"But who? I can't have anyone who would have reason to be suspicious of me, or someone who could fight back. At least now while I'm in this state…" Matt tapped his chin for a few moments, then smiled as a beautiful thought stuck him.
"I'm sure Dupp wouldn't mind if I asked him for a...favor." Grayson took out his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he found the name he was looking for. He frowned at the picture of him and Stan doing Blue Steels at the camera, then pushed call.
"Stan Dupp, who's this?"
"Stan? It's me. Can you-AAaaaChooo!-come over?" Grayson asked, silently upset at how pathetic he sounded.
"Uh, I- Yeah. Do need me to bring you some soup or something? You sound- Well you don't sound good."
"No, no, you do-*Sniff*- don't have to go to the trouble. I just need a little help with something." Grayson said as he looked around his apartment for a tissue.
"You still in that four story complex next to the Library?" Stan asked.
"Yes I-*Sniff*- I'm still in room two seventeen. Thank you Stan, I hate to be a burden-"
"Don't be stupid GrayMatter, you're sick, it's part of the job description." Stan interrupted good naturedly. "You hang tight, I'll be over in five minutes, ten tops."
"Alright...See you soon." Grayson agreed, grimacing as he realized the state of his apartment was less than optimal for visitors. His place looked like a tornado came through a goodwill.
"See ya!" Stan hung up.
"Shouldn't have thrown my clothes on the floor…" Matt mumbled as he hastily picked up his clothes and tossed them into his laundry bin. He looked around once again, then decided to hide his tools and not-very-legal machine parts.
Matt let out some strange combination of a groan and a sigh as he finally melted into his bed. He just needed to wait for Stan, and then he'd finally be well again. Stan had always had a better immune system then him, maybe after this, he'd never get sick again!
Grayson pulled the device-He should name it shouldn't he? Well, it's function was too complicated to really make into an acronym, and even simplified, its ability to scatter particles and reassemble them into a new host…
"It splatters matter….Matter Splatter?…." It would have to do for now. He looked over the settings on the Matter Splatter and switched them to strength/permanent. Just as Matt pulled his blanket over his device, he heard a familiar knock on the door.
"The key is u-Aachooo!-i-it's under the mat!"
"I know! Just didn't want you yelling at me cause I didn't knock…" Stan said. He strolled into Grayson's room one hand behind his back and a friendly smile on his face.
"So? How're you feeling? Cause you sounded-"
"Awful. I know. What do you have there?" Grayson craned his neck as much as he could from his bed suspiciously. Did Stan know?
"Oh, this? Well…" Stan pulled out a familiar bucket and held it up awkwardly.
"I just thought, well, you said your favorite soup was knoephla so…"
Matt deflated at the sight of the soup. That was his favorite. He bit the inside of his cheek and discreetly shifted the Matter Splatter away from Stan.
"You- I told you you didn't have to."
Stan shrugged off his nervousness and sat on the foot of Matt's bed. "I wanted to. You probably forgot to eat, and I'd rather not have to deal with a hangry GrayMatter. You're not you when you're hungry."
Stan took out a plastic spoon and handed Grayson the warm soup bucket. Matt took the bucket and peeled off the lid, smiling softly at the comforting aroma. Grayson took a bite and smiled to Stan in appreciation. He wanted to be angry, but Stan was right, he'd completely forgotten to eat anything when he'd gotten home.
"So, what was it you called me over for? Must be important, seeing as you never ask me for anything." Stan asked, pulling out some saltine cracker packets from his pocket and handing them to Matt.
Grayson swallowed, fiddling with his Matter Splatter under the blanket indecisively, then shoving it aside. "I...I guess I just wanted to talk. Things have been a bit strange recently…"
Stan nodded sympathetically, scooting a little closer to Grayson. "Yeah, I've been getting that vibe too. I mean, 's gone, has this weird new eye patch, and one of the computer rooms is under construction for some reason! Lotta change with no context to help it go down."
Stan looked over to Matt meaningfully and sighed. "Also...I've been thinking about us too. You know, the usual stuff. Why don't you have any desk toys, why you're always spilling your coffee-"
"I don't!-*Sniff*-do it on purpose!"
Stan chuckled as Matt pouted and shoved some more soup into his mouth.
"Heh, yeah. I know you don't...I guess what I'm trying to say is, I miss being your friend."
Matt paled, swallowing down his soup heavily. He shifted around the uncomfortable feeling of his Matter Splatter poking his leg.
"I- I uh-"
"Hey, don't have a cow man! You don't have to answer or anything GrayMatter. I just wanted to put it out there, food for thought and all that." Stan smiled awkwardly as he leaned back.
Matt's feelings churned within him painfully. How could he steal Stans strength now that he was- And all the nice gestures like his favorite soup- And now he was being all awkward and sincere! Grayson took a deep breath, which was hard to do with a stuffy nose, and cleared his thoughts. He wasn't going to back out now.
"Stan...Can you put the soup in my fridge? I think I want to save the rest for later." Matt asked as he put the lid back on his soup and handed it back to Stan.
Stan nodded and left the room. Grayson quickly pulled out his Matter Splatter and made sure everything was in place. He hesitated on the switch marking the effects as permanent. He pursed his lips, then switched it to temporary. He didn't need to take Stan's strength forever just to get rid of some silly flu. And if it wore off too quickly, he could just steal from someone else, someone stronger, someone worth stealing from permanently.
"So I just saw how empty your fridge is, and I just gotta say- Wh-What is-?"
"Sorry Stan."
*ZAAAP!*
Everything was dark. Stan Dupp fell in and out of consciousness, first reawakening in his car, then in his bed. When Stan Dupp finally regained a steady foothold on the waking world, he was met with a somewhat unsettling sight.
"GrayMatter?...Why are you...in my house?"
"Sorry Stan, but I couldn't just leave you on my floor. I thought you might like it here better."
Stan tried to sit up, but his body wasn't responding. It was like all his limbs suddenly felt ten times heavier. He realized he was in his bed, and the lights weren't on for some reason.
"You best not try to move Stan, you might hurt yourself."
Stan weakly turned his head so he could look at Matt directly. Grayson looked...healthy. Considering how utterly miserable he'd looked before, and the sudden surge of memories filling his head, Stan connected the dots quickly.
"What did you do?!" Stan growled. He struggled to sit up, and he managed to push himself up a few inches before his arms gave out like wet noodles.
"Calm down Stan, it's not permanent."
"Calm do-How did you even do this?!"
Grayson pulled out what looked like a fancy glue gun and smiled.
"It's my latest invention, the Matter Splatter. It can transfer the strength and intellect of one person into another! Quite the feat, no?"
Stan glared and tried to sit up again. "NO! Undo it! Wait, is that why you look not-sick?"
Grayson nodded and took a step forward, looming ominously over Stan's weakened form.
"Precisely. With this device, I can become the strongest, smartest man on earth! Don't worry Stan, what I took from you will probably return to you in a week at most."
Stan opened and close his mouth uselessly. This was insane! Matt was acting like some kind of power hungry mad scientist. Stan thought over the week leading to this crazy turn of events and tried to find some kind of reason. Grayson had to have had some kind of reason or-
"Gutierrez."
Grayson stiffened.
"Please tell me you aren't doing this...because of the promotion." Stan panted. He was feeling concernedly tired from just talking, but that wasn't gonna stop him. He needed to know why.
"...Is it really that obvious? How embarrassing…"
"Please, please, please, please...don't be stupid Graymatter…" Stan pleaded, desperately struggling to sit up.
"Stay home Stan, you'll be safe here, especially with your immune system so compromised." Matt said, turning away from Stan and walking towards Stan's bedroom door.
"You did this!...Just...Please Matt…Don't do whatever it is you're planning..." Stan slumped into his sheets, and closed his eyes. He couldn't take seeing Matt walk away and leaving him here.
Grayson stopped at the door, his hand gripped firmly on the handle. After a full minute of quiet, Matt broke the silence.
"...Are we friends anymore? I know we haven't been very close, because of me I suppose...Could we be?"
Stan let out a sigh of relief, smiling on reflex. "Yes! Yes, we're friends GrayMatter, even if we're not...Always the best ones…"
Matt turned to face Stan and Stan faltered. He knew that look. He'd seen that look before, and it never meant anything good. He wasn't going to stop, whatever it was he was going to do, he wouldn't let anything stop him. Not even Stan.
"...I don't-I don't know how to stop you…"
"You can't. I have to do this. I'm tired Stan. I just want-..." Matt rubbed his face in a manner that would betray exhaustion had it been any other man. This one was hopped up on the strength of two people.
"...Stay home Stan. As your friend, I say this with the best intentions."
Stan clenched his jaw, mind desperately trying to puzzle some solution that didn't end with his friend in jail or dead. He wasn't coming up with much. "You really can't be happy without this?"
Grayson shook his head. "I have to try. Even if I fail, I'll have tried"
Stan groaned and slammed his head back in frustration."...Let's hope you fail then."
Matt gave him an unimpressed look. Stan smiled, happy in the knowledge that at the very least, he could annoy Matt til the very end. It was all he was good for, might as well use it.
"You're kind of like a super villain...right now, you know that? Evil weapon...revenge scheme? What's your villain name gonna be?"
Grayson tried to hide his smile as he rolled his eyes. "You're the worst best friend ever."
"Right back at you...Pestilence. Oh wait, you don't like me...calling you that, right GrayMatter?"
"...You know I hate that nickname…"
Stan grinned knowingly."It's not my fault...you're such a know it all."
"...GrayMatter it is."
Dupp spluttered for a moment, surprised that Matt was even entertaining the idea."What?! Seriously? Well, I mean...it fits. Are you sure you wanna...go with that one? What about Brainiac? Nerdvana? The Lobe?"
"Goodbye Stan." Grayson droned, walking away from Stan's bed to the bedroom door once more.
"I really liked that last one!"
"Goodbye!"
"I hope you fail!"
"I'm closing the door!"
"Ten to one...some kid in cosplay stops you!"
*SLAM!*
celticProtagonist, OMG thank you for correcting me! No need for the formalities man, I rely on you guys to keep me kosher! You'll probably notice how I edited everything in past chapters, and I just want to say, I really appreciate it. Also, it's so cool you saw Xamag stuff too! I only got into Freakazoid because of them. The show's got truckloads of potential especially with how the Internet is now, and I just can't stop myself from diving right in! If you have any cool head canons or ideas, don't be shy and let me know. Half of my inspiration is the cool ideas other fans have, and I could always do with more!
VoiardGremhaeld21, I'm so happy you like what I did for the Lobe! I intended to just have him be a stranger to Freakazoid and crew, but considering how he's one of Freakazoids main rivals, I wanted to make his back story more potent. I really like that Spiderman reference by the by. I think the Lobe's back story kinda reminds me of Doctor Octopus's back story with a little bit of Green Goblin spite mixed in.
Pichu, I'm really glad you've caught up! You really inspired me to write more of Debbie's and Dexter's relationship, especially her worries and concerns for her son. I think Dexter's family is a divided one in the best of times, and a united one when it counts. I want to really explore the relationships Dexter had with his friends and family, and hearing your feedback really gave me the confidence I needed to explore it! I have some in depth back stories in the works for all of Freakazoids villains, and even some not expressly included in the show itself.
Luna M. Moon, Thanks! :D