Chapter 2: Blackout

The rest of the day flew by, pausing only momentarily at lunch when we finally got to talk instead of sitting bored in a classroom absolutely silent.

Me and Danny finally got home with roughly twenty minutes before Tucker was supposed to stop by, more than enough time for me to see exactly what equipment I still had and what I needed to run by Tucker to see if he could do anything about it. If anyone could rebuild government technology, he could.

My phone was completely decimated, so I was going to have to live without that for a while, not that I really ever used it much anyway. My laptop had been remotely wiped of absolutely everything, whether it was government related or not. I'm sure they thought it'd be that easy to rid me of my classified files, but they don't seem to be familiar with the concept of a flash drive. I had snagged one of Danny's spares as soon as I was able to move about again after that fight with Vlad. I had copied anything, classified or not, onto said flash drive weeks ago, knowing the memory wipe was coming. I could have uploaded everything right then and there, but it was probably better to let Tucker play with the inner workings of the laptop and make sure it was completely off the radar of the GIW. If they knew I still had classified information, it was very likely I'd come home one day to find that there was absolutely NOTHING left inside.

I ran through my weaponry to ensure there was nothing unexpected wrong with them. A few of my more powerful, standard issue guns were in need of repair that only a technogeek could give them, but that was to be expected. The thermoses I'd built with my own hands were untouched along with the few stunners I'd built ages ago. I had full access to my powers now, but that didn't mean Tucker couldn't use the weapons when he got dragged into a battle.

"So, what's the verdict?" Danny was standing in the doorway, I briefly wondered how long he'd been standing there.

"I'll need Tucker to work his magic and get my laptop completely off the GIW network and there's a few guns I want him to take a look at. My cell's gone too, but even Tucker couldn't fix that one."

"I'd show it to him anyway. I learned a while ago not to underestimate him, he's better with his technology than even I'll ever know." He shot me that dazzling smile, and I walked over to him and gave him a quick kiss before there was a knock at our door, signaling Tucker's arrival.

Both me and Danny walked out to the living area. Danny let Tuck in while I set down the laptop and ran back to the room to grab the guns and cell phone. I'd just set them on the table when Tuck started rattling off about what he could and couldn't do.

"I can get your laptop off the network, no sweat, but repairing your guns is going to take me a little longer. I'm more versed in computer hacking than gun repair." He gave a quick grin before setting off to work, starting with the laptop first since he knew it would serve as a good warm-up for the rest.

We were all piled on the couch, Tucker on one end, me and Danny curled up on the other. We sat like this for a few minutes, Danny and Tuck rambling on about something I wasn't paying attention to, before I realized something was amiss.

I started to feel lightheaded, something that hadn't happened since I first started training with the GIW. It was a little odd, but I had been under a lot of stress lately. I started up an eight-count to try and get my body back under control. I had learned ages ago that as long as I could keep myself counting to eight, I could do just about anything.

One, two, three and four, five, six, seven and eight and…

Even with this, my breathing started to quicken against my will. I changed my count slightly, trying to force my mind to focus on the numbers enough to keep it from blanking out on the world. It was already getting hard to even pretend to listen to Danny and Tuck.

One and two and three and four and five and six and seven and eight and…

The damn eight-count wasn't working. All I could even hear of Danny and Tucker were faint mumbles, I was slipping away.

Keep it together Monson.

One and two and three and four and five and six and seven and eight and…

Black dots started appearing at the edges of my vision. I really was about to pass out, the realization hit me hard. I kept fighting.

No! I will not show weakness, damn it!

One, two, three, four and…

Danny and Tucker didn't even notice until I hit the floor.

I woke up god only knows how long later and was surprised to see Danny powered up, green fists at his side. I moved my head a little before slowly sitting up, the fire in Danny's fists died.

"You okay?" Normally, I would have shot Danny an irritated look for asking such a vague question, but right now, it was somehow slightly comforting.

"What the hell happened?" I raised a hand to my head, I was pretty sure I had a headache from hell.

"You passed out…" Danny trailed off, there was something he wasn't telling me. Did he really not know by now that I knew damn well when he tried to lie or leave something out?

Danny helped me back onto the couch; it was decidedly more comfortable than the floor I'd woken up on. "You gonna finish that thought? Or do I have to beat it out of you?" Yes, I know. I had just passed out and was weaker than I would have preferred, but I still had a feeling I could take Danny in a fight if I absolutely had to.

Danny swallowed and stuttered for a few seconds before I saw Tucker off to the side with a shocked look on his face and a nasty looking burn on his arm. When the hell had he gotten burned? "Danny, what happened?" He stuttered a little more, rubbing the back of his neck. "Tell me. Now." My voice became firm and clearly showed that there would be no nonsense sliding by me.

"Sam, you really don't want to know." I shot him a glare worthy of having its own daggers. "After you hit the ground, Plasmius showed up…"

"Please, do go on." I was seriously getting tired of his stalling.

"Sam, you became Plasmius for a few seconds."

Well…shit.

Yes, I know, I'm evil for leaving you with a cliffhanger so soon. Too bad you just get to deal with it! :P

On the bright side, the next chapter is already jumping to my fingers. With any luck, you'll see an early update on Wednesday, the same time I update Ghostly Games (a DP/Hunger Games crossover, if anyone's interested.)

On a random note, I'm serious about the eight-count thing I had Sam use. You'd be surprised what a simple eight-count can do...

Feedback and comments are welcome as always, though I'm pretty sure most of you know that by now. :P

Invisible One