Chapter Five

"Subject of Interest"

The humming of his teacher's lecture was drowned out by his own rapid thoughts. He had expected to simply drop in on Audrey and catch her in the middle of her scheme, but what were she and the doctor doing? Those mixtures had altered them; Audrey had her skin literally peeling off of her. Oh how the vague memory haunted Dexter, but troubled him even more so because he hadn't been there. If he had Freakazoid would not have made such a…stupid…mistake.

Freakazoid would never hear the truth.

What happened to them could have been avoided if he had been there to guide his alter ego. If he hadn't of been so selfish, so cowardly about his new responsibilities then those two wouldn't have become exposed. Freakazoid wasn't able to handle the situation on his own and went about it like he was visiting some old friends he'd had a quarrel with; he just couldn't make the right decisions remained unfocused and irrational.

It was hard not to emit his disappointment in the both of them. Dexter knew he was equally as guilty.

And he was only half surprised to find that Freakazoid had already half forgotten that the two villains were worse for the wear because of his irresponsibility. Freakazoid, as Dexter had to constantly remember had no real sense of right and wrong when it came to logic, only by the moral compass Dexter provided with his presence. He went and fought crime because he knew that was what he was supposed to do, but the way in which he went about it was muddled by the buzz of the internet and the immeasurable contradictions within, constantly fizzing in and out of the logical side of his judgment.

It wasn't that he didn't care, he didn't understand.

"Dexter?" Steff gently poked his shoulder with her fore and middle finger, lightly- just a tap. "Dex?"

"Oh", his brown eyes startled open- Dexter pulled his face from his hands and looked up at Steff in quizzically. "Steff…I'm sorry. Is class over?"

"Why yes it is Mr. Douglas!"

The booming voice of their instructor startled both students, who promptly vacated the classroom. Dexter and Steff lost each other in the hallway, crowded with teens rushing to secure a spot in line for the one day the cafeteria served something they liked- pizza. When everyone had left Dexter saw neither hide nor hair of the beautiful blonde as it seemed she had gone with the crowd. Shoulders slumped he turned away from the cafeteria and dropped his guard, unknowingly allowing Freakazoid access to his mind. When his alter ego spoke it took the boy by surprise.

'That's why you gotta hog tie em Dex' he joked with a slight chuckle. 'Then they can't get away'

Rolling his eyes and leaning against the locker adjacent to him Dexter let loose a drawn out sigh. He looked down the hallway, hoping in vain that perhaps she thought he was right behind her and seeing her folly had come back to look for him. Nothing so foolish happened.

Dexter walked slowly to his locker to grab his book because he was too filled with teen emotions to succumb to his ravenous appetite- not just yet, anyway. His school locker was always kept neat and clean and organized. After grabbing his math book Dexter pulled back and paused, thinking something meant for only his thoughts.

'Um…did I…do something to get on your bad side?' Freakazoid's question broke Dexter's listless gaze down the hallway. 'It feels like you've been avoiding me and to avoid someone that lives in your head you have to be pretty adamant'

"No", Dexter replied with his predestined answer.

'See…I don't really believe you…' he retorted, feigning a Jewish accent for some unknown reason. 'So you should tell me before I tickle you'

On queue Dexter's right hand flew up as if it were held by invisible strings, his fingers dancing in the air.

"Not now, I'm not in the mood", Dexter replied with a bitterness to his tone as he yanked his arm back down and stuffed his hand into his pocket; Freakazoid recoiled a bit, obeying Dexter's stern command. "Why can't you ever take things seriously?"

He hadn't meant to say it out loud, or even think it loud enough for Freak to hear but what is done is done. Luckily no one was around to hear him ramble on like a madman and that was enough slack for the moment. He felt stillness within him, Freakazoid had halted somehow in thought and movement and a feeling seeped through the mental link- sadness.

And Dexter couldn't help it, he felt guilty.

He flicked his wrist through the air as he turned and his locker slammed shut. The momentous act was however muted. Dexter wasn't in the mood to really notice what he had done.

"It's nut his fault lad", Roddy told him as he typed away on his computer and shuffled through piles of paperwork. "He dun know any betta than a child on his own for the most part- that's why yer union is so important. He needs you in more ways than jus one"

"That's what bothers me Roddy", Dexter spoke calmly, starring up at the ceiling while swiveling listlessly back and forth in his chair. "I won't always be there to keep him in check, even if I'm in his head it's harder than you think", he let out a heavy sigh, starred a hole in the hall and then turned to his ever patiently waiting mentor. "Audrey is the one person I didn't want to upset, because she knows the most- knows about Steff"

"Dun know why yer so focused on that lass", Roddy shook his head. "Sure she's pretty, but…"

He stopped when he saw the glazed over look in Dexter's eyes. Steff was a touchy subject that easily went the wrong way. Both of the boys favored her company and sought her affection, but it never ended well between them.

"Audrey knows my secret identity", Dexter said, resting his thumbnail in the separation between his two front teeth. "She knows about Steff…I have to find her…I have to keep Steff safe"

"That is all well a gewd, but take my advice and dun dwell on the incident anymore", he instructed from the heart, making sure that Dexter locked eyes with him. "Look forward tew the future. Do not dwell in the past. Learn from yer mistakes and do not repeat them- that is all yew can dew", the Scotsman paused mulling something over in his thoughts before saying it aloud. "If you'd like the doc is in Washington General. Yew can visit im, he's awake"

"Okay…I will do that", he paused, his head bouncing slightly as if nodding to himself.

'I don't like hospitals' Freak whined more than muttered.

"Freakazoid", Dexter was stern as he scolded the super teen like a child. "We need to apologize and find out where Audrey has gone"

'She went in the sewer' Freakazoid chimed. 'And I already told the boys in blue I ain't goin down there- there's poo gas in there and I'm not swimming in poo gas!'

"Serves you right to have to go down there after letting her fire that gun all over the place", Dexter noted, wagging his finger while stiffening his upper lip. "You're lucky that stuff didn't affect us or who knows what mess we would have been in"

There was a pitiful silence that meant surrender and Dexter nodded his head in triumph. Roddy smiled, enjoying the odd sight of Dexter Douglas actually ordering someone around, even if it was his obedient-to-a-fault alter ego. Someday he thought the lad was going to become a fine man and a great hero.

Washington General was a local hospital that Dexter could have walked to if he had wanted, but this particular mission was meant for Freakazoid. He had to be the one to go and talk to Warner. Both boys knew that the only person who knew where Audrey was had to be him.

It was easy enough for Freakazoid with his connections to get into the room with Warner. The ex-Apex scientist was in his bed looking like death was upon him, perhaps sitting at his feet even just watching and waiting for his chance to move up to his head. Freakazoid had an inward distaste for hospitals that outweighed his love of nurses; he entered the room cautiously on tip-toe and stopped a few feet short of the doctor's bedside.

Warner turned his head, his bones brittle and creaking, and his skin translucent; the doctor seemed pinkish. He flinched at the sight of Freakazoid. Flinched.

"Um…what's up doc?" Freakazoid asked softly, the tone of the boy's voice doing nothing to quell the sadness that lied in the doctor's stare. "Not so good huh?" The teen ignored the obvious signs that he was unwelcomed at the doctor's bedside and swooped in close bringing a slightly crumpled piece of paper up to his face. "I made you a get well card! See that's you, and that's me and I'm all sad with a little frown saying sorry and you…you have a smile…and you're saying it's all…good…"

The crude drawings did little for Warner's opposition. He rolled his eyes and wished that something would fall from the ceiling and crush him lest he be in this moron's company any longer. Freakazoid's smile wavered to an uneven line and he drooped in disappointment in himself for being unable to make amends.

'Tell him you're sorry like it's not some kind of joke'

"Hey doc", Freakazoid's flat tone brought Warner's attention back to Freakazoid. "I'm really sorry about what happened", he set the card down on the empty counter besides the bed. "I really am"

A chill ran up Freakazoid's spine as Warner nodded in his direction, half accepting the apology. In the doctor's eyes the boys saw a twinkle of regret and disappointment mixed with the pain he was obviously in. Freakazoid grabbed a chair and brought it to the edge of the bed so that he could be closer to Warner's eye level as Dexter instructed. And to Freakazoid's surprise Warner addressed him.

"So…there is some decency in you after all", he wheezed in a tired tone. "I had thought you merely a madman, Freakazoid"

"I…uh…thank you- I guess…" Freakazoid adverted eye contact with Warner for a moment as the left handed compliment sunk its way in. "Um…I'm also here to speak to you about your partner…"

Warner pulled back and looked up at the ceiling; he was suddenly somewhere else.

"Miss Manatee…I do hope she is alright"

Freakazoid caught the affection hidden in the statement, hearing the catch in the doctor's throat at the utterance of her name that was akin to the way Dexter referred to Steff. As crazy as Audrey was, it was pretty easy to see how the doctor could have developed a thing for her; she was very pretty and he was very...not.

'Keep him on the subject and he'll give you some kind of lead' Dexter instructed.

"I really want to find her and make sure she's okay", Freakazoid pointed out, hoping the doctor would catch on. "Um…Doctor Warner?"

"Oh, I wasn't listening…lately I've found myself occupied with my thoughts…" he squinted, examining Freakazoid. "My boy what makes your skin so blue? I'm curious"

An odd question to say the least, but Freakazoid couldn't answer it. There was no reason he knew of and always suspected it was just a side effect of not being human. Silence overcame the room as calculations began running through the doctor's mind and he tried to figure a way such an anomaly could happen.

Flamingos were pink because they ate shrimp and how absurd would it be if he were blue because he ate too many blueberries? Very absurd. Warner's mind wandered off in hundreds of directions at once, dozens of theories, a few explanations but none were satisfactory. Because perhaps it was due to his chemistry and not the pinnacle chip at all. He just had to know everything.

Another slew of questions suddenly popped into his head.

"And you are able to travel through electrical currents correct? How is that? Your molecules must exist at a tremulous vibration- your molecules are they negatively or positively charged? I'd guess Positive"

And suddenly Freakazoid was being examined and broken down; he subconsciously pushed his chair back and away from the doctor. This was uncomfortable and weird and unnerving being looked at like some kind of experiment. Warner eyed him like a boy in science class awaiting the chance to dissect his first frog. Even though he was bedridden something about Warner put Freakazoid on edge, made him believe that he could be a threat.

'Yeah he's freaking me out too' Dexter whispered from Freak's subconscious. 'We should probably…go'

"Don't leave", Warner opened his eyes wide; ignoring the fact that he'd heard the boy speak without so much as moving his lips. "This is the most fun I've had since I've been here. You're quite the enigma"

"I…didn't…" it dawned late on the both of them that Warner had read their mind. "Nutbunnies! I better go!"

Freakazoid rushed to the door and pulled it open, but in a fit the doctor shouted for him to stop and an unseen force slammed the obstacle back into place. The startled blue teen stumbled back and looked over his shoulder. Warner seemed unfazed by his exertion of power, more focused on keeping Freakazoid around for further inquiries. He did not succeed however as the blue teen opted for crashing through the hospital door rather than take his chances within sight of the crazed super powered scientist.

"The last act I had done as a normal man was attempt to recreate you, Freakazoid. And I failed", such disdain seeped through the scientist's cracked lips at his own failure. "But not again…no, oh no my blue friend I will succeed this time"

'Freakazoid!' Dexter scolded, forcing his alter ego to skid to a stop. 'We can't just…leave him here! He has telekinesis or something!'

"Or something but blue butt!" Freakazoid squeaked, gnawing at his gloved fingers nervously. "He's positively off his rocker with freaky powers!"

'Tell someone and then go back in there and keep him from hurting anyone!'

"Okay", Freakazoid looked around for someone in a white coat and gently tapped them a few times on the shoulder. "Um ex- heeeeello nurse!"

The short haired bombshell smiled sweetly and turned an open ear to what Freakazoid had to say. Once she heard his concerns she nodded her head and said in a breathless voice "Oh my, let me get security" and hurried off down the hall. Freakazoid watched her go before he dashed back into Warner's room.

"I'm baaaAAHHH!"

The bed was empty and so was the terrible feeling in the pit of the boy's stomach.

Audrey still had no idea where she was going or why.

Her yellow eyes peered through the darkness, catching bits and pieces of her surroundings from the thin streaks of light coming through holes in the far off manhole covers above. She hated the sound of her legs sloshing through the waste water and loathed the smell of acid and asparagus that filled her nose. There was a time she remembered being warm, being in the sunlight but something had changed and she couldn't remember quite clearly what.

Blue. She remembered blue. Pain. She remembered pain. Dogs…how she loathed them.

Her fleeting hands touched her skin again wondering if it had always been this way; the oddly textured flesh was smooth as long as she ran her slender hands upwards. There was none to answer her many questions. She had been walking for so long, ever since she had woken up in this cold dark place. All she had in her possession was a piece of paper in her pocket that she couldn't decipher through the blackness around her.

'Hungry'

Audrey turned, her coarse hair barely moving as she did. There was a voice coming from somewhere. It had such an odd tone to it Audrey suspected she might have imagined the distant voice, but then she heard it again; it was drawn out and smooth, alluring and haunting at once.

"Whosss there?" her voice was quiet and calm, but whatever was speaking heard her all the same.

'Hungry' it said. 'I am hungry'

"Where are you?" she said softly, trying to coax the speaker from wherever it was hiding.

'The air is hard' it said. 'Cannot get past the hard air'

"Yes…but where are you?" Audrey questioned. "I cannot see in the dark"

'The sun' it said. 'I am in the sun'

Audrey walked beneath another manhole cover and looked up into the light hoping to see through it and into the world above. She wasn't sure what to expect up there. But the voice was so familiar and soothing she wanted to know who it belonged to. Fumbling through the darkness she found some bars welded to the wall and climbed up. She easily lifted the manhole cover and slid it aside.

As she lifted herself into the sunlight it only took a moment for her eyes to adjust and oh, the sunshine felt so good. She stretched her limbs out and smiled from ear to ear. Her fangs grazed her plump lower lip as she looked around for the source of the voice. Its owner she discovered was a massive python. The creature curled itself in circles near the glass in an attempt to approach Audrey, but his efforts were completely futile.

Looking down at the paper in her hand Audrey saw a picture of a thin faced man and some information about him. He was a scientist, the one who had done this to her. Not the only one, but she knew he had to pay a price for her disfigurement. A smile wound its way onto Audrey's face as she approached the python's cage. Leaning down she spread her fingers and pressed them against the invisible barrier and turned her hand.

The snake slithered out after a large enough hole was made in the glass; it tenderly curled about her feet. She kneeled down and pet it with affection. Her new pat would require food it seemed and he was big enough to easily eat a horse or at least a thin man.

"Come baby", Audrey's voice left her as in inhuman purr that wove through the air a sultry lull. "Mama will find you something to eat"

((Author's Note))

Okay so we've reached the middle of the story and everything is FINALLY set up. Woohoo! So I didn't want o make the Lobe a giant brain and instead he's evolved past the need for his body. I wanted him to be intrigued by Freakazoid but be Dexter's rival, hence the similar abilities. Want to add a little more Steff in the next chapter titled "Two halves of a whole Idiot"

We're halfway home, please let me know how you guys feel about the story so far. I don't want things to get repetitive or slow so your feedback helps. Will have another chapter up by the end of the weekend.

Also you'll notice that I finally got around to drawing a cover Illustration! Yay!

And special shout out to my loyal reviewers who keep me pumped about this story!

Alana-kittychan and vanilla spiders YOU GUYS ROCK!

Cheers!