Mind Over Matter, Chapter 4
By Abby
Chapter Rating: G
o m o M o m o
The Metro City State Psychiatric Hospital was bright and cheery enough, its hallways decorated with paintings and drawings made by the patients enclosed there, but it wasn't quite sufficient to erase the stiffness and sterility that accompanied a hospital atmosphere. The click of Roxanne's heels and the soft thump of Megamind's baby seal leather boots interrupted the quiet as they followed the resident doctor down the corridor.
Dr. Michael Hannegan had worked at this facility for 24 years, and despite the stresses that challenged him (and his hairline), he poured his life into his work and enjoyed it immensely. He was currently the head doctor of the Traumatic Brain Injury ward, and when he heard what Megamind had been working on, he gladly opened the doors to him. Pausing outside the entrance that separated the ward from the rest of the hospital, Dr. Hannegan turned back to his two guests. "Thank you so much for coming at such an odd hour, Mr. Megamind, Mrs…" he stumbled when he came to addressing Roxanne. "Erm, Mrs. Megamind." he said. "I thought it best you come during the rest hours so that way you didn't cause such a fuss. This way you can inspect our patients individually."
Roxanne responded first, using her professional demeanor. "No, Thank you for being willing to see us, doctor. Not too many hospitals are willing to let us work with their patients."
Dr. Hannegan adjusted his glasses. "Well, I have to admit that your proposal is… unconventional. But I work with many patients here with permanent memory loss and limited cognitive function. Patients in our current rehabilitation program show minor improvements at best. I am always willing to hear out any ideas for alternative therapies."
Megamind gazed at the doctor and wished silently that he had worn his boots with a bit of height on them. Dr. Hannegan was at least six foot tall, and it irritated him that he had to look up to make eye contact. He pulled back his shoulders and held himself in as manly manner as possible. "If I'm successful, doctor, then I'm afraid you may have to find a new job soon…Uff." The air was knocked out of Megamind as Roxanne elbowed him hard in the ribs. "Pardon me, doctor. My wife just kindly reminded me of my manners. I mean, I am looking forward to working with you to help bring relief to your patients." He checked to see if Dr. Hannegan was offended, but the taller man seemed not to notice, apparently too eager to see Megamind's new treatment. The alien looked over at his wife and knew he was going to get an earful about this when they got back home to the lair. Hospitals always did put him on the defensive. He took a deep breath and went back to business. "There is one patient that caught my eye when I was looking through files you sent me. A Mr. John Smith, room 4E?"
Dr. Hannegan nodded, opening the door and leading the way. "Yes, he's definitely an interesting case. He's one of our oldest patients, too. He was admitted to our ward almost twenty years ago with almost no record. They found him face-down in a ditch a few miles out of town near one of the rest stops on the main highway. Apparently received a blow to the head by some blunt object and he wandered aimlessly until he passed out from blood loss. They couldn't find anyone to identify him at the rest stop, and fingerprints didn't pull up any records. When no family came to claim him, he was moved permanently to our ward." The three of them stopped outside the door to 4E, and Megamind could see the foot of a bed through the glass window. The Doctor continued. "You probably already read the entire file, so you know he sustained heavy damage to the cortex and frontal lobe. He suffered permanent memory loss and aphasia, and since he also has difficulty retaining new information, he has been unresponsive to most treatments. He has some behavioral issues, as well, which is common with trauma to the frontal lobe." He pulled out a chart that was stored in a clear file on the wall and handed it to Megamind, who flipped through it with interest.
Feeling that he had all the information he needed, the hero pointed to the door eagerly. "May we go in to see him?" He bounced on the balls of his feet.
Dr. Hannegan opened the door and waved the couple forward. "By all means. If you like, I can wait outside if you need to examine him privately. I'm sure you can manage by yourself. If you need me, I'll be at the nurse's station." With that, he took his leave.
Megamind slipped the chart back into its holder, seeking out Roxanne's hand and guiding her into the patient's room. The door closed behind them with a soft click. Roxanne could hear a radio playing quietly from the corner of the room obscured by a green curtain, making out the twang of a country western song. The lighting was subdued, and when Megamind and Roxanne cleared the curtain, they could see that it was being produced by a small table lamp. John Smith was sitting upright in bed, and he blinked slowly when they came into his vision.
He had to have been in his mid-forties by the appearance of the smattering of grey hairs on his otherwise blond head. His skin was almost the same color, pale and sallow from rarely leaving the confines of the hospital ward. Roxanne couldn't pick out anything remarkable about the man's face, either, other than his watery blue eyes that were deep-set and exceptionally piercing. In the meantime, however, Megamind was already issuing a hum of satisfaction and reaching into the bag the he had slung over his shoulder to pull out a piece of equipment. He was already adjusting it and approaching Mr. Smith when Roxanne piped up. "Megs, what is that? What are you doing?"
Megamind flipped a couple of switches, not looking up from his work. "It's a portable sonic imaging scanner. I wanted to scan himself myself before I made a decision."
"Shouldn't you at least introduce yourself first before you subject him to tests?"
Her husband looked over at her and registered her concerned look. "There's really no need, Roxanne. He has severely limited cognitive ability. He probably won't remember us being here a few seconds after we leave." He didn't seem to completely understand her need for formalities in this situation, but Roxanne held steady. She didn't feel comfortable with forgoing common courtesy. Megamind took in her facial expression and acquiesced, leaning over to make eye contact with the patient. "Mr. Smith? My name is Megamind. Don't be alarmed. I'm only going to take a few scans of your head. It won't hurt, but it may make your ears ring a bit."
He lifted up the boxy contraption and held it up to Smith's temple, a high-pitched frequency filling the room. Roxanne backed up a few feet, covering her ears. Megamind readjusted the machine and scanned again, repeating the procedure two more times. When he was finished, he watched as the scans were sent back wirelessly back to the Lair. The results were processed and sent back, and the alien grew increasingly excited as he saw the data that scrolled across the screen. "This is brilliant! Perfect!" He set the scanner on the foot of the bed and rushed over to Roxanne to crush her in a quick hug.
Roxanne smiled at his exuberance. "So you can heal him?"
Megamind nodded. "Yes, I can heal him! And just think, this man has no identity and hasn't been able to speak for twenty years. When his brain function and his memory are restored, we'll be able to reunite him with his family!" The loss of his own family and people still stung in the recesses of his soul, and if there was any way that he could help anyone else with that pain, Megamind was happy to do it. It shone through the exhilaration in his voice.
The wheels in Roxanne's head were already turning. "Imagine that. That would make an excellent story…" She started working on the details when she remembered herself and returned her attention to the blue face in front of her. "So this is it? After six months of working on this, are you sure that you're ready for this?"
Megamind went through his mental checklist, not finding any metaphorical stones that he left unturned. He had been dreaming of this final stage for months, and all of his hard work was coming to fruition. And he had Roxanne and her idea to thank for it. He responded to her question by leaning forward and kissing her lightly on the lips. "I'm ready as I'll ever be."