Kayden drifted in an out of consciousness most of the night.  He thought he remembered a short blonde haired woman taking his vitals at one point, but it was too hazy.  When he woke for real, it was about a quarter after six in the morning.   The clinic was quiet except for the *beep* *beep* of his monitors, and a bit of background noise that might be a TV or radio somewhere outside his room.

 

Rather than sit around doing nothing, he carefully reached up and grabbed the TV/Phone unit and pulled it closer, and turned on the TV.  The morning news was interesting...  Apparently Fathom and Tesseract had stopped a drug shipment across town - but were being accused of blowing a major undercover operation.  Too bad they were too busy to keep ME from being shot, he thought.  I’d like to see them face to face one day... Just to ask them why they do it. Why the hell do they bother when no one else in this town seems to give a shit.  Half the time the cops let the bad guys go on a technicality.  Talk about a thankless job.

 

In other news, Captain Patriot stopped an invasion of Meteor Men in Paragon...  Heh. They get seven alien invasions in a month, and we can’t get our third superhero in Empire City.  What a screwed up world.  News sucks...  He changed the channel to the rollover news and let it blend into the background.  Everything still hurt, and he was sore and tired.  Funny how you can never really rest in a hospital, and that you always feel tired, even after trying to sleep.  I probably won’t feel good till I get home and sleep in my own bed again.

 

About that time, a young woman of asian appearance with long brown hair and blue eyes came into his room.  “Good morning, Mr. Ballard.  I’m Susan, your nurse.  Did you sleep well?”

 

No, he thought.  “About as well as can be expected.  Nice to meet you.”

 

“Same here.”   Susan helped busy herself by taking his vitals, helping him with a bedpan and a few other indignities, and gave him a sponge bath.   By the end of it, Kayden was blushing furiously red, and Susan just smirked.  “It’s nothing I haven’t done before, Mr. Ballard.  Don’t worry about it.”

 

“Sure.”  Kayden was still embarrassed, but Susan’s reassurance did feel better.   “Oh - Susan?  I have a friend named Darryl who might visit today.  Are there visiting hours?”

 

“Yes - from 10am to 4pm, and from 6pm to 9pm.  I’ll make sure to let security let him inside the building.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

Susan left to do other things, leaving Kayden to try and eat a light breakfast.  The food was bland, but good enough, but it was hard to eat it with one arm - his left arm hurt too much to move a great deal.  The food tasted better than what they served at his old high school used to.  That was a plus.  After breakfast he napped for a while longer.

 

The next time he awoke, it was close to 10:30am.  Everything felt a bit fuzzy tinged with a light ache.  Geez, I must be on some heavy painkillers.  Woo!   He was just getting his bearings when he heard a friendly ‘tap tap’ by the door to his room.

 

“Hey man, is it safe to come in?”

 

“Darryl!  Of course man!  C’mon in.”  Kayden tried to sit up a bit, but it hurt too much.  Wincing, he lay back down.  “Sorry – I’m a little stiff here.”

 

“No worries.  Does it hurt?”

 

“Do I really need to answer that?  Duh!”  Kayden smiled.  “So you really gave away those Warden’s tickets?  What did I do to deserve an awesome friend like you?”

 

“No, it’s not that.”  Darryl joked.  “It’s just you still owe me 50 bucks for last month.”

 

“Ouch!”  Kayden smiled.  The casual joking around was something he’d missed the last few days. “Did you call the others?”

 

 

“Yeah, actually.  Laurie came with me to see you.  Yvonne and Brendan might be over later today, if they can get away from school and work respectively.  How are you doing, really?”

 

“I hurt a bit, but the pain meds are helping.  I’m told I got lucky and the bullets didn’t hurt anything too serious - it could have been a lot worse.  I took one to the arm and one to the leg.  I’ll walk again, but I might need a cane for a while.”

 

Darryl sat down in a chair next to Kayden’s bed.  “I’m glad.  I’m glad you’ll be alright.  When do you come home?”

 

“Maybe 10-14 days, if there aren’t any complications.”

 

“What’s up?”

 

“You know that job I told you about?  It turns out it wasn’t what I thought it was.  I’m donating some bone marrow to Trask Industries to use in a scientific project, and they’re going to pay me 10 G’s - they already paid me 5 G’s but it got stolen when I was shot.”

 

“Medical experiments?  Are you insane?  Why would you do that?”  Darryl looked mad, concerned and shocked all at once.

 

“Because I was desperate, and I’m too proud to ask for help, dammit.  The doc also said my blood was special, and could help a lot of people, so I decided to do it.  It’s going to be very important if it works, Darryl.”

 

“What will, Kay?  What’s the project?”

 

“I can’t talk about it.  I signed a secrecy agreement.  It’s important.”

 

“You know how dangerous this sounds, right moron?  I don’t want to have to bury my best friend.”

 

“I know, buddy.”  Kayden put his hand on Darryl’s for a moment.  “I know.”

 

“When are they doing the marrow extraction?” 

 

Kayden tried to remember...  “I think some time tomorrow, maybe.  It won’t affect my release date, so that’s good - and I figured since I’m in the hospital already, I might as well get two for the price of one.”

 

Darryl laughed.  “You can be such an asshole at times.  Geez.”

 

“Yup!”   Kayden smiled.  It DID feel good to banter again.  Kayden remembered the good times he and Darryl had shared, and the crazy things they had done together.  He felt happy. 

 

They talked a while, about inconsequential things, the news, politics and what the jerk in the White house was doing. It was fun, and Kayden felt relieved and honoured for Darryl to want to spend time with him instead of going to the Warden’s game he had wanted to see for so long.  He felt blessed. 

 

Darryl stood after a while.  “I should probably let Laurie have a chance at you, too.”

 

“Yeah - probably.”  Kayden smirked.  Laurie was so damn impatient she was probably chewing the walls right now - or counting the dots in the ceiling tiles.  Darryl nodded, and headed out.

 

A few moments later, Laurie arrived.  She was a 5'4" spitfire of walking attitude, wrapped up in a goth-girl package.  Long knee high boots, stockings, black skirt and crop top, the dark makeup and pigtails.   It didn’t hurt she was rather pretty too - she had the whole package - curves, looks, and personality.  Kayden felt more than a bit jealous, but smiled all the same. 

 

“Laurie!”

 

“Hey doofus!”  She said, with a tear in her eye.  “I heard you got shot. Are you going to be okay?” She leaned over, and gave Kayden a gentle hug.  “I was so worried, Kay.”

 

“Me too, actually.  I knew the shopkeeper... he was a friend.  Do you know if he made it?”

 

 

“Yeah...  The police mentioned the store owner died at the scene.  I heard the guy got away with everything, and that the police haven’t caught him.”

 

“Yeah, right.  And they won’t either.”

 

“Probably.” She said sadly. “Darryl said you’re doing some sort of experiment?”

 

“Yeah - donating some bone marrow.  It’ll be a bit painful, but it should be okay.”

 

“Well, I’m proud of you.  Knowing you, it’s not just about the money.”

 

Kayden blushed a bit in shame.  “Actually, you’d normally be right, but this time it was.  I’m having a lot of financial troubles.”

 

“What!  Why didn’t you tell me?  You know I’d help you in a heart beat!”  Laurie looked hurt, and it was obvious to Kayden he’d been a fool.

 

“I’m sorry, Laurie.  I know my friends are there for me, but it’s hard for me to get past my pride and stubbornness.  I’m trying.”

 

“You’re damn right you are!”  Laurie said, rather peeved.  “Still, we’ll stand by you - just try not to do it again, okay?”

 

“I’ll try.”  Kay promised.

 

“Thanks. You know, we should get together when you get out of here - go shopping or have lunch or something.”

 

“Shopping requires money.  How about we do lunch?”

 

“Lunch sounds good, and you know damn well you’ll have some money left after bills are dealt with, once this is done.”

 

“I... I’m not sure what I’d buy?”   It’s not like I can wear what I want to wear anyway.  I’d look like a freak.  But then again, Laurie knew that. 

 

“Sometimes it’s the hunt that’s more fun, Kay.”  She smiled.  “Still, if shopping’s not your thing, don’t sweat it. Lunch

will be fine.  You should loosen up a bit.  The others would understand.”

 

“I’m not so sure, Laurie.  I’m not as sure as you are.  I wish I was.” The two of them sat in silence for a bit. 

 

“Do you want me to get you anything from your apartment, Kay?”  Laurie asked.

 

Kayden thought for a moment.  “Maybe a few books to read and some clean clothes?”

 

“Sure, no problem.  Let me take care of it.”

 

“Thanks, Laurie.”

 

Laurie put a hand on Kay’s, and smiled.  “Your friends are here for you, Kay.  You don’t have to lie to everyone.  I can see that it hurts you.”

 

“I know, Laurie.  I guess I’m just not ready yet, okay?”

 

“Okay, Kay.  See you later, alright?”

 

“Yep.  Later Laurie.”

 

Laurie left the room, leaving Kayden alone with his thoughts.  Maybe I should come out to the others?  It’s been almost three years since I left home, and I know I can trust them.  I’m scared.   I’m scared if they turn away from me, I’ll be left with no one.    Kayden knew he’d been hiding a secret from his parents and friends for a long time.  He was trans - he felt he was wrong, like he should be female...  He wondered if Darryl and the others would turn on him like his mom and dad did when they found out.

 

He tried not to cry, but the tears came unbidden, and for a while, he just lay there, reliving the pain and emotional torment - and beatings - he suffered under his parents until he took charge and got the hell out six months later.   I’d rather die than go back, and I’d rather die than lose my friends.  What the hell do I do?  Kayden cried himself to sleep.

 

 

*              *              *

 

When Kayden woke, he felt wrong... his thighs hurt like hell, and his throat felt rubbed raw with soreness.  He felt exhausted.  What happened?  Have they already taken the bone marrow?  Why the hell didn’t anyone warn me?  Kayden was angry, and felt more than a little betrayed, and reached about for a call button.  It took him a few minutes to find it, and call the nurse.  David was the nurse that showed up.

 

“Hey, Mr. Ballard!  You’re awake!  Don’t try to talk – you’ll hurt your vocal cords.  You had a breathing tube down your neck while under anaesthesia.  The doctor said the operation was a success, and you can go home as soon as you recover - which should be in about 10 days.  Blink once for yes, and twice for no.  Do you understand?”

 

Kayden snarled, still rather angry about how he had been misused. *Blink*

 

“Is there something wrong?”

 

*Blink*

 

“I’m sorry.  If you’d like I can get Doctor Pierce for you?”

 

*Blink*

 

“Sure...  I’ll be right back.”  David left to fetch Dr. Pierce, leaving Kayden by himself.

 

Damn right there’s a problem.  I would have liked to be informed before they fucking well operated on me!

 

A short while later, Dr. Justin Pierce arrived.   “I guess you’d like to know why we went ahead and performed the procedure sooner than expected?”  He asked, getting right to the point.  “If you need to know, it’s because Mr. Chips is flagging quickly, and if I don’t at least try to speed things up, I’ll miss my chance to try and save him... and I know the chance is slim, Kayden - but I need to try and take it.  I’m sorry if you feel upset, but I felt I had no choice.”

 

“Not... worth... 10,000.”  Kayden croaked.

 

“What?  Apparently you weren’t listening, Kayden, when I told you how much this project is worth to Trask Industries and myself.  You’re getting $15,000 and 1 tenth of 1 percent of the royalties for any medicines devised with my procedure and your bone marrow.  Considering that the US alone spends about 140 BILLION dollars a year on treating cancer, that should make your share 140 million dollars per year, probably forever.  Is THAT worth the indignity you’ve undergone?  That and being responsible for helping save countless lives - and my dog?   Let’s put things into perspective, Kayden.”

 

Kayden thought a moment.  140 Million dollars a year for the rest of his life?  Even if Justin was blowing smoke up his ass, and he only saw 1% of that, it was still astronomical, and he was planning on donating the marrow anyway...  Kayden decided he might be overreacting, and calmed down.  “So..rrry.” He gasped.

 

“No need to be sorry. Just letting you know you might have not been looking at the big picture, and there are things more important than either yours or my feelings. Are you okay?”

 

*Blink*

 

“Good.  I have to go now, and get to work.  I probably won’t be back for a few days.  If you have medical issues, Doctor Kingsway will be here to assist you.  He was your surgeon, and he’s quite good - but he’s also quite busy.  David and Susan will be seeing to your needs.  Oh - and here’s a picture of Mr. Chips.  I couldn’t get him down here – he’s too weak.  I hope he’s still alive to meet you by the time you leave here.”

 

*Blink*

 

 

“Goodbye, Kayden... and thank you.”  Justin’s eyes softened a bit as he said thank you...  Kayden realized how much his marrow donation actually meant to Justin and his dog. 

 

*Blink*

 

Justin left, and Kayden closed his eyes to rest.  He fell asleep before the count of 10.

 

 

*              *              *

 

 

The next few days were filled with resting, physiotherapy, and browsing the TV and internet.  Kayden felt a bit stronger, but still weak overall and tired.  His arm was giving him a fair bit of trouble, and his leg was a mess.  He could stand for a few minutes with a cane, but he was a long way from being fully recovered.  He had seen the doctor once, and Dr. Kingsway said it might be over three months before he got most of the mobility in his arm and leg back to full use.  

 

Still his Physio team was working him hard.  Sheryl and Jafa really knew their stuff.  Sheryl was a tall, Nordic woman and Jafa looked like the stereotypical Caribbean Islander.  At the rate he was going, he’d be home and hobbling (as he put it) in about a week.  Susan had just changed his wound dressings, and was more than a bit concerned about some redness and swelling she saw, but with the antibiotics they had these days, Kayden wasn’t too worried. 

 

Life was starting to improve, and soon, Kayden’s money worries would be over for good!   I hate to say it, but “could things get any better?” he said to himself.  Maybe this was a good idea after all?

 

 

*              *              *

 

 

Mr. Chips whined in pain, panting, as the lesions on his skin seeped blood.  His aching bones made even lying down painful.  He looked at master, who had his sad face on again...  Whenever master had tears, Chips tried to give a kiss to make it better.  It had been that way since they were both puppies.  Masters’ hand felt good on his fur, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to stay with master much longer.  It hurt so much, Chips just wanted to sleep for a while, but Master was his only friend.  He loved master.  Master would save him, he was sure of it - and if he didn’t, Chips would wait for master in the Great Beyond.  Chips would never leave his master.  He kissed master again, whining in pain.  Master kept petting him, but at least the tears stopped.  Chips was a good boy.  Master said so.  

 

Chips lay down to rest, knowing it wouldn’t be long now before he went to the final sleep. He hoped Master would find him one day, when he came to meet him.  Chips imagined romping through the grassy fields of the Beyond with Master, both young and healthy again.  Master was saying something, but Chips couldn’t hear it.  He was so tired...  He dozed off, thinking happy thoughts. He didn’t see master crying again.

 

 

*              *              *

 

 

Justin watched Mr. Chips fading away before him.  It can’t end like this!  I’m so close!  A fervor took hold of him, and he gently placed Mr. Chips down, on the soft bed inside his crate.  “I won’t lose you, buddy.  Not now - not when I know I’m close!”

He closed the crate door, and went to his lab to check the results of the marrow extraction.  

 

For the last two and half days, Kayden’s bone marrow had been cleansed, purified, and genetically altered just a sconch, and then treated with Justin’s formula to strip the human antigens from it, to make it a universal donor and receiver.  It needed to be injected into a test subject to see if it worked.  Can I try it on Mr. Chips first?  I know I should - but what if it doesn’t work, or worse, what if it kills my little guy? Dammit!  

 

Justin gritted his teeth.  I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but I did accept it as a possibility from the beginning.  The only one who can receive this treatment and have virtually no complications is probably Kayden.  I’m going to have to test it on him first.  If it works, I’ll use what’s left on Mr. Chips - we can always grow more bone marrow from Kayden’s stem cells later.  If it doesn’t work, I’m going to be left with no choice but to fall back on plan B.

 

 

Plan B was simple in concept, but complicated in execution: digitize Mr. Chips memories, and put them into a storage medium, until Justin could use them to form an Artificial Intelligence.  Such advanced techniques would have been impossible without super tech and the abilities of superheroes - and Justin had at great expense come into possession of a certain super-device once said to be created by Mechalus, a machine-being hell bent on destroying humanity.  If the device works as advertised, I can digitize Mr. Chips thoughts and personality, and store it - like in a robot body.  It’s not the best possible alternative, but it’s still a chance.

 

But Plan B was not optimal, not by far...  Kayden would just have to make one more sacrifice for science - and if he doesn’t like it, that’s too damn bad because I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer!   Justin prepared the syringes - one for Kayden, and a smaller one for Mr. Chips.  Just in case, he also took a Browning 9mm handgun from the drawer of his desk and checked the magazine...  It was full.  Just in case some ‘persuasion’ was required.   Like I said, I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer.