A/N: Finally! A new chapter! Yup, for those of you actually reading, I have posted again. A bit of a filler chapter, but necessary. It'll get better later, I promise, and I won't blame you if you don't review. But please, PLEASE, don't let that stop you from reviewing. PLEASE REVIEW! I shall give you cookies if you do.

Chapter 2: Quid Agis (What's Going On?)

Pole and Skipper were watching her with shock, unblinking, and she stared right back at him, her eyes hooded a bit. She had to be kidding, right? That Marlene, always cracking jokes... though... when she didn't say "gotcha!" or anything, they started to worry. "Marlene... come on, Marlene, quit playing." Her brown eyes just shifted to the polar bear general, who gazed at her mercilessly. He had to hand it to her, she didn't back down from it, not once. Instead, she dragged her gaze to Skipper, and watched him with a blank stare. "Marlene... it's me. It's Skipper, remember?"

Brown eyes opened wider, and the female's heart rate spiked. The two soldiers looked over at the machinery and then back to her, now sitting up all the way and looking at Skipper with pleading eyes. "S...S-Skipper?" She grabbed his flipper and pulled him closer to her. "You're not hurt?" When he shook his head, she let him go, and sat back, slightly disappointed. He briefly thought of asking her if he should be, but didn't. "No, I was hoping you wouldn't be... I'm glad to see you aren't." At least, he didn't think he did... Her shy smile lit up her face a little bit, and she looked like how she used to before... whatever happened to her. "Even though I don't even know who you are."

The General excused himself, and asked if he could borrow the penguin, much to his objection. "Skipper, are you certain that's Marlene?" Skipper basically screamed that it was, and General Pole tried to keep him quiet before... Too late. Rico burst in, holding a flame thrower and looking for the trouble, followed closely by Kowalski and his notepad, and Private, riding on Navi. Why the small one was riding his daughter, he had no clue, but that wasn't going to fly. He let it slide for now, but had to remember to get right on that later. The doctor came up to them just then, asking for an explanation to the noise. Skipper told them, word for word, what happened in the room, and everyone was speechless. What they were going to do about it was a common concern, and the doctor comfortably answered that for them.

"Nothing." Before six animals could yell at him about the answer, he elaborated. "You," He pointed to Navi, Skipper, Rico, Private and the General. "Are going to stay here. Kowalski." He looked to the penguin, and he looked as if he was going to scream like a little girl. "If you could come with me, I'd really like your hel--" That was when Kowalski actually did scream and jump up and down. Of course, as soon as he realized he was being stared at by everyone in the facility, he regained his composure and calmly agreed to help. "Good." The doctor was apprehensive about the tall penguin helping, but with only one other scientist on hand, one who had never seen the HumEx serum in action, or at all, his knowledge would be helpful. The three brilliant minds vanished into the room with Marlene in it, and both Rico and Skipper looked as if they should be in there with her. Rico because she was a great friend. She would talk to him, and enjoy the 'kaboom' with him. Skipper because... well...

Because he was pretty certain he was in love with the girl.

Navi watched her father turn and pad out of the room, not another word to anyone. She waved goodbye to the penguins before running after him. It wasn't long that she spotted him, not very far away from the fans, hunched over. He was deep in thought, confused about a new predicament. Pole had barely begun to think about it when his daughter pounced onto his back. He laughed and bounced her up and down.

She was his little girl, and wouldn't change the young polar bear for anything. She was his own little hell-raiser now, a trait she inherited from her mother, who had stayed back up north when he decided to go on a recon mission in the zoos of America. Navi wanted to go with him, and that was that; the pair headed to New York, to actually visit Skipper and find out what was doing. But General Pole had gotten captured on his way there by that slimy sack of fish bait. He was just pleased his daughter made it out okay. He finally caught the cub and held her fast in his paws.

"Well now, little one... you've been through some adventures, haven't you?" She gave him her biggest grin and nodded, then preceded to tell him all about the zoo in New York, and Skipper, and Marlene, and the zoo, and the battle of the giant HumEx, along with the normal ones, and her contribution to the fight, and the zoo, and her very first very best friend... She seemed to constantly mention how nice the Central Park Zoo was. He laughed. The girl had spunk, he'd give her that. "And what's this business of you carrying the penguins?" He sounded jolly, though if they had made her their little mule....

She waved it off, explaining that carrying Skipper was a special occasion, since he was hurt, and Private was small enough anyway, and she liked giving him rides. It was like playing with a younger brother. "Uh... Navi, he's older than you, you know that, right?" She stared at him with those clear blue eyes until he divulged farther. "He started molting by the time you were born. He's a good while older than you, but you're a bear... so you're bigger." Navi looked insulted. She didn't know he was older!

One paw slammed into the other, and she tried to look angry. Pole just thought she looked adorable... "Well, I'm just going to have to get him back for misleading me, then. When we get back to Central Park, I'm--" Her muzzle was clamped together by her father, a new, stern look on his face, one she wasn't used to. Navi had only seen him this way twice before: When her mother decided to stay up north, and when one of his subordinates almost hurt Navi on accident.

"Nevisaundra..." And he almost NEVER said her real name. "You're not going back to Central Park. We're going home." Her heart sank to the bottom of her stomach, and as soon as the awkward silence passed the "just kidding" time mark, she squirmed out of her father's gasp. "I though you knew!" he shouted. He realized a little to late, as she looked like she was about to cry, that that response may not have been the right one. Some tears started to fall down her face, and he tried to comfort her. "Navi, we have to alert the troops. I... I have to get help, I have to start working again, we need to get help so this can get better, dear heart." He called her that when he was really sorry for something. But this... this just wasn't like him. She tried to ask him around her tears if he was replaced with a HumEx. When he assured her he hadn't (showing her his neck), she couldn't help but ask if she could stay.

He gazed into her eyes, and asked her why it was so important that she stay, her answer was provided without missing a beat. "General, you're family, and I love you, I always will. And the penguins are my friends now, which is good, 'cuz I have friends. But it's not because of them or you that I want to stay. When I first got there, I knew it was my mission to rescue you. And I did that. That doesn't mean my mission is over." Pole watched his daughter bow her head, seeing her in a new light. She was growing up. "My fallen comrade, never forgotten, never left behind." Ah. Marlene. The General had heard the whole story and was grateful for the brave otter's sacrifice on his, his daughter's, and his troop's behalf. Even though she now had some memory problem. "I have to help her. She'd do the same for me."

This meant he, the General, now had a decision to make. He could just tell the girl no, that she had to go back with him, where ever he was needed... but her values, her ethics... they meant so much to her... and after all he went through to instill them in her, he couldn't rip them away like that.

Big paws ran over a military flat top buzz cut. He had decided. "I'll think about it, and tell you in the morning before they leave." Navi looked away, and nodded in agreement, then hugged and thanked him. Really, that was the fairest thing to do right now. She left, wiping the tears from her eyes. The General was alone again. And it was surprising how much he didn't mind it.

Around sundown, everyone was called from their various spots in the sewer to find out what happened with Marlene's brain, and if she'd be okay. Pole put his cell phone back in a compartment in the collar around his neck (Conveniently used to get the medic van's there), and went inside. There, Navi and Private were conversing quietly, as were Rico and Skipper. They gave him various greetings, and he sat down, and waited with the rest of them, until they were allowed into the girls room. She was asleep, and Rico and Skipper rushed to each be on a side of her bed. Pole, Navi and Private took their own places, and the doctors plus Kowalski, who looked very official and pleased with himself, pulled out some pictures for everyone to see. 'Just like when this started...' Navi thought, remembering the first night she met the penguins, and told them about her mission. Marlene was shocked, but eager to help, and even though she did a great job... she had gotten hurt so badly in the process. The polar bear wanted to help her get better, no matter what. Never leave a fallen comrade behind.

The doctor indicated to the first picture, which showed the bluish dot on the otter's neck. "It's been confirmed... through certain test samples... that this is the HumEx serum. Through a blood test, we've determined that the ratio between the amount of serum given to her and the amount given to the crabs is approximately 3:1. They gave her three times the normal dosage, and that alone should have done some permanent damage to her, physically. How it didn't is a mystery to us."

A second picture was of a normal red blood cell, and a red blood cell that was affected by the shot. Compared to the normal blood cell, the other was purple, much bigger, and seemed to be vibrating in the picture. "A little less than half of her blood cells are now HumEx cells," The doctor paused when he saw Kowalski jiggling up and down in excitement. He sighed and shook his head minutely. "So named by Kowalski." He quickly mentioned. The smart penguin looked like he wanted to give a speech, but the other owl scientist covered his beak and allowed the doctor to proceed. "They compensate for themselves, adjusting themselves to her body and her needs. They've only reacted once, and that was when she was having the fit earlier. Other than that... it's not hurting her. Basically, they're nanobots that have attached to her blood cells."

Finally was the picture of the plunger induced three-shot. The shots had semi-paralyzed three parts of her brain: Nervous system, emotion, and memory. She could feel, but not very well. She could only remember new things, her life before was almost a complete mystery, save a very few things. And her reactions would be either inappropriate, or mixed and wild. "When we saw her, she only screamed out of shock. Anything else that happened to her after that... well, it's lucky that she probably didn't feel any of it." Kowalski chimed in after the doctor. He felt privileged to be there, among these other great minds... and sorry that it had to be one of his friends he was examining, like something under a microscope. The brainy bird tried not to think of it that way, and instead thought of it as a test to help a friend. That worked.

Skipper frowned and slid into a more depressed state. In other words, she was a completely different animal. Kowalski studied his notes a little bit and shook his head. "That... may not be the case, Skipper. There's a 64.8% chance she could still be Marlene... she just doesn't remember us. Any of us." He said, bowing his head at the last part. Navi gasped and shook her head, a silent cry of no escaping her mouth. Private waddled up to her, lying a comforting hand on her shoulder and looking up at Kowalski.

"Isn't there a way we can help her, Kowalski? Make sure she remembers us somehow." More note flipping, and Skipper looking over at Marlene, making sure she was still safely asleep. She looked so peaceful and normal, like she did before. The otter was so happy and full of life, and no matter how hard he tried, Skipper could never remember Marlene ever being sad. Kowalski sighed as he flipped back to page one of his notes. He couldn't find a way to make that happen immediately, though it may help if they got her back home and surrounded her with familiar things.

They decided that in the morning, a little after sunrise, which could be seen from the open end of the sewer pipe that lead to the ocean, they'd leave here and take Marlene home. Private asked Navi if she was excited to be going back home, but she didn't answer. He told her all the things they would do for fun when they got back, which just made her sadder, until it was announced that everyone should go to bed. In the morning, they'd head back in the car, and maybe, hopefully, things would go back to normal.

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