#25 Tossing and Turning

Dark. Everything's so dark, and why do I feel like I can't move? I'm trap. Oh, I'm trap! Maybe if I keep trying I can…no, it's not working! I can't get out and what's that sound? Is someone there? Help! Help! I don't belong here! Please I-

"Globs, Globs!"

"Wha-what-huh?"

Globby's eyes finally popped open at the feeling of being nudged as Felony Carl called his pet name in an effort to wake him up. The gelatinous mutant then sat up slowly as he ran a hand over his face, still extremely exhausted from the ordeal that played out in his mind. He gave a yawn as he removed his mitt from his face and said, "I'm so sorry if I woke you Felony Carl. I just had a…" He didn't finish is sentence as even in the mostly dark room, he saw that not only did his boyfriend have some of his slime on him, but there was also some that got shot onto the wall and ceiling.

Globby flinched in realization and immediately told the other, "Oh no no no no no. Are you okay? Here, let me get that." The shapeshifter proceeded to swipe his left hand over Felony Carl's torso, shoulders and face followed by cleaning up the wall next to this bed and ceiling. He then looked extremely apologetic as he asked again, "There. Now, are you alright?"

Instead of anger or annoyance as many people might have, the motorcyclist offered a sympathetic smile and replied, "I am tired but otherwise fine. The real question should be are you alright?"

Globby pondered for a moment as he still looked wary of what just happened before he answered, "I guess I'm okay now, but I just had an awful nightmare of being trapped in a small, dark space and couldn't get out. I must have lashed out in my panic. Again, I'm really sorry Felony Carl." The mutant then hugged himself as he let his head sink, prompting his boyfriend to extend a large arm and pat the other as he gave a one-arm hug in an effort to soothe him.

"Dreams are not always in our control and I am sorry it was so awful. Just be glad that it was not real," the unibrowed man consoled Globby, making him smile just a little at Felony Carl's words.

His attitude did fall back down again a moment later when he sullenly stated, "Real or not, it was still scary and look what I did because of it. It'll be tough to get back to sleep no matter how tired I am."

The husky biker only needed a second to think before he got an idea, and with a sly smile, he said, "If that is the case, then perhaps I will stay awake and inquire you about some things that I have been curious about."

Upon hearing his statement, Globby blinked and stared blankly at his boyfriend as he debated on what to do. He eventually sighed and replied, "Well, if you're sure you're okay with losing your sleep over it, then I guess it's okay."

With that confirmation, Felony Carl went back to the bunk bed below and got himself comfortable while the other waited patiently.

"Alright, what's something you wanted to know that I haven't answered before?" the shapeshifter casually asked as he resumed lying down and put his hands behind his head.

Felony Carl merely smirked and inquired, "For all your talk this past year, I believe I never got an answer to what it truly felt like to be transmogrified. I know you said it was painful, but how?"

Globby didn't need long to dwell on that one since it was easy enough to respond with, "Oh, it was probably about the most painful thing I have ever experienced, but honestly just barely edging out over stepping on all those Iago block toys when I was younger." He then looked for the right words to actually describe it, ranging from weird to horrific before adding, "I'd say it felt like every little bit of me was pricked by needles followed by that stinging sensation you get when you rip off a bandage. I definitely would not recommend the experience."

This made Felony Carl give a small chuckle before he replied, "Well, you went through that process twice, so I will trust your word."

The shapeshifter couldn't help but giggle a little too and told him, "I know, I know. It would have been easier if I just stayed Globby, but at least the second time was by choice and it was to do something good."

Felony Carl smirked in response, acknowledging that his boyfriend made a valid point. He then proceeded to ask his next distracting question. "Considering you informed me of the transformation process, how does it really feel in this mutated state, given that it is unlikely to occur to me?"

For this inquiry, Globby had to take a minute in silence as he contemplated the nature of his being; so much so that his boyfriend wondered if he had actually fallen asleep. He then soon heard a soft sigh as the reformed mutant quietly spoke.

"It's truly hard to describe it exactly, but it's sort of like I feel everything all at once. There's just this kind of energy or buzzing through every bit of me and with a thought…" Globby proceeded to pull his right hand out and turned it from ice to wood to chocolate and back to his normal glob-material. "…it's something else," he finished with a small smile as he found joy in what he could do. "When I first transformed as you remember, nothing seemed to work in getting my body to listen, and not just with the stickiness. I think it was only after I started to accept this whole messy deal and figure out how to do things a new way that I could begin to get control and be the new me." Globby then paused as he pulled his other hand out and stared at them for a moment before he clinched them.

"Now, it doesn't feel foreign anymore and it's just me, no matter what shape or substance I turn into. I will admit that it takes more effort to focus and maintain my larger forms, but that's just because there's more to work with," the shapeshifter added with a little laugh, followed by a brief yawn.

His yawning made Felony Carl reflexively yawn too, although the larger man also felt a sense of accomplishment that his plan appeared to be working. "Speaking of your larger transformations, did you ever find out how that process works to achieve a greater mass so quickly?"

"Well, I didn't really care to know and just ran with it, but I eventually talked with the guys about that one actually and they figured it's because my body can convert matter, so it just takes in the surrounding air or something to do it. Honey Lemon also thought that's what my body does when it needs to regenerate or return back to this good old form, although that's mostly subconscious and is fine by me; I don't want to have to put in extra effort to get a limb back or heal a cut if I don't have to," Globby answered, using a more joking tone with his last statement.

The avid cat lover on the lower bunk couldn't help but chuckle a little at this being the norm and loving his boyfriend more for his happiness. "If that is the case, then you do not even really need the traditional sustenance to stay alive," Felony Carl chimed in with his observation.

Globby snorted at the notion and replied, "Yeah, but who wants to go through life like that? I'd just be a filter feeder, wouldn't I? Just take a big breath and be like 'I'm good. No reason to enjoy one of your cookies or a BLT at Joe's!' Plus, what's the point of turning into chocolate if I can't eat it? Now that sounds crazy."

Both he and Felony Carl proceeded to get a good laugh in while nonverbally agreeing that would be weird or at the very least a waste. After they finished their bit of jubilation, the reformed motorcyclist gave a small cough and inquired, "So, is there any other subconscious or automatic actions your body seems to perform?"

The gelatinous shapeshifter rolled onto his left side as he pondered for a moment, pensively putting a finger to his chin. "Well, it does have this handy habit of pulling me back together after I get split apart. I mean, I can feel each piece if it's nearby, but it's sort of fuzzy and all I really know is that I want to get those parts back; then, each little bit seems to connect with the closest one and gets stronger from there, almost kind of like a magnetic attraction except in this case, it's my thoughts and the headband thing doing the pulling." He let out another yawn and turned onto his right side now, feeling a worrying thought creep into his mind. "Hey Carl," he anxiously asked, looking up as if his boyfriend was right on the bed's edge.

"Hmm?" Felony Carl grunted as he sleepily opened his eyes, wondering what was troubling Globby enough to speak up.

"Do you think…I mean…could what just happened be another one of those subconscious things, like that's just how it's going to be now?" The superhero proceeded to move onto his back again and stare at the ceiling before bring his hands up and looking at them. "I know I'm probably worrying too much, but since the whole Nega-Globby incident, losing control again has really been weighing on me," Globby confessed, making Felony Carl give an unseen worried expression at his boyfriend returning to his funk. He then heard the bed above creak as Globby shifted sides again and continued. "It's just that since I learned how to use my powers, I knew they could be dangerous, but it was all up to me whether that would be the case; losing control like that, I never wanted to be responsible for hurting my friends or anyone like that and it was unbearable. What do I do?" he anxiously inquired with a lace of panic at the fleeting thought of needing to be isolated.

The husky biker gave a tired sigh and rubbed his eyes with his fingers, thinking of the right thing to say. About 10 seconds later, he finally said, "I am sorry for what you are going through. It was my hope that this discussion of other topics would have alleviated some of your worry, but I should have accounted for your rationale behind it." He paused again to let out another exhausted bit of breath as he heard Globby roll over again, then added, "To answer your question, this seemed to only be triggered this evening, so who's to say whether this will be a recurring issue or not? I do not believe the sliming is something you should blame yourself for though as it was unintentional; and if it does become a problem, then we will see what can be done or how to manage it."

Felony Carl waited patiently as he was sure his boyfriend contemplated his words, trying his best to keep his eyes open as he did so. After what felt like an hour (but was really only a minute and a half) he saw a pink and purple hand come down on his left side and stretch itself until it found its way to the reformed criminal's cheek. The touch was delicate and Globby took great care to not leave any bit of himself as he gently patted his boyfriend, making Felony Carl smile warmly as he brought his own left hand up to touch his and let the gelatinous mutant know he appreciated the gesture.

"Thanks…for everything," Globby quietly told him as he pulled his arm back up to the top bunk with the rest of his body. "I'll try to keep all that in mind. Love you and good night," he softly added as he went to lay on his back again.

"Good night, Globs," Felony Carl reciprocated while he snuggled his head into his pillow, easing himself into a peaceful sleep.

While the burly man became mostly silent (save for his slow breathing), Globby still remained awake despite the tiredness he felt. I know he's right about not needing to worry excessively, and it's true I wouldn't intentionally do this, but something still feels off. I've never had that happen before and there must be a reason; and why can't I shake the idea that I although I was alone, I could still hear someone. He then shuddered at the memory before letting out a big yawn. Guess there really is nothing I can do now. If I'm tired, I won't be much good to anyone, even me. He proceeded to fluff his pillow up and rest his head as he started to close his eyes. Anyway, if it does occur again, maybe it won't be as bad or we'll figure out the trigger for it. I just hope I don't make such a big mess next time if it doesn't go away. With that, the gelatinous mutant finally allowed himself to slip into unconsciousness, sadly not knowing why this happened and not learning until his suffering would peak.

NOTES

I hope you enjoyed some of my head canons about Globby's powers as I felt they made sense given the nature of the neurotransmitter and how he's able to change his size/regenerate so quickly. Poor Globby indeed though, but luckily, he has Felony Carl who is supportive and although he went to sleep on the couch at the beginning of "The New Nega-Globby," didn't seem too upset or mad at Globby over it, especially since he seems to know that it's unintentional and that Globby was suffering too. The next Globby story will be even sadder, but it's something that I wanted to explore for a while now, so please forgive me for putting my sweet gelatinous dear through such suffering for two stories in a row. ;_;

The next story will be about Orso Knox still having lingering pain and nightmares after he's returned to human form, so he decides to talk to Liv Amara in hopes it will help. O_O