Disclaimer: The mouse owns Kim Possible, this plot is MINE.
A/N: So... I'm BACK!... AGAIN!... Hehe... haaaaaaaaa... Yep.
I want to send a HUGE Thank You to everyone that has fav'ed and is following and has reviewed. You have the patience of a saint! Know that I will NOT stop writting this story, it might tak me a long time to update but be sure there WILL be an update. In my travels through the fanfic universe I came across an author that did something interesting. On his profile page he posted updates on the status of chapters under construction. I shall adopt this, seeing as the Saturday thing I tried previously tanked... hard. So if you're interested in my progress then check out my profile page, I will be making a section for status updates on this story.
Anyway, without further delay, here is Chapter 9!
As allways, please read, review and, above all, ENJOY! X-P
Chapter 9: R & R Stands for Rest...
Kim watched the Diablos lumber on through the warehouse from her hiding place in the rafters. She was frustrated. Extremely frustrated. None of Drakkens earlier creations had ever been this troublesome. They were relentless and worked well as a team. How the hell had Drakken managed to program these things so well! What happened to the times when they would destroy themselves...
She watched them intently. They may have kept her away from Ron for far longer than she would've liked, but she was Kim Possible! She could do anything! An these giant toys were not going to stop her.
"C'mon, Wade." Kim said. "There's got to be a way."
The Diablo's paused their searching for a moment then turned towards the voice's location. They approached, one Diablo turning a corner and staring down a row of containers and racks stacked high. The other Diablo circled around to the other side.
"C'mon..." Kim whispered through tightly clenched teeth. "Hurry up!"
She willed the Diablos to move faster, every second they kept her here was one more failure. Ron was out there, hurt and doing more stupid things instead of just waiting for her. Meanwhile she was being kept here, playing with toys!
"Wade..." Kim's voice rang from the middle of the row again. "Give me an update."
Kim frowned as only one of the Diablos walked down the aisle towards her voices origin, the other staying back. She needed both of them to be at the same spot if her trap was to work. She scanned the area again with her eyes looking for something that would spark an idea to remedy the sitch she found herself in. She spotted a forklift not far from the Diablo that had stayed put.
As silently as she could she descended from the rafters using her hairdryer. Once on the ground she retracted the grapple with a practiced flick of her wrist and ran towards the forklift, using stacked crates and containers for cover.
She had to hurry, the first Diablo was nearly there and once it didn't find either her or Eric they would both move on.
She clambered on the lift, a huge thing meant to carry large, steel containers with ease. She thanked her lucky stars that an irresponsible worker had left the keys in. She turned it on and stomped the gas pedal, speeding through a corner so fast she nearly toppled it over. The Diablos had turned her way due to the sound of the engine, the one in the middle of the aisle already moving her way.
As the lift gained momentum she had to swerve slightly to the side when the Diablo that was her target aimed and fired its cannon. The blast caught the lift partially on the side, the heat of it singing some of her hair. Thankfully it kept moving and with a roar of defiance Kim crashed into it. The lift's forks impaling themselves halfway into its body in an impressive display of sparks and arching bolts of electricity.
The Diablo seemed to barely take notice as it shifted its stance to stop her. But she saw it coming and with a grunt she pulled a lever and lifted it up. With her foot firmly pressed on the gas the lift sped on with its new cargo towards the second Diablo.
As they moved towards eachother it fired its cannons at her in an attempt to complete its directives but its partner served as a shield. Kim slammed into it, making it topple back into the steel racks and scattering their contents. Metal tanks fell to the ground of the warehouse by the dozens.
With the robots right where she wanted them Kim aimed her hairdryer to the roof, pressing a button on the side that turned its projectile from a grapple into a harpoon she pulled the trigger. Pulling herself away from the struggling machines she pulled her laser lipstick out of her pocket and took careful aim.
The red beam trailed across the tanks witch burst apart with a roar that left her ears ringing. The sounds of the ensuing explosions rocked the warehouse and its neighbors. Containers toppled over into the carnage and spilled their contents ontop of the two robots, now obscured by dust, smoke and debris.
A piece of shrapnel lodged itself in the forearm that held held on to the hairdryer. With a surprised yelp of pain Kim lost her grip and fell on top of a row of containers. The momentum of her fall carried her over the edge before she could even think of stopping herself.
Moaning in pain, Kim groggily got to her feet, leaning against the containers she had just fallen from for support. Looking at her forearm she saw a piece of jagged metal sticking out. Gritting her teeth she gripped it and pulled it out, barely stopping the yell of pain in her throat. She threw the offending piece of steel away and put pressure on her wound, it wasn't serious but it was deep and would bleed profusely. She would need to bandage it tightly as soon as possible.
With a slight limp from how she had fallen Kim made her way to the scene of her trap. With the adrenalin rush slowly leaving her system, many other nicks and cuts made themselves known. Her arm wasn't the only part of her to catch some flying debris. As she walked, the rising smoke triggered the sprinkler system, drenching her in cold water and worsening her mood.
"Whew!" Kim exclaimed as she turned a corner. The area that before had been neatly organized rows of stacked containers and steel racks was now a mound of burning rubble. Even with the water, fires seemed to keep spreading.
Kim frowned at the destruction her hastily made trap had caused. Fires were eating up wooden crates and cargo while more explosions rung from tanks that had survived the initial detonations. This was likely the livelihood of a few dozen people she had just burned.
Under normal circumstances she would have never have considered doing this. But tonight was anything but nor...
Her thought process was cut short when a badly mangled claw erupted from the rubble. A deformed Diablo clawed itself free on its only remaining arm, arcs of energy running up and down its upper half since the lower was missing.
Kim watched in stunned horror as an eye 'regenerated' to stare at her. She watched for one more heartbeat before she moved, running as fast as her body could towards the exit. They could repair themselves... This she already knew from the files she had read on them but come on! There should be a limit to how well Drakken had made these things! This was Drakken hey were talking about!
She ran out of the warehouse and into another. Moving quickly and with purpose. Even if they could repair themselves from that, it would still take time. Time she was going to take full advantage of.
She ran to a red container and opened the doors wide.
"C'mon, c'mon!" Eric yelled at his phone as he dialed. "Answer me!"
"Eric..." Kim said, moving to the motorcycle she had stashed along with her boyfriend.
"Gah!" Eric screamed, dropping his cell phone in fright. "K-Kim! I-I've been trying to call 911 but they wont answer... I-I heard explosions..."
"Yeah..." Kim said noncommittally while pushing the bike out of the container and mounting it. "I caused the explosions... And emergency services probably have their hands full. Get on, we have to go."
Eric picked his phone up, put it back in his pocket and walked towards Kim, looking her over.
"What about the robots?" He asked.
"They're busy." She said, turning the bike on and revving the engine. "Lets go."
"But Kim..." He said, seeing the blood dripping from her arm. "You're hurt, maybe we sho..."
"Get on, dammit!" Kim snapped. She was itching to get moving, they had wasted enough time already.
Spurred into action by her harsh tone, Eric quickly got on the bike behind Kim. She pulled on the throttle hard, barely giving him time to wrap his arms around her waist.
The bike sped out of the warehouse though the hole she had made to get in, tires squealing as she pushed it as hard as she had all night. They sped back to the highway under a sky still covered in Diablos and rain clouds. Kim ignored her bleeding wounds in favor of speed.
At least the rain was starting to let up...
X
Once they finally arrived at BNHQ Kim took a moment to take in the scene. The entire site was crawling with police officers, firemen, paramedics and other personnel. Kim recognized many of them as Global Justice officers. Many were escorting captured henchmen onto waiting transports.
The building itself, though, is what caught most of her attention. It looked like something out of a World War 2 documentary or reenactment. Many if not all of the front windows were either horribly cracked or broken. On the ground to the side was a large crater surrounded by officers taking measurements and pictures. On top was a toppled tower, laying on its side on a part of the building that was never designed to hold its weight. it had nearly crushed it way through and from the looks of the cracks it might just finish the job given the time.
The scene of destruction culminated on the sombrero at the highest level of the structure. All across its top were misshapen chunks of missing concrete. It looked to her as if it had been subjected to a localized meteor shower. Facing towards the fallen tower stood a solitary entrance that now led to a sheer drop. Half of the rim of the sombrero, the part facing the tower, had apparently been unable to withstand the punishment it had been subjected to and collapsed.
All in all Kim looked at the smoking remains of the building and thought it looked every bit the destroyed lair she was expecting. Soon after she had found the highway again Diablos had begun to fall to the ground along with the rain. Meaning Ron had somehow succeded...
"Whoa..." She heard Eric whisper behind her. "This is intense."
"Hmn." Kim agreed, looking down at the ground with a frown.
All around them lay the now harmless army of toys that had nearly taken over the world.
Somehow... some way, Ron had been able to stop Drakkens plot. And if the veritable sea of toys and the smoking wreck of a building were any indication, he had done so thoroughly.
She should had been happy about it. Ron had stopped Drakkens greatest scheme to date, which meant he was more than likely just fine. Somewhere around here with some paramedic looking over his wounds.
She should have been more than pleased at this outcome. Yet, she wasn't... at least not as much as she should have. She mostly felt... uncomfortable.
She needed answers and cursed, for umpteenth time, the loss of her Kimmunicator as bait for her trap.
"I'll be right back." She told Eric as she got off the bike. A stab of pain shooting up her arm. "I'm going to find out what happened... and maybe get my arm checked out."
"Ok." Eric answered, getting off the bike as well. "I'll just wait... here." He turned to see that Kim hadn't waited for him to speak. Judging from how far she as already, arm clutched to her stomach, she hadn't heard a syllable.
With a drawn out sigh, Eric nearly drooped over his motorcycle. He was exhausted. He looked at the smoking remains of the building with trepidation. Whatever had happened here had been extreme.
Eric stretched his sore and tired limbs then went about inspecting his bike for damage. This was a street bike, and not designed for the stunts Kim had done avoid being blown up and/or trampled by giant killer robots.
Eric shuddered at the memory and continued his inspection. All of the stories Kim had told him of her missions had not prepared him for this. Not at all. The way she told it made it sound almost fun. Sure there was some danger, but never anything that couldn't be handled. Nothing like tonight, where a single misstep meant a terrible fate.
With a sigh of relief he finished his inspection. There were dozens of nicks and dings all over and the shocks probably needed some attention. But all in all the bike was still in perfect condition. Nothing some TLC wouldn't fix.
Dusting off his hands he looked around for Kim. He spotted some guards struggling with cuffed man in a blue suit. He seemed to be yelling something but his voice was muffled by the bucket stuck on his head. With a firm yank one of the guards pulled the bucket off.
Eric blinked a few times at what he saw. The man's head and shoulders were dripping wet. But far more importantly, they were completely pink. And it wasn't a normal kind of pink either. No, this was the angry sort on pink that one could spot from 300 meters away.
"No! This cant be over!" The pink headed man railed against the guards as he was shoved inside an armored transport. "This can't possibly be over..." He nearly sobbed when a guard shut the door on his face unceremoniously and tapped the truck twice on the side. The truck sped away with its unwilling passengers.
Eric didn't know if he should feel sorry or angry at the probable cause for all this. He settled for annoyed and huffed around the area close to his bike, willing Kim to hurry up so that they could go home and be done with this.
"Ow!" Eric yelped as he felt something stab into his foot, right thought the shoe. He let himself fall on his butt on the soft grass he had wandered to and looked at the bottom of his foot. He stared at it for a full minute, unable to comprehend what he was looking at. He took off the shoe and stared, hoping that would help.
Stuck deeply into his sole, far enough that it would poke him and draw blood, was what thanks to movies and other media he could identify as a ninja throwing star...
He wrestled with the absurdity of what he had just found until Kim's voice brought him back.
"Eric, come on." She said. "We need to go."
Eric stood up, holding his shoe with the throwing star pointing up in both hands while he looked at Kim. She had her arm wrapped tightly in a bandage and had managed to get a radio.
"Hey... um..." He looked around. "Where's Ron?"
"He isn't here anymore." She said, he could hear the bitter frustration and anxiety that had been building in her for a while now. "He was airlifted to a hospital. Which one, Wade?" She spoke to the radio.
"Middleton Medical Center." Wade answered swiftly, though he sounded tired. "He should be arriving in a few minutes. I called your mom to let her know so she should be there by he time he gets there."
"How bad is he hurt?" She asked.
"I don't know, Kim" The kid answered, he could hear frustration in his voice too. "The last glimpse I got from him was of him using some weird shield he found to withstand the cannon blasts of three Diablos. I don't know what happened afterwards. The chatter I've been able to pick up has been inconclusive."
"All right..." Kim said, sounding much less than pleased that the lack of information. "Keep me posted. And good job getting the airmed here so fast. You rock, Wade"
"Yeah..." Wade said with little enthusiasm. "Wade, out."
Kim put the radio away and walked towards the bike with out giving him a second glance.
"Oh! Hey, Kim!" He said, jogging to catch up to her fast pace. "I found something weird..." He told her, lifting up the shoe.
Kim shot him an annoyed glance before looking down at the shoe. He eyebrows scrunched down in confusion. She took the shoe from him and frowned at the throwing star intently. Carefully, she gripped the weapon and pulled it out of the shoe, handing it to Eric who quickly put it back on.
Kim probed one of the points gently with her finger, the edge easily prickling her finger though her glove and drawing blood. Showing how deadly sharp it was. This was no toy or replica bought from a store at the mall. This was the real deal. And as far as she knew, the ninjas Drakken had employed preferred modern weapons to traditional. Odds were this belonged to someone else...
Her already dismal mood worsening at another unanswered question, Kim carefully wrapped the throwing star in some extra bandages she had been given and tucked it away in one of her pockets.
"Ok, lets go." She said without without further ceremony and mounted the bike.
"Whoa there..." Eric said, placing himself in front of the bike and leaning on the handlebars. "Hold up a sec."
"What?!" Kim snapped, angry at what she saw as yet another delay. "Ron is at the hospital. We have to hurry!"
"No, we don't." Eric said and went on before she could retort. "Your mom is already waiting at the hospital, right?"
"Yes..." Kim nearly growled, wondering where he was going with this.
"So he's already in the best possible hands." He surmised, smiling a bit at the pun. "Right?"
"Well, yeah. But.." She tried to say but he cut her off.
"And judging by how things look around here..." He gestured to the many officers and personnel around the building. "The mission is over, right? I just saw them take away the pink guy."
"I guess, but..." Kim began again but blinked in confusion. "Pink?..."
"So, I'm driving." Eric surmised, gesturing for her to scooch back.
"What?!" Kim said, not moving an inch but siting up. "Why?"
"Well, for one its my bike." Eric explained, looking down at it. "But mostly because I dont think it can take much more of your mission driving..."
Kim looked down at the bike, taking it in for the first time that night, and had the decency to blush a bit in embarrassment. While the bike wasn't in bad shape, the dents and scratches all over the body and paint job were far to numerous to be missed or ignored.
Looking sheepish, she moved back and allowed him to get on in front of her.
"Sorry..." She said, her anger cooled for the moment. "But... we still need to hurry..."
"Don't worry." Eric said, adjusting his helmet and turning the bike on. "We'll get there." At legal speeds... He added in his head.
They turned around and headed back to the highway just as some news vans made it to the scene.
X
Dr. Anne Possible stood before the automatic doors that led to the Medical Center's helipad while tapping her foot anxiously. Her team of nurses and doctors stood behind her.
The call from Wade had been less than welcome, especially with how little information the he had been able to give. All she had been told was that Ron was probably hurt and that he was calling in an AirMed helicopter to get him to Middleton Medical Center as quickly as possible.
When she had asked for specifics, already moving to grab her coat and keys, all she had gotten where 'I don't know'. She would have pressed further but his tone stopped her. She could tell not knowing was frustrating enough for the young genius, so she opted for asking after Kim. This time he said she'd been fine the last time he had spoken to her. She heard alarms though the phone and was hung up on with a hurried 'Gotta go!'.
She drove as quickly as she dared, having to stop to let through the occasional ambulance or police cruiser. When she arrived at the hospital she was greeted with a doctors worst nightmare.
The hospital was in near total chaos. Patients flooded every entrance, demanding treatment. Most were there for nothing more than minor scrapes while other had legitimate injuries that required immediate attention. From what she had been able to gather from overheard conversations, while the Diablos didn't outright attack people, they still caused a lot of destruction. Obviously in an attempt to instill fear.
And in that aspect hey had been efficient. The people grew scared and panicked. And in that panic they flocked to hospitals and police stations, overwhelming the systems.
She quickly punched in and made her way to the roof where she now waited. On the way she had spoken to the technicians that ran the MRIs, Xrays, among other imaging equipment, to fast track Ron and Kim's treatment. The response she got was less than positive, they were barely managing as it was. While they promised to do what they could they couldn't guarantee anything.
Depending on their condition she would probably need at least one of them, and a slew of blood tests, to be sure of how to proceed with treatment. Physical examinations only went so far... She might need an alternative...
Her thoughts were brought out of that unpleasant train of thought by the whirling of helicopter blades. The craft came into view and with the grace of an experienced pilot made a swift and graceful landing on the platform. Anne wasted no time in stepping outside to greet them as they unloaded their passenger.
Anne was nearly stunned into inaction at what she saw.
On the gurney lay Ron in a neck brace, manual air pump over his mouth and half his face so swollen his left eye was sealed shut. His shirt was nearly in tatters with various cuts and his right shoulder was clearly burned... her training kicked into gear and she quickly led the team inside.
"Patients condition?" She asked promptly as they entered the building.
"Severe bruising through out the body and extremities." The paramedic answered. "As well as several incisions to arms, legs and body that seem cauterized. Severe cut on right forearm appears to have received basic treatment. Bleeding on the scalp indicates possible concussion. Bleeding from left eye needs to be examined and blood on the mouth indicates possible internal bleeding. Heartbeat and breathing are low. We stabilized him as best we could."
"And..." Anne began looking at Ron's clenched left hand. "The sword?"
"The boy has it in a steel grip. " He answered. "We couldn't loosen it without causing further harm."
"Hmn. Well done, we'll take it from here." She said as her team took over. Transferring Ron from the helicopters gurney onto one of theirs.
"Doctor." The paramedic said as he and his crew returned to the helicopter, they still had work to do that night.
She led her team through the packed halls as they confirmed the medics report. The blood still trickling from his mouth was the most troubling. If he had internal bleeding then they needed to find it and stop it. She made her way to the imaging department and looked for Dr. Harley, its head, with whom she had spoken earlier.
She spotted him deep in a throng of his staff and interns, giving orders and instructions. Sending many dodging through the packed halls of the hospital to deliver the imagery other doctors needed. Things had gotten worse since she had come through here last...
"Harley. Harley!" Anne yelled, trying to get his attention. As she pushed her way through.
"What!" He snapped, he was obviously in a bad mood but she pressed on.
"I need a full workup." She said over the thrum talking in the crowded hallway. "Xrays, MRI, CatScan... the works."
"Are you nuts, Possible?!" Dr. Harley nearly screamed. "Every machine we have is occupied at the moment and has a waiting list. Full body scans take to much time to..."
"Please, Harley." Anne begged. "He could be critical." She gestured behind her at the gurney with the boy she considered a son.
Dr. Harley looked him over with a scowl. Needless to say he recognized the boy, he was enough of a regular volunteer at the hospital that nearly everyone knew him by sight.
"Alright..." Dr. Harley said, deep in thought. "Give me twenty minutes... I'll work something out."
"Twenty minutes..." Anne said, aghast. That was way too long.
"Look around, Dr." He said. "That's all I can get and I'm..." Whatever he was going to say next was cut short when one of his technicians called for him. Dr. Harley walked away hurriedly promising to do what he could.
Twenty minutes... Anne thought, looking down at Ron's unconscious body while it was placed against the wall and out of the way. It was much too long but she knew he was right, in this kind of situation that was probably all he could do. Looking around at the veritable sea of patients she knew that even that much might be a stretch. She needed an alternative...
Her mind went back to the earlier thoughts she had been entertaining... There was an alternative, though it was something that she would never consider under normal circumstances. She was actually surprised she was thinking of it even in this sort of situation...
She looked down at Ron's swollen face, conflicted as to which choice to make when he gave a slight cough. The little droplets of red splattered against the mask of the air pump made her decision.
With clipped words she dismissed her team and sent them to the clinic to help in anyway they could. She then wheeled Ron's gurney around and made her way to the newly built western wing of the Medical Center.
The new wing was built to expand the capacity of the various wards of the hospital as well as make room for more state of the art equipment and research labs. That purpose remained true for the first four floors. The fifth, however, has been modified for something much different.
It, unfortunately, had been commandeered before it was even built by the son of the Center's greatest and most influential investor. The one who's very donation made building the wing possible and was therefore named after them.
Dr. Sean Rodriguez, self proclaimed medical genius and inventor, had modified the plans for the fifth floor to suit his needs. The board of directors had been powerless to stop its construction or the hiring of Dr. Rodriguez and his team to the Centers newly expanded staff.
It was to this very floor to which she was headed.
All the while Anne was unaware of the intense pair of eyes that followed her. Eyes fixated on the boy she was pushing along. It couldn't be true. The shadow thought, following along carefully as to remain unseen. She needed more information... but first she needed to report this back to base.
The figure made her way, unseen, through the crowd on her way back to their base of operations. She needed to tell the others and figure out what their next course of action would be.
X
Anne entered the wide, crowded elevator, drawing looks of puzzlement from staff on their way to the labs for various blood and fluid tests that needed to be done. One by one the other occupants left, leaving her alone on her way to the top floor. Her resolved wavered with each passing second only to be strengthened by a glance at Ron.
With a ding the door opened to a deserted ward. It galled her to see so much unused space during such a crisis, yet knew it was necessary. Dr. Rodriguez had installed equipment and proposed treatments of dubious and/or untested origins. She, along with the other board members, had managed to stop him until such a time as a full and thorough investigation could be performed.
She pushed Ron's gurney onto the hall, past a nurses station that had a single nurse reading a magazine. She spared her a single glance before losing interest and going back to her reading.
The entire floor was large and state-of-the-art. It had twenty double rooms and ten singles. A glass wall separated the rooms from the hall, with blinds that were dropped for privacy whenever a room was occupied. Which none had been as of yet.
She walked on, passing a comfortably furnished waiting area and turning a corner to face a set of double hospital doors. One meant for gong through and the other for coming like the lanes of a street. As soon as she neared the door it opened on its own to allow her easy access without disturbing her patient.
The lab was dimly lit, enough to see clearly but not enough to blind. It was dominated by three identical machines. They consisted of a sphere that rested on the floor surrounded by flat pieces of metal of various shapes at the end of mechanical arms. Directly over the sphere was and arched piece of equipment reminiscent of a rectangular satellite dish. On the inside of its arch were triangular panels that seemed to shimmer in the low light. Lining the walls around the devices were various cabinets, counters and drawers that she knew contained the many tools of their trade.
In front of each was an 'L' shaped terminal, with the shorter side facing the machine. The desk's top was made of glass while clear panes ran along the edge that reached all the way up to the ceiling and enclosed the terminal like a cubicle. Of course, this wasn't simple glass, seeing as images on the desk served as the keyboards and controls for the machines while the panes, in their entirety, served as massive monitors.
All in all it was the best money could buy.
It was at one of these terminals that sat Dr. Rodriguez... playing Gallaga.
"Dr. Possible." Dr. Rodriguez greeted her without turning away from his game. The little ship moving frantically. "To what could I possibly owe the pleasure of this visit. I'd imagine you would be hard at work at a time such as this..."
"Can your machine truly do as you've claimed?" She asked, cutting right through the pleasantries.
"I believe you know my stance on redundant repetition." He answered with a frown that quickly turned into a triumphant smile. "Whoop! High score, take that Marcy..." He continued playing.
"I..." Anne began hesitantly but pushed on. She was already here. "I need you to take a look at a patient." She said finally, gesturing to Ron on the gurney.
Dr. Rodriguez's hands froze over the displayed keyboard, allowing one of the hostile aliens to penetrate his defenses and destroy his star-fighter. A large 'Game Over' flashed over the screen.
"Dost mine ears deceive me!" He whispered loudly, turning slowly towards her with an expression of mock shock. "The great Dr. Anne Possible, loudest voice of opposition towards the evil Dr. R. on the medical board of directors. Keeping him away from any sickly women, men, children and elderly. Has now come to that very Dr. R with a patient?" He glanced over to Ron from were he lay. "And a young boy, no less."
Anne looked Dr. Rodriguez over, trying to keep her temper under control. Dr. Rodriguez was a handsome man of Latin-American decent. He was in his late twenties. He had black hair cut short and a well groomed and sharp goatee. Brown eyes and a strong chin completed his visage. He was about a head taller than her.
If it wasn't for his personality and tone of voice, which grated on her nerves every time they interacted, he would be the stereotypical doctor most women fawned over...
"Yes..." She said with as much cordiality as she could muster. "I have. I figured that we could... hasten the investigation should your invention, and I quote, 'provide such accurate and detailed images that all other present imaging technology will be rendered obsolete'. Even on a patient with such a wide range of injuries. Under my direct supervision, of course."
Anne kept her gaze steady as he looked at her intently. She could see the gears in his head turning and she hoped that he would take this compromise with which she was comfortable. But if past dealings where anything to judge by then that hope was a vain one.
The smile that slowly crept on his face and reached his eyes in the worst way told her her prediction had been on the mark. It was the look of a cat that had at long last cornered a particularly crafty mouse. She could readily imagine him licking his lips in anticipation.
"But, of course." He said, standing from his chair with that smile that would be charming on anyone else. "I would be more than willing to lend my expertise, especially if it will move things along. The powers-that-be know that being unable to carry out my oath as a doctor has kept me up at night more than once."
He walked next to Ron, eyes scanning him until he paused and looked at her with a look of concern.
"I'm sure..." He said haltingly, as if unsure of how to proceed. "You wouldn't be opposed to providing a form of assurance... in writing, of course."
"What?" She asked, a blank look on her face.
"Well..." He said, scratching the back of his head. "You see, our past dealings have been rather... uncondusive towards an amicable relationship. Many would dare say you don't like me." He said with a chuckle, as if such a thing could never take place in reality.
"Being the paranoid man that I am..." He continued, gesturing to himself in self-depreciating manner. "I'm afraid I need some solid form of guarantee. So that I'm sure I wont be involved in any sort of legal trouble while applying our craft. You understand."
"I'm... I'm afraid we don't have time to..." She began, grasping at straws.
"Not to worry Doctor!" He cut her off with a flourish, moving towards the terminal he had vacated. "I would never let such a thing get in the way of our work. Now..." He opened a drawer and closed it, moving on to the next. "Where did I put that contract..."
"Here, sir." Said the nurse Anne had passed on the way in. She appeared so suddenly and silently that she visibly jumped, unconsciously placing herself between her and Ron.
"Ah." Dr. Rodriguez said with a relieved smile, turning to the Nurse and taking the documents she held. "Thank you, Marcy. Now, Dr. Possible, if you would just sign these..." He offered her said documents. "All our minds will be put at ease."
Anne looked at the papers for a moment like she would a coiled snake before she took them and looked them over.
"You..." She said, dread griping her insides. "Had already drawn up..."
"But of course, Doctor." He said, that same smile back on his lips and enhanced by the stoic nurse now at his side. "As they say, 'Lady Luck favors the Prepared' and all that."
"I-I..." She stammered, a rare occurrence. "I need to read this properly before..." She tried to reason.
"Naturally." He cut her off, moving towards Ron and placing a hand on the railing of the gurney. "Take all the time you need." The smile never left his face.
Anne had to consciously stop herself from gulping. She wasted no time and scanned over the documents. They were a pair of contracts, not just one. She read as quickly as she dared.
"Hmn..." She could hear Dr. Rodriguez hum. "Shoulder definitely needs attention..." He spoke to himself.
Or, at least, that was what he was playing at. The man should have been an actor. She continued to read, trying to tune him out.
"Widespread swelling all over right arm..." He went on, in a low voice that she could hear clearly. "As well as a severe gash... troubling. And what's with the sword?"
Tune him out, tune him out... She chanted in her mind. She thought frantically, looking for some way around this.
"Oh dear..." He said.
His tone of voice was such that she couldn't help but turn to him. He stood by the side of the gurney peering closely onto Ron's face. He had removed the soiled mask and opened his mouth while tilting his head to the side. A small trickle of blood and drool seeped out.
"...Far more blood than I had anticipated..." He said with concern. "How worrying."
An exasperated sigh blew itself out of Anne and her shoulders drooped slightly in defeat. The look only lasted a moment before she righted herself and rallied her pride... what was left of it, at least.
"Do you have a pen?" She asked, her voice even. "Thank you." She said when the Nurse wordlessly handed her one. She strode to the terminal and used it as a support while she signed every marked line swiftly. In any other situation she would never have even considered looking over such things, much less sign her name on them. But this was as far from a simple situation...
"There!" She said, tossing the documents and pen onto the terminal's desktop in disgust.
The Marcy the Nurse picked them up, examining every page swiftly. Anne refused too look over her shoulder at either of them, focusing instead on the black glass of the terminal's surface.
She turned and gave Dr. Rodriguez a silent nod. Anne was starting to believe the Nurse known as Marcy was a mute...
"Excellent!" Dr. Rodriguez exclaimed, the sound of the gurney being moved forced her to turn. "Welcome to the team!" He said cheerfully while pushing Ron up to the first machine at whose terminal he had been playing. "Take care of that for me, would you Marcy? Dr. Possible and I have work to do."
"And be sure to send copies to Dr. Possible's office." He called after Marcy as she left through the automatic doors. He practically strut towards her, a sickening smile of victory and confidence plastered all over his face. She stood to the side and let him take his place, his hands flying over the displayed keyboard he'd been playing on minutes ago.
"We have so much to discuss, Dr. Possible." He said, the 'Game Over' message disappearing while the terminal came to life. Symbols and controls whose meaning and purpose she couldn't even guess at spread all over the desk top. On the glass panels scrolled data, moving to fast for her to catch. The air hummed slightly as the machine booted up.
"But for now..." Dr. Rodriguez said after a large, stylized 'R' flashed over the panels before leaving them clear. "Lets focused on your boy." He tapped on the clear glass, right over were Ron was.
A second after he did the sphere of the machine glowed yellow and a beam of energy shot towards Ron. Anne's breath hitched in alarm as the energy enveloped his body and slowly lifted him, moving him to float right over it.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Dr. Rodriguez explained once she let out her breath. "Its called a 'Gravitonic Ray'. Unfortunately I cannot claim it as one of mine. Some foolish inventor sold the rights to its patent for nearly nothing." He scoffed in dirrision. "I don't believe he knew what he had..."
His hands continued their trek across the controls with incredible familiarity. The device that now stood over Ron began to visibly shimmer.
"And here we..." He said before a beeping sound sang in the room. "...Oh?"
He looked over his shoulder at Anne, who was looking at a message on the pager the hospital had issued her. Dr. Rodriguez grinned mischievously.
"Duty calls, Doctor." He said, looking back at the panel in front of him where the image of a human body was beginning to take shape. "Not to worry, I shall compile a detailed report."
"No, I can..." She began to argue when the phone beeped again. They were this persistent only during emergencies...
"Just..." Anne said, the phone beeping for a third time before she turned towards the exit. "Please keep him stable. I want to be present for any readings and treatment. I'll return shortly."
"Of course..." He answered, moving to the side controls and making some adjustments.
Anne bit her lip, unwilling to move, but the pager beeped again. Whatever she was being called for appeared to be urgent. She turned away and walked so quickly it could have been mistaken for jogging. She passed by Marcy in the Nurses station where she was typing away on a laptop and into the elevator.
She pushed herself through the crowded hospital, moving carefully so as not to tackle anyone down, and made her way to her office. With each step her anxiety grew, maybe she had been to hasty in her decision to seek his aid. She certainly hadn't considered the fact that she might have to leave Ron alone with him.
Her ruminations were cut short once she entered her office and found it empty. She had expected one of her team to be here to brief her on whatever situation had called her away from Ron, but there was no one there. She turned around, fully intent on running back to Dr. Rodriguez's lab when her desk phone rang. She turned around and answered quickly, hoping to get whatever it was over with.
"Dr. Possible." She said to the receiver.
"Hi, Mrs. Possible." She hard someone answer. A decidedly young someone. A claw as cold as ice gripped her heart.
"Wade?" She asked tentatively. "You called me here?"
"Yes." He confirmed her suspicion. "Sorry to have called you away from your work like that, Mrs. Possible. But I need a favor. Its important." He said, his voice serious.
"What is it?" She asked with a bit of relief, she had feared the worst.
"I need you to make sure Ron's mission clothes aren't thrown away." He said.
"His... clothes..." She said, the relief she had felt being replaced by an entirely different emotion.
"Yes." Wade said, explaining further. "I'll be sending a courier to the lobby of the Center to pick them up, it is very important that th..."
"Wade..." She said in a low, even tone, cutting him off. "My professional line and pager are reserved for medical emergencies only."
"S-Sorry?" Wade stammered, taken aback by her sudden shift.
"The next time you use either..." She went on, ignoring his apology. "For anything other than a medical emergency I will go to the FBI with everything I know of your activities outside missions. Understood?"
"Y-Yes, Ma'am." He acknowledged, thinking it best to keep his responses short and sweet.
"Good." She said and hung up, not giving him a chance to say anything else.
Anne turned around and stormed out of her office, making a beeline back to the west wing. This time there was no care in her steps, threatening to trample any who were too slow to get out of her way. She was called away from Ron's side, being forced to leave him n his care, for clothes? Of all the damned things...
Her thoughts grew ever more colorful until she exited the elevator into the ward that led to the lab. In the short time she had been gone more Nurses seemed to have materialized. The bustled about the many rooms and closets with clipboards, checking something off or making notes. She saw Marcy talking to some, issuing instructions. It was obvious that she was Dr. Rodriguez's Head 'Hench-Nurse'.
She walked past them and headed straight for the lab and was stunned at what she saw. More Hench-Nurses, as she had just labeled them in her mind, hovered over now Ron's naked body. A number of the flat pieces of metal had come up, some serving as trays for various instruments and other restraining a body part from underneath.
"What do you think your'e doing!" She nearly yelled at Dr. Rodriguez. He stood just where she had left him on the terminal. He studied the image of a human body that was projected on the glass monitor with a large number of lines pointing to various parts.
"I'm making a toaster." He scoffed in annoyance. He enlarged a section of the image with his hands, dragged it to the side were it joined other images and started typing on the keyboard. Text appeared under the separate image. "What does it look like I'm doing?" He asked, a little louder.
Anne strode towards the terminal, taking in as much as she could. The nurses around Ron seemed to be taking care of his cuts and burns, being the most obvious and easily treated, cleaning and stitching were necessary.
On the glass panel facing the machine shined an image of what she now recognized as Ron's body, with images of beating heart and brain at the upper corners along with their respective data. To the side were various individual images with notes under them. It looked like Dr. Rodriguez had started at the head and was working his way down... so many... She started reading the notes, comparing them to what the images portrayed.
"Would you mind moving out of the way?" Dr. Rodriguez whined, adding another image and typing a description of the damage displayed. She moved out of the way silently, her eyes moving from image to image. "Here..." He said, grabbing a bundle of clothes from the desk that she hadn't noticed and tossing them at her. "Dispose of these, would you?" He said, going back to his work.
"Oof!" Anne grunted, stumbling back a step. "Wha...?" The clothes were far heavier than they appeared or should be.
"Hmn..." He heard Ron moan. It was accompanied by a low tone from the terminal. The images of the brain and heart being highlighted in red, the brain-wave data being emphasized along with the heart-rate.
"Oh?..." Dr. Rodriguez hummed. "He's waking up. I wouldn't recommend that just yet." He said walking around the terminal towards Ron. "Where's that sedative..." He wondered aloud, perusing the various instruments on the trays being used. "Ah, good." He said when one of the nurses offered him a prepared needle. He gracefully administered the drug through Ron's left arm, which still held the sword. "See if you can do something about the sword... and be sure to wash him once were done, he smells rather ripe."
Meanwhile Anne took the chance to inspect everything about the machine and what it was doing. She put the heavy clothes on the chair and moved to where the image of Ron's body had been. At the moment it showed an enlarged image of his right arm's soft tissue. She had no idea how it did it, but the device could clearly show muscle tissue, veins, arteries, tendons and ligaments in such detail that could only by exceeded by opening someone up and seeing it first hand.
Tentatively she touched the panel, mimicking Dr. Rodriguez earlier movements, and zoomed out of the image. She zoomed back in on the left arm and observed. She could see with everything about it with clarity, and within moments a message appeared that showed 'Foreign Chemical' along a highlighted area that showed its movement. It also showed the chemical's name, Its usage as a sedative and even the dosage that ad been administered.
"Impressive, is it not?" Dr. Rodriguez said, startling her. She hadn't seen him close in, engrossed as she had been. He was uncomfortably close.
"I... suppose." She was forced to concede. "I believe I asked you to hold off on any treatment until I returned." She said, moving away from him.
"I never conceded to such a request." He said, nonchalantly taking his place back on the terminal.
"You said 'Of course...' before I left." She challenged.
"Followed by a '...not' that you failed to hear as you dashed off." He said looking over Ron's right arm from the shoulder down. "Hmn..." He frowned, tapping a few buttons on the keyboard. With each button pressed the image changed, highlighting different aspects while all other remained in the background, remaining only visible enough to note their location. He highlighted bones, muscle tissue, ligaments and tendons followed by veins and arteries. All shown in impeccable detail.
Dr. Rodriguez took each of the images aside, one stacked upon the other, and added them to the group. He added text under it, like all the others.
"Can I trust, then..." She said, moving to get a better view. "That his life is not in any danger?"
"Of course not." He answered swiftly, moving to examine Ron's legs.
"And what of the bleeding through the mouth?" She pressed.
"If you mean 'Does he have internal bleeding?'..." He said, moving a few images of Ron's left ankle to the ever-growing pile. "The answer is no."
"Then where was the blood coming from?" She asked when he filed to elaborate further.
"Oh, he simply bit his tongue and cheek rather badly" He said, finishing his inspection of Ron by adding full-body images to the pile along with what she assumed was a summary of his injuries.
"What?" She asked in disbelief. The whole reason she had done what she had done tonight was...
"Easy mistake to make..." He consoled her with a smile. "I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. His injuries are extensive." He said while he continued working. A progress bar appeared under the rows of images. Once it filled the terminal let out a tone and a small stick popped out of a port on the desktop.
"And, as promised." He said, removing the small flash-drive from the port and offering it to her. "A detailed report of my first patient."
"Your patient?" She asked, taking the flash-drive.
"Obviously." He answered. "I can only treat my patients."
"Yes, well..." Anne said, deciding to let it go, for now, and pocketing the flash-drive. "Could you please bring me up to speed on your patient."
"I would love to Doctor." He began, with an apologetic look that looked almost genuine. "But unfortunately-"
"Sir..." Marcy said from behind Anne, making her jump again. "They're waiting for you." She walked back through the doors as silently as she had appeared.
"-I have matters to attend. But fear not." He said, reaching behind him and taping on the packet of full body images causing them to move forward, slightly over the others. With a swipe the images were arranged side by side over the panel with now legible letters to the left. "Feel free to peruse while you're here. Be warned the terminal is set to lock in ten minutes. Afterwards feel free to ask anything of my staff. They will answer as best they can."
"We'll be in contact, Dr. Possible." Dr. Rodriguez said, walking past her towards the exit. "We have much to discuss, after all." And with that, he walked past Anne and out the doors to the lab.
Anne stared after him for a moment before shook her head and focused on the summary he had left her. She would deal that problem when she had the ability to focus on it. For now the images and summary beckoned her.
With every word she read her heart ached. She knew the missions the kids went on carried a certain amount of danger. She'd gone on a few herself, after all. Injuries were not uncommon. But never in the years since they had first started had they ever reached this level.
A burn here, a cut there, some bruising, the rare broken bone... all injuries a child could get by just being a child. But this
Never this...
She took solace in the fact that Dr. Rodriguez was right. As severe as Ron's injuries were, they were not life threatening. The worst of his injuries where his right arm and his rib cage.
What what she could see and read, the muscle in the entire arm was shredded and swollen. Whether from pure strain or some other cause couldn't be determined, but every muscle fiber from fingertip to shoulder was torn. It would be at least two weeks until he could begin to move it and months until it recovered fully, with some physical therapy.
His ribs would need even longer, however.
While, thankfully, none had broken, the cracks and hairline fractures were many and widespread. Most seemed to have been caused by a single, tremendous blow while a small few were worsened by it. It looked like his rib cage was barely holding itself together and would fall apart if he so much as sneezed. It would need four months, if not longer, before he recovered. It was that blow, it seemed, that also slightly bruised some of his organs and caused them to shift their positions.
The rest of his injuries where either cuts, burns, a combination of the two and plenty of bruising and swelling. It would be at least a week before he would be able to open his left eye. Which seemed to have a few burst capillaries but was otherwise undamaged and would recover.
All in all he looked far worse than he actually was, to her immense relief. As far as treatment was concerned, besides ointments for the burns and stitches for the cuts along with anti-inflammatories and painkillers, all he would need would be rest. Maybe an anticoagulant in case of blood clots...
Any further thoughts were cut off when the panel flickered off, making her blink in surprise. Looking towards the machine she saw that Ron had already been placed on a bed and was being led out of the lab. She picked up his clothes from the chair and d jog a bit to catch up, she gave Ron's wounds an evaluative once over. She was pleased with what she saw, Dr. Rodriguez's staff seemed as skilled as her own.
"Where will you be taking him?" She asked as they walked out of the lab.
"We have prepared one of our single rooms for Mr. Stoppable." The male nurse pushing the bed answered. "Room B-26."
"Thank you." She said, noting where the room was and walking towards the elevator. "Please be sure to contact me as soon as he wakes." The Nurse nodded in the affirmative. Satisfied that Ron was in capable enough hands for the moment and out of danger she decided to pay the pharmacy a quick visit. They had covered Ron's dignity with the bed's covers and would no doubt give him a hospital gown, but she knew he would find those... inadequate. Some pajamas were in order.
Just as she pressed the button to call the elevator she felt something squirm in the bundle of clothes she was carrying. Wondering what it was, but having a pretty good idea, she unrolled the cut up pants and shirt in search of the pockets.
"Puhaa!" Rufus exclaimed, popping out of one of the pockets and taking a breath of air like a drowning man. He drooped over, panting. The little guy had hidden in his pocket the moment the helicopter had landed. As worried for his friend as he was he had succumbed to his exhaustion. The next thing he knew he was being rolled up along with the pants and tossed around.
"Rufus!" Anne said, having forgotten about the ever present pet. "Are you ok?"
"U-huh, u-huh." Rufus nodded, then looked up at her with a very worried expression. "Wooo..."
"Don't worry." Anne said, for once understanding exactly what he was trying to say. She had felt the same way just a few minutes ago, after all. "He's really banged up, but he'll be ok." She gave Rufus a reassuring pat on the head.
"Phew!" Rufus exclaimed in obvious relief. He looked around eagerly. "Hnm?"
"He's in room B-26." She told him, knowing exactly what he was looking for. "Be careful, though, these nurses don't know about you. Watch over him until I come back, ok?"
"Ha!" Rufus squeaked, giving a full salute. Anne crouched down and let him jump to the floor, watching him scamper away. She knew him well enough not to worry over him getting stepped on. The nurses soft shoes would be the ones suffering in that situation.
The elevator opened and she went on her way, looking over the damp, tattered clothes for the first time. They were a stark contrast to how the looked merely hours ago. Not only were they torn and even melted in one part, the various packs and holsters still attached were clearly empty...
Anne narrowed her eyes, squeezing the largest pack and feeling some items within as well as hearing the crumple of paper. Maybe not quite so empty... She thought, reaching in and removing the items. The first one was a still dripping flip phone with a cracked screen. It would obviously never work again. Next she dug up the first aid kit she had given him. He had obviously used it. The hard plastic cover was badly cracked and the clasp was broken. She would need to make him another one. Lastly she found a crumpled and soaked folded piece of paper.
Unfolding it she found that it was a soaked and crumpled picture of Kim and Ron when they were younger. They sported those silly smiles of children that didn't have a care in the world yet. She remembered it being one of the pictures she had marked as 'Lost' back home. She wondered if 'Borrowed' was now more accurate. She carefully folded the picture and put it in one of her coat's pockets along with the cracked kit. The cell phone he put back in the pack, Wade might wan to see it.
As she made her way she noted that the crowd within the hospital, while it hadn't diminished, had reached a stable peak. If her experience was anything to go by, this would a be a gratefully short crisis. Probably due to the brief span of the actual incident. She couldn't help but feel a bit of pride at what the children had accomplished. If the Diablos hadn't been stopped as quickly as they had, things would've been lot worse. Her house was testament to that.
She wondered briefly where Kim could be at the moment. With Ron in such a state she had assumed she would've been there all the way from where'ever the mission had been. Yet she was nowhere to be seen...
She reached the twenty-four hour open pharmacy, wondering all the while what could have kept her driven daughter away when her pager rang again. Glancing at the message she saw that she was being called to her office yet again. She quickly paid for the pajamas and moved on to her office. On the way she ran into the courier Wade had mentioned. She handed over the clothes, signed for them and continued on.
She reached her office intent on being quick with whatever needed done so that she could return to Ron and change him into his new sleep wear. Afterwards she had some work to do. Now that all the worry and anxiety had left her she realized she had been awfully neglectful of her duties. She owed apologies to a few people. Dr. Harley chief among them...
Inside her office she found a woman in a business suit looking over her credentials where they hung on the wall to the left of her desk. Her guest turned to her once she closed the door behind her.
"Dr. Possible." She greeted her. "A pleasure to see you again, though I wish it were under better circumstances."
She recognized the woman readily. Her visage wasn't one that could be forgotten easily, after all. Especially when she was contacted frequently enough by her agents whenever either Kim or Ron where injured in any way. She, herself, had met the woman on the few occasions she had accompanied Kim on a mission. Though she didn't approve of how often her organization was involved with the children, she still found the woman likable enough to greet cordially.
"Dr. Director." She greeted Dr. Betty Director, Head of Global Justice.
X
"Ow..." Ron said, his head pounding from both the front where he had just been flicked and from the back for unknown reasons. "Where am I?" He wondered aloud as his vision focused and he took in his surroundings.
He was laying on a bed in a decently sized room. The wall to his right was covered completely in blinds that let in a faint glow from what he assumed was a large window. A sofa ran along it, ending just before a door that was also covered in blinds.
On the wall in front of him hung a flat screen TV. To is left were two doors and a comfortable looking recliner.
He also noticed one very troubling thing... He was alone...
Utterly, and completely, alone...
He felt his pulse quicken.
"Rufus?" He asked, his voice hoarse and dry.
The covers next to his feet rose immediately. Ron stared as the little bump on the bed moved up along his side until it reached the top of the covers. From under them peeked his littlest best friend.
"Hi." Rufus squeak happily.
"Hey, buddy." Ron said with a smile, heart slowing back down. He tried to move his hand to pet him when he noticed another very troubling thing...
He hurt...
He hurt a lot...everywhere.
"Oh..." Ron gasped as more and more pains made themselves known. Which was a bad idea since it just made his chest flare up too.
His inner voice had been right. It had been a crappy plan. It had been a crappy plan among crappy plans. His brain had no place making plans, what had he been thinking? He hadn't, that was the problem! He regretted everything...
He continued cursing his poor planning while the hurts kept coming. Interestingly enough, since there were so many it was impossible for him to focus on just one, and could therefore still think. He tried to focus on a part of his body that didn't hurt and had more difficulty doing so than he would've liked. Eventually he came to his left hand, which compared to the rest of his body barely registered on the pain scale. Only some stinging that seemed centered between his fingertips.
He tried to raise his hand but belatedly realized he was gripping something. Letting go with some effort, he raised his hand so that he could see it better. His fingers were so stiff he thought he could hear the joints creak and pop. They were still covered in the blood that seeped from the fairly deep cuts between his fingers.
Any further inspection onto himself was interrupted when the door to his room opened and a nurse entered carrying a clear plastic bucket. She appeared slightly surprised to see him awake.
"Mr. Stoppable..." She greeted after a moments pause. "How wonderful to see you're already awake. We weren't expecting it would be so soon."
"Ah..." He said hoarsely, his throat raw as if he had screamed with everything he had... which maybe he had. He couldn't really remember at the moment. "Where am I?" He asked her. He could tell she was a nurse but she didn't recognize her as one from Middleton Med."
"Middleton Medical Center." She answered putting the bucket down and walking to his side. She examined a screen built into the wall.
"But I don't recognize this place..." He said, narrowing his eyes... or eye as he found one was permanently shut for the moment. "Or you."
"That's not surprising." She answered with a smile. "Seeing as your the first patient of the recently built Rodriguez Ward."
"Ah..." He said in understanding. He hadn't even set foot in any of the west wing's facilities yet. "I get it. Is .P here?" He asked her, relaxing.
"She's attending to her duties at the moment." The Nurse explained. "But she left instructions to contact her as soon as you woke up." She turned to him with a smile and gestured to his left hand. "I'm relieved you've finally let go of that sword. Now, once we've finish bathing you, we can properly treat it."
"Bathing me?" He asked for confirmation.
"Of course, Mr. Stoppable." She said moving back to the foot of the bed and picking up her bucket. "Here we enforce very high standards of personal hygiene in addition to health-care." She explained while two more nurses entered the room. One of them carrying a loofah. He noticed that inside the bucket was a bar of soap and what looked like body-wash.
"Um..." He said, trying to sink deeper into the covers. "Thank you very much, but um... I-I think I can manage on my own."
"Don't be foolish Mr. Stoppable." The nurse shot him down sweetly. "In your condition you wont be able to properly bathe yourself. And we simply must be sure all of your wounds are clean." The sweet smile on her face echoed across the other two nurses.
Ron, for the first time he could remember, was utterly terrified of the hospital's health care staff.
It was then that he noticed one final very troubling thing...
Under the covers of his bed... he was naked.
Very, very naked.
X
Anne stepped out of the elevator and made a beeline for Ron's room. Like the nurses, she hadn't expected Ron to wake up so soon. With the sedative he had been administered he should have been under for hours and had informed Dr. Director of such.
Needless to say she had been disappointed. Information on the Diablo incident was scarce at the moment and Global Justice was spread thin. She had hoped debrief Kim and Ron at the scene but Ron had been airlifted out and Kim had come and gone like the wind and couldn't be reached for some reason. She had left with a copy of the report on his injuries, which she had access to as he was an honorary member of GJ, and a promise to be contacted once he regained consciousness.
A promise Anne could have fulfilled minutes after Betty had left her office when she received the message. But she chose to hold off on it until after she had ascertained Ron's condition. It was actually a bit concerning that he had regained consciousness so soon.
"Ah...!" Anne heard as she neared the room. Anxiously she quickened her pace and entered the room. The bed was empty but for a few rumpled sheets. "Oh...!" She heard Ron say, his hoarse voice layered with embarrassment. She turned to face the door from where she had heard him. She could hear the sound of running water...
"Eep!... please... be gentle..." She could hear him beg. She relaxed, a silly smile spreading over her lips. "That part is tender... Ack!"
Anne suppressed the urge to giggle, placing the pajamas on the bed and taking a seat on the sofa. She continued to hear Ron's protests, which were obviously ignored, with a very wide smile. From hearing his voice one would think the way he looked earlier was nothing but a lie, and that all he had was a sore throat. She could feel that last knot of tension loosen and disappear the more he heard him squirm.
"Ladies, please..." He begged again. "You've cleaned every inch of me... Whoa! I was wrong..."
Anne was holding in a full on guffaw at this point, just imagining his expression. They exited the bathroom soon after, Ron being pushed on a wheelchair and in a gown. He wore a curiously blank expression as they helped him onto he bed, not saying a word.
"How are you feeling, Ron?" Anne asked him once the nurses left to gather the supplies needed to finish up.
"Clean..." He said, looking off into a landscape only he could see. "So very, very clean."
"Ron..." Anne chided, growing serious. "What happened to you?"
"Heh..." Ron said, looking at the ceiling. "Yeah, things got a little out of hand."
"A little?" She asked, looking at him incredulously.
"Ok." He conceded. "So they got out of hand a lot. But we made it through in the end right bud?" He asked Rufus, who popped out of his hiding place to give a thumbs up. "Yeah, team effort." He said, petting Rufus's head.
"Speaking of team." Anne took the chance to ask something that had been bothering her. "Where's Kim? I can understand they not letting her ride the helicopter in with you but I'd expected to be here by now, or at least call in to check on you. She wasn't hurt or anything, was she?" She couldn't help but worry despite Wade's assurances. She would worry until she was sure both of them were safe and sound.
"No, I don't know where she is. She's probably fine." Ron said with a frown. He added something under his breath that she couldn't quite catch. "Did Wade say anything? About her?" He said, looking intently at the bed covers.
"He said she was ok and on her way..." Anne answered, looking at him with concern. She knew that look, she had seen it enough times this past month to recognize it. Something had happened
"Ron..." She began to press for answers but was interrupted by the arrival of the nurses with supplies. Mostly bandages and topical antibiotics as well as a morphine shot, which Ron nearly had to be forced to take. She decided to get the answers she wanted once they were done and joined in.
She wrapped the bandages around his head and face, mindful of the stitches, applying some medicine to his eye before she covered it up. One of the nurses helped him sit up so she could wrap his torso, right shoulder and arm, there were so many nicks and cuts spread about that it was simpler to wrap them whole.
His left hand was wrapped up to the wrist after the nurse had stitched the cuts. He had begged, bargained and demanded that she didn't and that they do something else. But she just gave him that sweet smile of hers while threading the needle and he knew he was doomed. He looked away from it while she applied a local anesthetic and got to work. Once she was done she took out a vile and another needled which he recognized. Knowing that resistance was useless he surrendered and let her draw some blood.
They finished up by bracing his sprained left ankle and helping him change into his new pajamas. He blushed furiously through the whole process but was grateful to be in something that wasn't open in the back, even if he was going commando. They left him in just bottoms since his bandages would need changing on a regular basis and the shirt would get in the way.
He worriedly asked about his immobile right arm. Anne was quick to reassure him that he would got normal movement back, but that it would need time to heal.
Ron sank gratefully into the bed, exhausted, once they had finished. The nurses gathered up the leftover supplies and wrappers and left, all giving their well wishes. Once they were gone Rufus crawled from under the pillow where he was hiding and curled up on Ron's neck.
After a few minutes of silence Anne made to ask her questions but Ron beat her to it with his own.
"Hey, .P.." He said. "Do you guys need a place to stay?"
"Hmn?" Anne wondered. "What do you mean?"
"You know..." Ron explained. "Since the Diablos practically demolished your house. You can't exactly stay there while its like that, right?"
"Hmn." Anne hummed thoughtfully. "You're right, I hadn't thought of that."
"So I was thinking." He went on. "You guys could stay with us. Mom and Dad are on their cruise so there's more than enough room."
"I think we'll do just that." She said, smiling warmly at him and giving his hand a squeeze. "Thank you, Ron."
"No worries." Ron said, closing his eye and smiling contently. So long as he didn't move he found he could actually get comfortable enough to snooze. He couldn't wait to get back to his own bed, though. "So, when do we leave?"
"We?" She asked for clarification with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah." Ron said, opening his eye and looking at her questioningly. "The nurses said how lucky I was that as injured as I was I wouldn't need any serious treatment. Mostly bed rest. I can do that from home right?"
"Ron..." Anne began, wondering if maybe the blow to the head needed to be double checked. "While, yes, the best treatment for your injuries is bed rest, you are still gravely injured. You will be staying here for observation for the foreseeable future."
"W-What?" Ron asked, with an expression of horror. "But I cant stay here."
"And why not." Anne asked with great skepticism. There was no way Ron would talk himself out of the hospital.
Ron opened his mouth to speak but snapped it shut. He made a gesture to Rufus that obviously carried some hidden meaning. Rufus scampered down the bed and to the floor. He made a circuit around the room the looked out onto the hall. He looked back to Ron and gave him a thumbs up.
Ron nodded and gestured for Anne to come closer. Her curiosity piqued at their strange behavior, Anne leaned in close enough for him to whisper.
"They have lunch-ladies here..." Ron whispered conspiratorially.
"..." Anne stood there for a moment, unmoving. "What?"
"Lunch-ladies!" Ron whispered as fiercely as he could in his condition, trying to convey the importance of those words. "Rufus and I have been following the movements of a few of them. There's a whole society comprised of them. A sort of sisterhood. We're very close to figuring out their goals, though I cant reveal anything just yet. But were close... we believe Master-Lunch-lady is their capable leader and..."
"Ron." Anne cut him off before he could gain any momentum. "There is absolutely no way I'm..."
"Good evening, Mr. Stoppable." A voice that stopped her cold said. A voice she thought she was done with for the night. "How is my very special first patient doing?"
"Uh... fine?" Ron said, looking confusedly at the man that had just entered his room. his voice sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place it. "Who are you?"
"My name is Dr. Rodriguez." He introduced himself, walking to stand by the foot of the bed. "It was my team and I that diagnosed and treated you, at the behest of Dr. Possible. I must say..." He picked up a typed of small glass panel from the end of the bed that had a handle attached. "I most certainly did not expect you up so soon. Not at all..." The panel in his hands lit up, showing some data he couldn't make out from his angle.
"I-I guess I'm just sturdy." Ron said lamely.
"Yes, sturdy." Dr. Rodriguez mumbled absently. He move to the side of the bed and gestured to the sword, which still lay next to Ron right were he had left it. "Glad you decided to let go of such a dangerous thing. Though I'm curious of something, if you don't mind me asking..." He looked at Ron inquiringly.
"Yes?" Ron asked.
"What is this made of?" Dr. Rodriguez asked, running a finger down the length of the sheathed sword.
"I-I'm not really sure." Ron answered, a bit unbalanced by the question. "Steel, probably."
"No, you see..." Dr. Rodriguez explained. "My invention, the one I diagnosed you with, can recognize and categorize anything. Even if its and unknown object, it will still be analyzed and flagged. But this..." He gestured to it again, taping the handle with a finger. "Did not even appear, the sheath and its covering yes, but the blade itself... as far as my machine was concerned the sheath was empty. Curious..."
"I don't know what to say..." Ron answered, and he really didn't. But he knew that the last thing he needed was someone looking into the Lotus Blade too deeply. So he decided and change of topic was in order. "Say, Doc... I was wondering..."
"Absolutely not, Ronald Jonathan Stoppable." Anne said before Ron could even start.
Ron visibly deflated. She had used his full name... there was no hope.
"Oh?" Dr. Rodriguez said, his attention take away from the sword. "What seems to be the problem?" He asked Ron.
"Well..." Ron began.
"No Ronald." Anne reiterated, there would be no discussion on this particular matter. Ron would stay at the hospital, where professionals where within close reach should they be needed.
"Dr. Possible..." Dr. Rodriguez said, a smile of mischief on his face. "Would you mind if I listened to my patients concerns? Thank you." He said, not giving her chance to reply. "You were saying Mr. Stoppable."
"Um..."Run stuttered, not sure if he should continue. He eyed the doctor, trying to feel him out. The way he talked was annoying but he felt... ok. Ron decided to press on despite .P.'s glowering gaze. "I was wondering, since the nurses said that my only real treatment besides the stitches would consist of bed rest... If I could go home?"
"Oh?" Dr. Rodriguez hummed thoughtfully. "Most people would opt to stay for observation, just in case. Might I ask why you would rather not?"
"I..." Began but managed to catch himself. "Don't like the food." He said half-truthfully, feeling he was ok was one thing. But as far as the lunch-lady conspiracy went, one simply did not now who to trust.
"Hmn." Dr. Rodriguez hummed again. "Quite..." He mumbled under his breath before seemingly coming to a decision. "Tell you what. I'll prepare your prescriptions and approve your discharge if you allow me to examine this fascinating object." He said, gesturing to the sword once again.
"Um..." Ron said, unsure of how to proceed. "I would need to ask its owners..."
"Oh, please do." He said, handing Ron a business card from his coat's breast pocket. "And please tell them I would be most interested in transferring ownership. Price is of little consequence."
"O-Ok." Ron stammered as he took the card. "I will."
"Splendid." Dr. Rodriguez nodded, satisfied.
"You cannot be serious!" Anne nearly shrieked at him.
"I can assure you, Doctor, I am." Dr. Rodriguez replied, unfazed. "I am quite interested in that sword."
"I was referring to his discharge!" Anne said in exasperation. "He should be kept under observation for at least three to four days in case of any complications."
"I can assure that such measures are unnecessary." He told her. "Besides, I will be needing the room soon. Ah." He said and the head hench-nurse walked in with a tray. "Marcy, perfect timing." He took a small measuring cup containing a purple pill and a glass of water off the tray.
"This, Mr. Stoppable." He offered Ron the pill and glass. "Is your pain medication. Your'e to take it once a day and whenever your pain becomes unendurable. The rest of the instructions will be on the label."
"Wait." Anne said, her anger fizzling out in concern as Ron swallowed the drug. "What as that? I didn't recognize it."
"Not surprising. Marcy have you seen my..." Dr. Rodriguez began, patting his clothes, when Marcy held up a prescription pad. "Ah, thank you." He said as he began to write. "Its not very well known yet, though it really should. Here you go." He finished writing and handed Ron the prescriptions. "Be sure to take them as instructed."
Before Ron could take a look at the illegible doctor-scribble Anne took the piece of paper from him and read the medications names.
"I don't recognize half of these..." She said in a low tone, leveling her gaze on Dr. Rodriguez's back as he turned to leave. "I hope you're not prescribing medication that has yet to clear its drug trials, Dr. Rodriguez."
"And I hope you're not interfering with my patients treatment, Dr. Possible." He said with the barest hint of annoyance. "Mr. Stoppable, Marcy will be by with your signed discharge. Have a good night and I do so hope to hear from you soon. Be sure to come by for a biweekly check up." And with that, both Dr. Rodriguez and Nurse Marcy left the room.
Anne stared after them in disbelief for a moment before looking back to the prescriptions. She had planned on doing just that, interfere. But the subtle threat could not be ignored. Dr. Rodriguez hand's had been tied the moment he had come to Middleton Medical Center. She and her colleagues blocking him t every turn they could. To be this confident meant he was sure now of his ability to act... she had to review those documents she signed and warn her coworkers as soon as he was able.
His newfound interest in Ron was also troubling... perhaps it was best for him to be removed from his clutches after all. For the second time that night she cursed her recklessness. Signing those things and bringing Ron to him might have caused some irreparable damage...
"Ok, Ron." Anne said, looking at her watch then turning to him. "There are a few things I need to take care of, so I'll be back in about an hour to take us home."
"Gotcha .P." Ron replied happily. He was glad the whole 'being put at the mercy of a lunch-lady' thing had been resolved peacefully.
Anne left the room briskly, closing the door behind her, while Ron settled in to wait comfortably. He was so exhausted, though the pain had been dulled slightly by the morphine. He closed his eyes and felt himself doze off almost instantly.
It was then that two small shadows revealed themselves from their hiding places. One came out from under the bed while the second from behind the recliner. After it had reported to base, she had been given her orders and had brought some backup. If they were to succeed in this difficult mission, they would need to be cautious.
Both of them approached the bed were Ron lay without making a sound. Standing next to him they stared, having a hushed discussion on how to proceed. Coming to an agreement, one of the shadows slowly reached for Ron's face...
To Be Continued...
A/N: Ah, the dreaded cliffhanger. How I hate you when I come across you yet how I love to dish it out... hurhurhur. X-D
Feel gree to hang around till next time. Hehehehe... see what did there? Cause of the... yeah.
Laters!