"I think I have a plan," I said to my empty room.

Bush43
Issue #7
You Say Inmate, I Say Outmate, Let's Call The Whole Thing Off
by Jason Kenney

"You seem to have been talking to yourself a lot lately," said Doctor William Tage as he sat himself down in his comfy seat across the room from me. I sat in my harsh, hard chair, my wrists and ankles cuffed as to not allow me to scratch the itch on my nose that screamed for attention.

"I do that when I'm thinking," I said, wrinkling my nose in a failed attempt to ease the itch.

"And what have you been thinking about?"

"Well, if you know I've been talking to myself, I'm sure you know what I've been saying, right?"

"I've heard recordings," said Tage, confirming my suspicious that they did indeed record me in my room, those peeping bastards. "But I want to hear it from you, first hand."

"Oh, just dreams of freedom and stuff like that. I'm sure you get that a lot."

"Yes," said Tage, opening the folder in his hands. "Jeffery, who are you talking to?"

"Myself," I said.

"Do you realize you've been talking to yourself in the second person?"

"Really?"

"And you're speaking as if you're getting a response. Jeffery, who's talking back?"

"I am."

"So you're having a conversation with yourself?"

"Sure," I said with what was supposed to be a shrug but ended up being nothing, considering it was hard to move, strapped to a chair and all. "I say stuff out loud and my mind replies."

"And what does your mind tell you?"

"That I'm damn sexy and it's just not right to keep such a sexy beast away from the women of the world."

"Indeed."

"Yeah, hey, I've been wondering, why do you only have male nurses here? I mean, Christ, there's got to be a woman employee somewhere in this place."

"They couldn't resist you so we had them transferred," said Tage with a smirk.

"Humor?" I said. "Wow, doc, I'm impressed."

"The female nurses are generally used to tend to our female patients. We've had problems in the past with male patients."

"I bet. Not that you're a bad guy, doc, but lack of social interaction with women can make a guy get a little crazy. Which leads me to another question."

"Sure."

"That whole social interaction thing, don't you think this isolation really isn't good for me? I mean, you're trying to talk about my self-esteem and how I perceive myself and how I perceive the rest of the world and stuff and then you stick me alone so I have no real chance to open up. I mean, sure, the folks in here probably aren't the best crowd to hang out with, but it's an environment for me to try and be myself, you know?"

"We tend to believe interaction with other patients is not necessarily in the best interest of cases such as yours."

"Why?"

"Well, for one, how many people do you think are in here thanks to you?"

"Good enough for me."

***

I shuffled down the hall, flanked by guards or male nurses. I was never sure what they were, really. All I know is they were bigger than me and with the drugs they pumped into me removing any of my super great abilities, I would have gotten my ass handed to me on a silver platter with a little parsley on the side if I tried anything funny.

We took this trip every day, from my room down to another room where I met with Doctor Tage for an hour or so and then back to my room where I sat for the rest of the day. Sometimes they'd take me through this hall and then turn left down another hall right before Tage's interrogation chamber. We'd walk down there and eventually step through a door that led to the outside world. Well, kinda. A courtyard, surrounded on all sides by the asylum, but still, fresh air and a little sunlight. Other times they'd take me down this hall to take a shower or get drugged up for the night.

And all of these walks happened with my ankles and wrists chained. It was like prison only with a shrink.

"So anything good happening in the outside world lately" I asked as we made our way back to my room.

"Damn Harbour City beat the crap outta the Titans last night," said the guy to my left, a man who I knew only as Sam.

"It's the goalie," said the man to my right, Ken.

"Screw that," spat Sam, "if we had any proper defenders the goalie wouldn't have to block a hundred shots a game."

"Blocking shots or no," I said, "you gotta be able to make them if you're going to win."

"Damn right," said Ken. "Whole damn team's shit."

"I still say that if we picked up a decent goalie, like that Johnstone guy outta Lorrington, we'd be a contender," said Sam as we stopped and he turned to open the door to my cell like a perfect gentleman.

"Win or lose," I said as Ken crouched down and unlocked the cuffs on my legs, "I just wish to hell they'd give me a television or radio or something."

"Yeah, tough break, kid," said Ken as he stood up and unlocked the cuffs on my wrists. "We'll keep you up to date, though."

"Who are we playing tonight?" I asked as I stepped into my beautiful if not stoic one room abode.

"No one," said Sam. "Got the night off, thank God. Lick our wounds."

"It's Sydney tomorrow night, though," said Ken as they started to close my door.

"Damn," I said, "gonna be a rough week."

"Don't I know it," said Sam. "Later, kid."

And they closed the door.

***

"Your ability to delay is astounding, Mister Carter."

"Hey, it's a gift," I said with a shrug.

Alfonse sat on the thin thing the asylum liked to call a "mattress" that rested on a lace of springs to make what they called a "bed". But I'm not complaining about the crappy cot. It sucked so much that someone sitting in it didn't make a dent. Which was a perfect seat for someone who was trying to be invisible.

Alfonse surveyed the room like he normally did when he first arrived, as if there'd be something new to see. I tried not to look directly at him. Especially now that I knew they were watching me.

"They think I'm crazy," I said, darting my eyes around for good measure. "They think I'm talking to myself all the time."

"Good."

"Exactly."

Get this.

Alfonse the butler has the ability to make himself invisible when he doesn't want to be seen and unheard when he doesn't want to be heard. He can pick certain people to see or hear him at any given time. And machines don't even catch his presence. How cool is that?

Scared the shit out of me the first time. I thought I was really going nuts. Hell, for all I know I still was. I mean, maybe my mind made up his kick ass powers, who knows, right?

Anyways, Alfonse had been visiting me for about ten days. He would sneak in right after my sessions with Doctor Tage and leave when they took me out for my evening drugging right after supper. That's a good four hours of plotting without actually saying what exactly I'm plotting. Alfonse says all he wants, but it's my voice they're hearing and recording.

"So when do you intend to execute this grand scheme of yours?"

"Doctor Tage says I'm doing better."

"How soon?" said Alfonse, picking up my meaning.

"Maybe I'll get to go outside this week."

"When?" Alfonse looked a little surprised.

"I'm hoping the weather's nice on Friday."

"That's two days, Mister Carter," said Alfonse.

"I can't wait," I said with a childlike smile. Man, these guys probably thought I was completely nuts now.

"I can not guarantee I will have things ready on my end in two days."

"Friday it is."

Alfonse sighed

"Very well, Mister Carter."

***

"How was dinner?" asked Sam.

"The roasted duck was delicious," I said.

"Smart ass," said Ken with a smirk as he stood up from cuffing my ankles.

We started walking away from where I'd be walking were it time for my delightful session with Doctor Tage. The other end of the hallway was home to a place I like to call "The Lab".

I didn't see him, but I assumed Alfonse slipped out of my room as Sam closed the locked the door. He always made it so I couldn't see him as he left. Christ, maybe I was going nuts.

"You guys don't have to eat that crap I do, do ya?" I asked.

"Only when I don't bring my lunch," said Sam.

"When the missus doesn't pack it for ya, you mean," said Ken, the three of us chuckling, mine completely false, but, hey, these guys were alright. Just doing their jobs.

We stopped by a door and Sam turned to unlock it. Here's The Lab.

Just like they would in my sessions with Doctor Tage, Sam and Ken led me to a chair towards the middle of the room and sat me down, Ken uncuffing my wrists and ankles as Sam clamped them to the arms and legs of the chair.

"And how are we doing today, Mister Carter?" asked Doctor Howard Lane as he stepped in from a side room, his eyes focusing on the same damn chart on me that he'd had since I got here. As if there was anything new to report. Still here, still waiting.

"I don't know about these guys," I said, nodding my head towards Sam and Ken as they stepped into the hall and pulled the door shut behind them, "but I'M doing dandy, Howie. And how are you?"

"The wife's a bitch and my girlfriend's whining about how I don't spend any time with her," said Doctor Lane as he set the chart on the counter and unlocked and opened a cabinet, pulling out the usual collection of needles and vials and other wonderful things. "Tim totaled the car and he's lucky as hell no one got hurt while Junior's college bills are going to cost me so much money I might be able to retire with I'm a hundred and fifty. Otherwise," he said, turning to me with a particularly nasty looking needle, "I'm great."

He set the needle on a tray next to my chair and sat himself down, picking up a rubber strap and starting to wrap it around my arm.

"Hey, I was wondering, Howie," I asked as he tightened the strap. I moved my hand to make sure it still worked and he nodded. "This stuff you pump into me every night, you made it, right?"

"Uh-huh," he said as he lifted up the syringe and studied it, pushing the excess air out.

"Did you happen to make an antidote?"

"Now, Mister Carter," said Doctor Lane as he looked at me. "That would be telling."

He jabbed the needle in the crook of my arm with a grin, getting a grimace from me. He did that every time. I think he took perverse pleasure in the pain he caused me.

"Do you have such wonderful bedside manner with all of your patients?" I asked as he pushed the plunger on the needle, it's contents flowing into my system, fire burning under my skin.

"Actually, Mister Carter," said Doctor Lane as he tore the needle from my arm and haphazardly taped a gauze over the hole, "I am only like this with the people I like."

"I didn't know you cared," I said as Doctor Lane stood up and ripped the rubber strip off of my arm. I grimaced again as arm hair and skin stuck to rubber.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, picking up my chart.

"Burning sensation as usual," I said as I leaned my head back, the drugs starting to take effect, starting to make me woozy. "How are you towards people you don't like, Howie?"

"A perfect gentleman," he said, writing on the chart. "And you're already feeling light headed I take it." I didn't reply as he continued to write on the chart. He reached down and felt my neck for a pulse. "Pulse is high but not as high as it has been. Looks to me like your system is starting to handle this much better."

"Or maybe it's building up a tolerance," I said, not realizing I was telling him something that could have worked in my behavior. Stupid drugs.

"Perhaps," said Lane, "but I have yet to see proof of that. Your body remains weakened in the exercises, though it's not weakening as I hoped it would. The needle slid into your arm easier today than ever. I think we may be curing you."

I laughed a short, hard laugh as darkness crept around my vision.

"Hey, Howie."

"Yes, Mister Carter?"

"You're fucking nuts."

"Says the inmate."

Comfortable darkness.

***

"Doc Lane's a psycho."

"How so?"

"The guy's vicious as hell with those needles," I said, wanting to scratch at the itchy scab on my arm that formed from all of his wonderful punctures. "His bedside manner, the way he carries himself, the way he smiles as he jabs me with those long ass needles and takes perverse joy in the news that the shit he's pumping into me burns like hell. All those damn notes. I feel like a guinea pig."

"You seem to be an excellent patient with him," said Doctor Tage as he flipped through my folder. "All of his notes on you are very positive."

"Yeah, well, how much of a struggle can I really put up being clamped to the chair and blacking out when he's done?"

Tage didn't answer my rhetorical question.

"I want off of whatever you've got me on, Doc. It's not helping."

"And why do you think it's not helping?"

"How am I supposed to come to terms with myself and my powers if I don't have them? How am I supposed to learn how to exist with what I've become or with others given my gifts if you're inhibiting them?"

"Because, Jeffery, if we didn't inhibit your powers you would leave here, am I correct?"

I didn't answer his rhetorical question.

"Until I see significant change in your behavior to the point of you WANTING to be here to help yourself, I can not put your health or the health of those around you at risk by allowing you to have your powers back."

"But I'm making progress, Doc."

"Yes, Jeffery, you are, but do you still feel as if you don't belong here? As if you don't need this help?"

Again, I didn't answer.

It was worth a shot.

"So, like, you ever talk to a guy I put in here named Stacy?" I asked, changing the subject and trying to run the conversation.

I'd been doing this more often as of late, trying to ask more questions and talk about nonsense instead of whatever he steered the conversation too. Yeah, yeah, I'm sure he made notes of that and it's exactly what he wanted, but I felt better doing it this way, so there.

"Stacy?"

"Yeah, dorky dude who let out little shocks through his hand. All tingly and stuff."

"Staticy, perhaps?"

"Staticy, Stacy, same thing, right?"

"I'm afraid I can't divulge any information about possible patients of mine."

"Oh, of course, keeping the identity secret and all that good stuff. Hey, but can you tell me if you've ever heard of a couple guys named Happy and Sad?"

"Happy and Sad?"

"Yeah, Happy's this short, dumpling kinda guy who's all happy and stuff and Sad's his tall, stringy friend who's bummed out and really creepy looking."

"No, I'm afraid I'm not familiar with them. Are they old nemesis's of yours?"

"I guess. They tried to use me a bit back."

"How so?"

"Well, they wanted me to hunt down Victoria Burke so they could do something or another to her, probably kidnap her and get money for her or something like that, but I didn't fall for it and beat the crap out of them with Mysteria's help."

"With Mysteria's help? So you know some of the other heroes in Pacific City?"

"Well, not really. I don't know any of the other heroes, but I've run into them. Mysteria ran away after we kicked some ass, but I'm sure she was checking me out so I'll probably see her again. And that Silver Shadow guy got a cheap shot in on me once and I owe him an ass kicking for that. But I haven't really hung out with them."

"So you don't regularly converse with any other super powered beings?"

"Nope, not really. I beat up lame ass 'super' villains and every now and then run into some hero or someone trying to be one, but I don't hang out with anyone."

"So where did you learn to be a super hero?"

"Learn? What's to learn? I jump around and kick people in the nuts. Anyone could do that."

"But you didn't have a mentor?"

"Mentor? Yeah, I had a mentor. Old hero named Nutkiller. He taught me everything he knew about kicking people in the nuts in all the different styles and what not."

"Nutkiller?"

"Yep, Nutkiller."

"Did you just make that up?"

"On the spot."

Doctor Tage sighed and shook his head.

"Hey, Doc, would you say I'm making pretty good progress?"

"I'd say you were making some progress, yes."

"Enough to, say, get a room with a view? Or maybe with a big door marked 'EXIT' and left unlock so I can come and go as I please?"

Tage gave me that look he gives me when he thinks I'm full of it and he's so disappointed in me but he doesn't want to say it.

"What? Was the 'EXIT' thing a bit too far?"

"Jeffery, you still haven't opened up. You still haven't allowed yourself to even attempt to help yourself. You're still in denial that you need this. Until you realize that this is good for you, that we're trying to help you here, you will get no perks."

"But you said I was making progress."

"You are, but I think it is despite your best efforts not to. We haven't even scratched the surface. Every time we start in on something significant you change the subject. I need you to start taking this seriously, Jeffery."

I rolled my eyes and leaned my head back, trying hard not to get pissed.

"Jeffery, how did you discover you had your powers?"

"I told you," I said as I raised my head back upright and looked Doc Tage in the eyes, "I fell."

"Was this before or after your parent's death?"

"Haven't we been through this before?"

"Before or after you watched your parents die, Jeffery?"

"Before," I said.

"Tell me about your parents' deaths, Jeffery."

"No," I said, glaring at Doctor Tage.

"What went through your mind as you saw them die, Jeffery?"

I turned my eyes away, trying to ignore him, trying to think of something else.

"What went through your mind when you found out you survived and they did not, Jeffery?"

"I think we're done for today, Doc."

"No, Jeffery, we are not. Tell me about your parent's death, Jeffery. Please."

I turned to face Tage and was about to shout no at him again, but I stopped. Alfonse stood behind him, his arms crossed, a stern look on his face. When the hell did he get in here?

"Tell him," said Alfonse, "tell me."

"Why should I?" I said to Alfonse, but Tage began to answer.

"Because that is the beginning, Jeffery. That is what turned you to Bush43, don't you see that? If I'm going to help you I need to know your past."

"Because I will not help you unless I know a bit more about you," said Alfonse as crossed his arms in a very un-butler-like manner.

"Who says I need your help?" I asked Alfonse, ignoring Tage as he responded.

"Jeffery, what you have become is not healthy. Not for you, not for those around you. If you truly care about your well being, if you truly care about your friends and family and the people of Pacific City, you will help yourself. If you can't help yourself, who can you help?"

"Do you think you can get out of here on your own, Mister Carter?" asked Alfonse, keeping his glare on me.

"I didn't ask for your help," I said.

"No, you did not," said Tage, "but that does not mean that you do not need it. And that is part of our problem. Until you admit that you need help you can not begin to help yourself get better."

"No, you did not," said Alfonse, shaking his head. "Nor did I want to help you initially. You are a crass, rude child who is too stupid and stubborn to really deserve to be in the outside world. I was starting to believe you truly belonged here. Here you have been handed such amazing gifts and what do you do with them? Gallivant around like an idiot on par with whose face you wear and fight people who are not worth the effort. You make a mockery out of yourself and those you try to help. You make a mockery of your powers and you make a mockery of your parents."

"WHAT THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW?!?!?!!!" I shouted, leaning as far forward as I could, spittle leaping from my mouth in rage. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!?!?!!!!!"

Doctor Tage and Alfonse were both silent, Doctor Tage with a stunned look on his face, Alfonse with his glare, neither of them moving.

"Mister Carter," said Doctor Tage, standing up, "you obviously do not want to help yourself and are wasting your time and mine. You can rot in here for all I care, Mister Carter."

"Who do you think you are?" asked Alfonse, his voice light and showing no sign of strain or anger.

Doctor Tage moved towards the door, walking past Alfonse without noticing him.

"If you want to get out of here, Mister Carter," said Alfonse, his glare loosening to a look of concern, "you're going to have to talk to me."

"There..." I said, my voice cracking and choking on the emotions I tried to hold back. I had never said this to anyone. I had ignored it, hidden from it, it wasn't worth reliving. What would it solve? What good would it do me? Doctor Tage stopped as he had started to open the door and looked through Alfonse and right at me.

"There was a light," I said.

***

Light. Bright light of the purest white.

It turned night into day as it tore from the heavens and into Pacific City.

The ground shook, the city seemed to groan with the impact, the explosion a horrible rumble. The light moved, carving through the city like a knife, tearing through brick and stone and flesh.

And then another lance reached from the sky and carved into the city.

And another.

And another.

The light came through his building, into his home, into his living room where he sat with his visiting parents and all he could do was watch it's approach.

He watched as the light swallowed his building, his mother, his father, and then washed over him.

Blinding light.

He looked up the shaft of light as it passed over him. Images of crystals danced above, a show of particles whose beauty betrayed the destructiveness of the light.

And then it was dark.

And then he was falling.

He landed naked in a crevice in the earth as the light continued tearing a path through the city, the ground and walls of the crevice smooth as if cut with precision.

He looked around. For a moment he anticipated seeing his parents standing there, waiting for him, alive like he was.

But he was alone in the crevice.

He looked once again to the walls around him and then back to the light that was moving further and further away.

And right then he knew.

And Jeffery Carter collapsed and cried until he was found by rescue crews the next day.

***

I choked back tears, trying hard not to cry, trying hard not to break in front of this doctor and this butler.

Doctor Tage stood by the door, his hand still on the handle, the door still slightly ajar. Without a word and keeping his stare on me he pushed the door shut and walked and sat down again.

Alfonse remained standing behind Tage's chair, his arms crossed, the look on his face the one of concern he held before the story began.

"And was this when you discovered you had your powers?" asked Tage.

I nodded, listening to him for the first time since Alfonse appeared.

"Yes," I said, my voice cracking with emotions I tried to swallow.

"When you found that you were the only survivor, how did you feel?"

"Alone," I said. "Helpless."

"Did you feel like you should have done something?" asked Tage. I looked to Alfonse who just stood there, unmoving, looking at me.

"Of course I did," I said. "Isn't that the typical feeling of folks who survive these things? I mean, were I the sole survivor of a car accident I'd always second guess and wonder if I should have done something differently, even if I were tied up in the trunk."

"Do you realize there was nothing you could have done?"

"There's a difference between knowing something and believing it," I said. Doctor Tage nodded.

"So you feel you failed your parents and possibly the tenants of your apartment building. Did this lead you to put on a mask?"

"Sure, it was a reason, but not the only one. Don't you think I'd have done it sooner if it was the only reason?"

"In most cases such as yours there is a delayed reaction to these kind of events. A time to grieve, to come to terms, to figure out how to direct your emotions and the like. How did you feel following your parents' deaths?"

"Sad, of course. I mean, there wasn't even anything left to bury. Angry. Lonely. How the hell was I supposed to feel about that?"

Turn sadness into anger, that makes you stronger, doesn't reveal the weakness. This doesn't upset you, it annoys you.

"And how long did those feeling last?"

"They were supposed to stop?"

"So you still feel sad, lonely, angry?"

"Sometimes, when I think about it and what happened, sure."

"And do you think Bush43 is an escape from that? A way to cope?"

"No, I think Bush43 is a natural progression of my discovery of having powers. I find out I have powers, they get thoroughly tested in some sort of cataclysmic event, they're peachy, I decide to use these powers for good instead of ill."

"Did you ever feel the urge to lash out with this powers?"

"You mean become a villain?"

Tage nodded.

"No. Never crossed my mind."

"It's not as bad as one might think," said Alfonse with a suspicious smirk, speaking for the first time since I told my story. I looked to him and then back to Tage as the doc started talking again.

"You never once felt the need to take out any anger or frustration in a physical manner?"

"Well, sure, but I decided to be constructive with it, do some good. What's the point in tearing down a building or beating up good people, especially when they aren't responsible for what happened to me or my family or this city? It's not their fault some big ass alien ship decided to carve us up like some damn holiday turkey. And since I can't get to the sons of bitches who did blow the shit out of my family, I figure I'll get after the folks who try to threaten anyone else's. Feel good about things vicariously, you know?"

"And do you feel better now?"

"Am I over it? Not really, but I was starting to make progress. You know, do some real great things for folks, feel good about myself, but then someone sent some huge ass tin can out to kick my ass and drag it here, so I think I've kinda regressed in the last week or so."

"How do you feel today?"

"Today? Like a prisoner. Even more alone. How well is one supposed to take being told that their constructive use of rage and anger and frustration is really them being nuts and needing to be committed? How well am I supposed to take being hunted for actually doing right? You guys are fucking treating me like the bastards I chase down, and why? Because you feel I need help? Why the hell didn't you all send that robot after someone more dangerous like one of the bad guys? Why chase me down when I'm actually doing good things for this city. You should be fucking thankful I didn't become a villain. I became a good guy and helped you guys out when you needed it the most."

"I think we've made some good progress today, Jeffery, I'd hate to lose it."

"Progress? Where? Because you guilted a story out of me? Do you know the nightmares I'm going to have tonight? Do you know what reliving this shit is doing to me? And you completely ignore my points when you think they're hindering progress. Why did you come after me when there are worse out there? Why did you do this to me? Do you feel good in knowing that there are bad guys running free out there because you've stopped me from saving people?"

"Jeffery, we've been through this before. The matter of your apprehension, how it was done and the overall reasons, are outside of my control. You were brought to me. All I do have control over is where we go from here."

"Ask him about Venus Mantrap," said Alfonse. I didn't bother to look at him, keeping my glare on Tage. "Ask him why she was released."

"What about Venus Mantrap?" I asked. The look on Tage's face was priceless and brought a wicked grin to my face. Her name was familiar, but I knew nothing about her or her being released as Alfonse had said, but Tage's look told me more than I'm sure he'd have wanted it too.

"Or Vapour," said Alfonse, goading me on.

"Or Vapour?" I asked, Tage quickly closing my folder and leaping to his feet again.

"I believe we are done for the day, Mister Carter."

"Funny," I said as Tage went for the door, "when you want the truth from me you'll force it out of me but when you're confronted you get to run. Looks to me like you've got some issues, doc."

And he was out the door faster than I could laugh at him.

***

Alfonse walked a couple paces behind me and my escorts as we walked back to my cell. He didn't say a word, only stayed there. I could see him out of the corner of my eyes when I turned my head to speak with either of the guards.

"What do you guys know about Venus Mantrap or Vapour?" I asked the guards.

"Who?" said Sam, scratching his head as if that would help him remember.

"Venus Mantrap," said Ken with a tone like he was trying to think back. "Isn't she that gal that plays with plants or something like that?"

"Yeah!" said Sam with a snap of her fingers as his memory was jolted. "Keep her on the fourth floor, glass case. Damn, she's a fine looking woman."

"That's her thing though, isn't it?" said Ken, with a smirk.

"Yeah, but would you complain?" The two men chuckled as I tried to as well but couldn't.

"Any idea why the name would get Doc Tage all riled up?"

The three of us stopped as we reached the door to my room, Sam looking to Ken, Ken shaking his head.

"Afraid we can't tell ya that, Jeff," said Ken.

"Sorry," said Sam with a shrug as he went to uncuff my legs.

"No, Sam," I said, truly feeling what I was about to say, "I'm sorry."

He had the cuff off of one of my legs which was all I needed. I brought my knee up hard into his chin, sending him back, his hands reaching for his mouth. I turned to Alfonse who just stood there, staring at Sam on the ground.

"Change of plans, Alfonse," I said as I continued to turn and quickly pulled back as a baton swiped at my face.

"What are you doing, Jeff?" asked Ken.

"You're a good guy, Ken," I said as I stepped back a bit, Ken holding his baton up with one hand, his other reaching for the radio on his hip, "but I have to get out of here."

"Jeff, please," said Ken, "just, please, step into your cell and we'll write the whole thing off. Sam fell, that's all."

"No can do, Ken," I said, shaking my head. I didn't see Alfonse anymore. Crap, did he bail on me. Sam was trying to get back to his feet, gargling curses through the blood in his mouth.

Suddenly Ken's eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground, the baton falling out of his hands as he collapsed. Sam got wide eyed for a moment and then did the same, collapsing on top of Ken.

Then Alfonse popped into view, standing above the two men, straightening the cuffs of his shirt under his suit coat.

"Thanks," I said.

"Do not thank me yet, Mister Carter," said Alfonse, crouching down and grabbing the keys out of Sam's hand. "This was the easy part." He stepped to me and quickly unlocked the cuffs on my wrists and the one left on my leg. I picked up Ken's baton and took the radio off his belt.

"Don't you think we should handcuff them?" asked Alfonse as we dragged Sam and Ken and into my room.

"They'll be fine in here," I said. "Besides, they might come in handy. Can you pocket them for me?" I asked, handing the handcuffs to Alfonse. He took them and the keys and slid them into his inside coat pocket. Stupid asylum outfits with no pockets.

With one last apology I closed the door and locked my two escorts into my room.

"You do not have much time," said Alfonse. "If they don't already know what you have done..."

"I know, I know," I said, looking up and down the hallway. "But first things first."

***

Doctor Howard Lane sat hunched over his desk, reading through various files and notes. His head popped up as he heard the door open in the other room.

"Hello?" he called out, getting no response. He looked at a chart on his desk, scanning for any scheduled medicine management he may have overlooked. None.

With a frustrated sigh he stood up and stomped towards the other room.

"Doctor Farve, if that is you out there this joke is no longer...."

He stopped short as he stepped into the Lab and saw his guest.

"Heya, Howie."

Doctor Lane suddenly felt himself grabbed and pulled towards the chair in the middle of the room. He tried to struggle, but before he even got his wits to do that much he was seated and had one hand clamped to the arm of the seat. He felt something strong grab his other arm and pull it down against his will, clamping it to the other arm. He looked up to Jeffery Carter who stood smiling by the door, patting a baton into his hand, as he felt his right leg get harshly pulled and clamped and then his left.

"HELP!" he shouted, only to have something he could not see come across his face with a slap.

"How ya been?" asked Carter, the smile never faltering.

"What are you doing?" asked Lane, spitting it out in anger. "You're fucking nuts, you know that? Do you know what they're going to do to you when they catch you again? Do you know what I'M going to do to you?"

"I think the better question is 'do you know what I'm going to do to YOU?'" said Carter. "If you don't cooperate. Now, Howie," said Carter as he walked towards Lane, "is there an antidote to this shit you've been putting into me?"

"No," said Lane shaking his head and smiling. "None. And it doesn't wear off either, Jeffery. You're stuck, you're powerless, you're useless."

"I'm not the one strapped in a chair and trying to lie to a man who is certifiably crazy on paper," said Carter. He turned and stepped towards the counter and set his baton down as he looked at the cabinet. "Where are the keys, Howie?" asked Carter, staring at the lock on the cabinet.

"Hidden," said Lane with a sly grin. "Just for cases like this."

Carter nodded and then turned, looking towards Lane and then smiling again. He stepped towards the Doctor who tensed. Carter picked up the small tray and stand that sat next to the chair. He turned back to the cabinet and hoisted the stand by its legs and brought it around into the cabinet, the noise deafening as the stand lashed into the cabinet door. He pulled back and swung again, and again, the stand bending, the door denting. He stopped and tossed the stand to the side, stepping to the cabinet, grabbing onto the bottom of the door and wrenching it open.

"Now," said Carter as he lifted and studied vials, tossing the ones that seemed to displease him onto the floor, setting the likable ones on the counter, "where is the antidote?"

"There... there is none," said Lane as he became aware of the danger he was in. Delay him, he thought. Delay this nut until help arrives.

Carter reached into the cabinet and pulled out a needle, grabbing a few of the vials off the counter and turning to Lane, walking up beside him.

"None?" said Carter as he poked the needle into one of the vials and pulled back on the plunger. "Then how quickly does this stuff wear off?" Carter held the needle up and studied it, pushing the plunger to squeeze out the excess air.

"It doesn't," said Lane as he watched the needle. "Oh, shit, Jeffery, think about this..."

"I have thought about it, Howie," said Carter, turning back to Lane. "I've thought about it long and hard." Carter jabbed the needle into Lane's arm and held it there, his thumb in the ring on the back of the plunger. The smile was gone from Jeffery Carter's face, his eyes burned.

"Truth or dare, Doctor Lane."

***

I so wanted him to tell me what I wanted to hear. The last thing I wanted to do was be a bad guy. Sure, this guy was an ass and took pleasure in causing me pain, but so what. I'm a hero, I don't hurt other people even if they try that. I get them help.

But desperate times...

"There is no antidote, I swear," said Doctor Howard Lane as I stood there with a needle in his arm, waiting to pour its contents into his system.

"Remember how I said this stuff burned, Howie?" I asked, getting a nod from him. "Remember the pain I described? I was downplaying it. Greatly. And if this stuff hurts like that in someone who's supposed to be invulnerable and superstrong, how's it going to feel in a normal person?"

Alfonse stood behind the chair he had clamped Howie into, his eyes looking from the needle to my face and then to the back of Howie's head.

"When does it wear off?"

"I don't know," said Howie.

I pulled back slightly on the plunger, a gasp coming from Howie as crimson blood mixed with the amber liquids that sat in the needle, begging to be freed into Howie's veins.

"You're delaying," I said.

"We don't have time for this, Mister Carter," said Alfonse right as the radio we took from Ken chirped on Alfonse's belt.

"All points, code green lockdown in effect," shouted the radio. "All guards to hallway kappa three, attempt in progress."

Howie jumped as he heard the noise and the words come over the radio.

"Who else is here?" asked Howie, his eyes darting around the room.

"My imaginary friend," I said, "now, who the hell makes a medicine that inhibits things but doesn't make an antidote?" I pushed slightly on the plunger of the needle, a small amount of the liquid inside making its way into Howie.

He opened his mouth to scream but didn't, his eyes bulging sweat immediately forming on his forehead.

"How's it feel?" I asked.

Then the scream came.

"The antidote!" I shouted over Howie's cries. "WHERE THE FUCK IS IT?!!!"

Howie crammed his eyes shut and leaned his head back, trying to cope with the pain, trying not to let it get to him. But I knew it would. This shit burned.

"You... you already..." he stammered, "you already ruined it."

I looked over my shoulder to the puddle on the floor made my the vials I tossed to the side.

"Fuck me."

I let go of the needle, leaving it dangling in Howie as I ran to the cabinet and tore into it, pushing things around, pulling out vials. I grabbed and handful and stepped towards Howie.

"Is this it?" I asked him, holding one up for him to see. He still had his head back and eyes shut. "HOWIE!" I shouted, kicking him in the leg, "is this it?"

He opened his eyes and looked at me. I could tell he wasn't going to be of any help.

"I don't know," he said, his voice groggy.

"What is it I'm looking for?" I asked. "Howie, what's the name of the antidote? What will it be labeled? What color is it?"

"I..." he said, his voice starting to trail. "I..." His head started to bob. I was losing him. Suddenly his head jolted up and he screamed. I looked up to see Alfonse, needle in hand, pushing slightly on the plunger.

"Answer the man," said Alfonse, Howie's eyes getting impossibly wider as he heard the voice come from nowhere.

"It...it..." started Howie, "it's labeled Lane Four."

Suddenly there was a banging on the door.

"Doctor Lane?" shouted a voice from the hallway.

"Shit," I said, not bothering to look at the door but looking at the vials in my hands and saying a quick thanks to myself for breaking the key in the doorknob.

"HELP!" shouted Howie, but then he was cut off as Alfonse not only pushed the rest of the contents of the needle into his arms but grabbed a spot on Howie's neck, making the man pass out.

"Yes!" I said as I found the vial labeled Lane Four. I dropped the rest out of my hands, grasping the antidote and heading for the cabinet, digging up another needle and jabbing it into the vial.

"Jeffery Carter!" shouted the voice out in the hall.

"Just a minute," I shouted back as I held the needle upright and pushed on the plunger until a little Lane Four squirted out of the top. I jabbed the needle in my arm, hoping I hit a vein, and pushed on the plunger.

I hoped Howie wasn't lying to me.

I dropped the needle and clutched my arm as there was a loud bang at the door. Fire raged through my veins, fire that burned impossibly hotter than the fire of the crap that stole away my powers.

God, let this be the right stuff.

I tried to support myself on the counter as my legs gave way, catching myself long enough to grasp the baton I had laid there and then falling to the floor.

I was vaguely aware of Alfonse coming to me, crouching down, saying something, but it was a blur. My senses all ran together sound turning to sight turning to taste turning to touch turning to smell.

Turning to awareness.

All at once the world came rushing back, my vision focused, my hearing cleared, my heart slowed as my body adjusted.

I fought the darkness that threatened my vision, and I fought it back.

"Mister Carter?" asked Alfonse, standing over me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm great," I gasped with a smile.

***

Doctor William Tage stormed down the hall, keeping pace with the guards in front of him and leading the way to those behind him. He did not speak, nor did anyone speak to him, not wanting to incur his wrath as he was obviously furious.

He was furious at the Carter boy for daring to attempt an escape. He was furious at the guards who escorted him for letting him get the best of them. He was furious at Doctor Howard Lane for his office being used as a fortress that Carter hid inside.

Furious at himself for thinking he was actually starting to get through to the boy, starting to make progress, starting to find the roots of his problems.

Any thoughts of possibly letting Jeffery Carter go in the future were pushed further and further out of Tage's head with every step he took down the hall.

The hall he walked down at least five times a day.

The hall that now seemed impossibly long as he tried to get to Jeffery Carter and stop the man before he caused any harm to anyone.

No one escaped Alhazred. And Doctor Tage was going to ensure that personally.

***

I grabbed the needle I had just stabbed myself with and poked myself with it in a grand test.

It broke the skin, but only after a little more effort than it did the first time around.

"It worked," I said, trying to convince myself, convince my mind, remembering how Doc Tage said all of my powers were in my head. "It worked."

I pulled the needle out and sat for a couple seconds, ignoring the noises on the other side of the door, the banging, and pleas for me to come out so no one got hurt.

I poked myself with the needle again.

Only, this time, the skin simply indented around the tip of the needle, keeping the sharp point out.

I looked up to Alfonse.

"Alfonse, ol' buddy, I think I'm ready to go home."

"Easier said than done, Mister Carter," said Alfonse, shaking his head as I stood up, baton still in hand.

"What do you know about this place?"

"We are on the third out of five floors of the asylum," said Alfonse as I scanned along the walls and ceiling of the room for some sort of vent or escape. "The higher you go, the more powerful the inmates. You are considered a mid-grade threat."

"Mid-grade?" I asked, looking to Alfonse briefly. "What an ego booster. I bet the put most of the guys I've caught on the fourth floor, condescending bastards."

"You are also not going to find an air vent in here large enough to fit through," said Alfonse. "Cooling, heating and ventilation are provided by seven centimeter pipes that run through solid concrete and all lead to an air pump in the second basement."

"Crap. So the only way out is through the hallway?"

"It is your best bet," said Alfonse, "but if they are under lock down, as I assume they are, then you're chances of getting out have been seriously hindered."

"How so?"

"Electronic locking system on all doors, only authorized personnel can get through and that's after they are checked through surveillance cameras and carry the proper identification badges."

"Ooooo.... high tech."

"You are in a hospital for deranged people with super powers, Mister Carter. They have things in this hospital the military could not even dream of."

"I bet. So, can I just bust my way out?"

"Bust is a noun, not a verb, Mister Carter," said Alfonse with a smirk.

"Thank you for the comedic relief, Alfonse." I stepped towards the far wall of the room. "How close to an outside wall are we?"

"The outside world is about fifteen meters away from that wall," said Alfonse with a light gesture towards the wall I stepped towards. "Within those fifteen meters are a row of cells, each reinforced by concrete and steel, followed by a meter of solid concrete, twenty centimeters of solid steel, and another meter of concrete."

"And a partridge in a pear tree," I said, running my hand along the wall. I quickly balled up my fist and slammed it into the smooth wall, tearing into it slightly and pulling away faster than I hit. "Ow, fuck, ouch." I tried to open my hand but couldn't get past a claw. "Okay, maybe I'm not perfect yet." I looked down.

"How thick are these floors?"

***

"Jeffery?" shouted Doctor Tage from outside the room, trying to get the man's attention. "Jeffery, please answer me."

"Jeff's not in right now!" came a shout back. "But if you'll leave a message I'm sure he'll get back to you as soon as possible. BEEP!"

Tage shook his head with a sigh as he stepped back from the door.

"Gentlemen," he said with a wave towards the door. Two men stepped forward, a battering ram held between them. The edged towards the door and started their count.

They reared back.

"Hey, guys?" shouted a voice from inside the room. Tage grabbed the end of the ram, being pulled slightly when the men tried to bring it forward but stopping it and himself before it struck the door.

"Yes, Jeffery?" asked Tage.

"You all got any toilet paper out there? Howie seems to be all out."

"Get him out of there," said Tage through clenched teeth as he stepped aside. The two men brought the battering ram back and then forward, quick and hard, striking the door and making a dent.

But the sound from the hit was louder than they expected. And deeper. They paused for a moment, listening. There the sound was again, from inside the room. Carter was doing something. The floor shook as they heard the sound again.

"GET IN THERE!" shouted Tage, turning to two other guards. "I want you to go downstairs to the second floor lab, he's going through the floor. I want him taken down, but do not kill him. Be careful, he's angry and if he has his powers back he will be very dangerous."

***

I brought my fists back up over my head, ignoring the pain running through my arms and hands, and brought them back down into the floor, tile and concrete flying up around me. I had created a crater about two feet wide faster than I had expected to, but that didn't mean all progress was running that smoothly.

Two feet deep and I was still having to dig.

"How thick are these floors again?" I asked Alfonse as I brought my hands down again.

"A meter of solid concrete," said Alfonse.

"Uh huh," I said, "and remind me again how long a meter is?"

"Are you serious?"

"I'm an American," I said, "humor me."

"A meter is about as high as your waist."

I stopped for a moment, standing in my hole and setting a hand flat on the floor, running it across the air and to the middle of my thigh.

"Almost," I said, bringing my fists back up. I heard another bang at the door but ignored it as I punched once again into the floor. "Eureka!"

Light from whatever room was underneath me shined through a tiny hole I had made. I punched again and again, standing upright and stomping. Then there was a loud bang at the door and I heard it come crashing in. I looked up to see at least five rent-a-cop looking guards charge in, guns drawn.

I stomped one last time and that was all I needed.

I fell through the floor.

I landed on my ass but quickly bounded to my feet, looking around for a moment to figure out where I was.

Out of the frying pan and into....

Heaven?

The room was clean and white and full of female nurses. REAL nurses. Oh, dear Lord, how I dreamed of this moment.

"Hello, ladies," I said with a smirk. Five nurses and what I assumed was an inmate all stood in the room, backing away from me.

Then I heard the door start to open.

"Shit," I said, rushing into the door and throwing myself at it, closing it on a guard who was halfway in. He shouted as I heard a snap from what I assumed was his arm or leg getting caught. I grabbed his gun that poked through the crack and elbowed his hand as I leaned into the door. He let go and pulled back, letting me close the door.

"ALFONSE!" I shouted. The butler dropped through the hole in the ceiling and landed on his feet on the floor. "Where to?"

"I have no idea," he said, shaking his head.

I looked up and saw a gun poking through the hole. With a quick aim I fired at it and watched it pull back and a dart hit the inside of the hole and then fall to the floor.

"Darts?" I said, looking from the crumpled dart to the gun in my hand. I looked to Alfonse who just shrugged. Then I saw a head poke through the hole in the ceiling. I fired again, the dart skimming the head as it pulled back.

I ran across the room and grabbed one of the nurses by her arm, the others screaming and backing away.

"I'm so sorry, maam," I said, wrapping an arm around the nurse I grabbed and holding the gun to her head. "I'm really a nice guy, I swear."

The door to the room burst open and guards spilled in as others dropped from the ceiling.

Fuck.

I backed myself up against the wall, holding my hostage close.

"Maam, what's your name?" I asked the lady as I held her tight.

"Ra... Rachel..." she said.

"Rachel what?"

"Rachel Ember."

"Nurse Ember," I said, "I'm Jeffery Carter, it's a pleasure to meet you. I apologize for the circumstances."

About fifteen guards filled the room, all aiming at me. I couldn't see Alfonse anywhere. Crap.

"Hey, guys," I said to the guards as the stood ready, "any of you all catch the game against Harbour City the other night?"

No one replied as they closed in.

"HEY!" I shouted, pulling Nurse Ember tighter against me and pushing the gun against her head just a wee bit harder. She whimpered. "Sorry," I whispered in her ear. "BACK UP!" I shouted. The guards paused and seemed to be unsure of what to do next. "I said BACK THE FUCK UP!!!"

A couple near the front started to take a few steps back.

"Jeffery," I heard from the back as the guards parted. Doctor William Tage stepped forwards, his hands up, the look on his face sad. "Jeffery, please."

"Heya, Doc," I said. "Good thing you didn't take that bet."

"You have not escaped Alhazred," said Tage, his look turning to pity. "Nor will you, Jeffery. Look around you. You're surrounded by guards and have no idea how to make your way around these halls."

"I can make my own halls," I said.

"Can you do it fast enough? If it's a matter of pride, Jeffery, you're attempts have already gotten you further than any inmate before you."

"Don't stop measuring yet, Doc," I said, staring him in the eyes, but watching the guards out of the corner of mine. A couple tried to creep closer. "I SAID STAY THE FUCK BACK!" I shouted, looking at them and holding Nurse Ember tight.

"Jeffery, don't do this," said Tage. "This isn't you. You're one of the good guys."

"Then why the hell are you keeping me in here, Doc? I'm a good guy, let me go."

"Even the good guys need help time to time, Jeffery."

"And this is not my time, Doc."

"Really? Jeffery, you're a smart man, look around you. Look at what's going on. Is this right? Is this normal? Is this sane?"

"Ask him about Vapour and Venus," whispered a voice in my ear. I didn't bother to look at Alfonse, keeping an eye on Tage. "Ask about his letting them go for the commissioner and mayor's pet project."

"Is letting two dangerous criminals go for the sake of political ploys sane, Doc?" Tage went wide eyes. "Where are Vapour and Venus Mantrap, Doctor Tage? Are they in their cells, getting the help they need? How many people have they killed, Doctor, how many more will they have to kill before you really start helping them."

"Other patients are none of your concern!" shouted Tage. I noticed a couple guards falter. I don't think they knew much about what I was saying. Hell, neither did I. But it didn't sound good for Doctor Tage.

"Ask about why he released them to help capture Millennium Man," whispered Alfonse.

"He did what?" I asked, turning slightly towards Alfonse and then back to Tage. "Doctor, do you have any interest in how I was apprehended and brought here? The method or the means or the reasons?"

"You were brought here to get help, Jeffery," said Tage, holding up his hands in a gesture for calm.

"Doctor Tage, Billy-boy, did you released two known and very dangerous criminals so they could assist a big tin can apprehend Millennium Man?" Tage's jaw dropped. "You son of a bitch," I said just above a growl. "DID YOU RELEASE TWO PSYCHOPATHS TO HAVE THEM USE THE SAME FUCKING MACHINE THAT KILLED TWO INNOCENT PEOPLE TO GET TO ME?"

Tage's mouth opened and shut as he searched for words to say.

"Millennium Man's a fucking HERO! You're sending villains out to beat up a hero? Who's side are you on?!!"

"Mister Carter," said Tage, finally finding words, "I hope you appreciate the irony of your questions considering you are the one holding a gun to Nurse Ember's head."

I looked to my side to try and see Alfonse but to no avail. He was gone again. Fuck.

"I want out of here," I said, finally noticing my shaking hands.

"Jeffery, let me help you," he said, stepping towards me with his hands out, reaching for the gun. "Please, Jeffery, give me the gun."

I trained the barrel of the gun onto him.

"You look tired, Doc," I said, closing one eye as to aim. Tage raised his hands and took a step back. "So now you're helping the same machine that killed two people?" I shook my head.

"Jeffery," said Tage, "those people were dead before the machine threw..."

I fired a dart into him.

"I DID NOT KILL THEM!!!" I shouted as Tage slumped to the ground. I pulled Nurse Ember tighter against me as the guards tensed and aimed. "AND BACK THE FUCK UP!"

They didn't move.

"Nurse Ember," I whispered in her ear, "maam. I'm going to let you go and I want you to get out of my way as quick as possible. Nod if you agree." She rapidly nodded her head. "Good, thank you, I'm sorry for the trouble. On three. One... Two...

"THREE!"

She did beautifully, running to the side as I let go of her and charged towards the guards. I ducked and ran into a couple with my shoulders, picking one up as I went and using him to run into others. A group of guards and I fell out of the room and into the hallway and I quickly pulled myself away from them, snatching a cattle prod thingy from one of their hands.

"I'll take that!" I said, bringing it around and zapping the pile of guards that unsuccessfully tried to untangle itself. I turned and ran down the hall, ignoring the noises and the darts bouncing off of me. I passed a turn and another, heading straight down the hall towards the wall at the end, pumping my legs harder and harder, trying to push myself faster.

I lashed out as I ran into the wall, tearing into it as hard as I could, hoping above all hope my strength was back up or that the collision would knock me out so I didn't feel every bone in my body break.

I tore through the wall, slipped and fell, sliding across the floor and stopping against a wall.

Squeals, screeches, and the feeling of water raining down upon me informed me that I had once again stepped into some kind of dream world.

I opened my eyes to a bunch of naked women scrambling to cover themselves in the public shower I had crashed into.

But I didn't have time to enjoy the view.

I scrambled to my feet as I looked through the hole I had made and saw guards coming down the hall at me.

I pushed past the groups of women trying to get away from me and right past the female guards who stood by the door to the showers and into the hall. I looked to my right and didn't like the sight of the group of guards running my way, so I ran towards the left, stopping as a second group of guards came from the other end of the hall.

"Shit," I said, looking around for an escape.

I tore through a wall opposite from the showers.

And found a big hole. Or shaft rather.

"Yea!" I said, leaping into the elevator shaft I had opened up. I grabbed onto the ladder across the way and started to climb up as best I could with a cattle prod in my hands. Yeah, I said up. Sure I was on the second floor, but if I went down one more I'd have to fight my way out, but if I went up I'd discover a roof, right?

Yeah.

So I climbed up as quick as I could, ignoring the lights and darts that came after me and looking down to see guards coming my way. I flicked on the cattle prod and dropped it, shocking side down. I didn't bother to wait to see the results, resuming my climb.

Luck was on my side or I just had incredible timing as I climbed past elevator doors just before they pulled them open. I got to the roof with no one bothering me and started pounding on the ceiling, denting the metal roof of the shaft. I grabbed onto a cross beam and swung myself up, kicking into the ceiling, ignoring the sounds of the guards beneath me, the moving elevator, the darts heading my way.

I also ignored the fact I was losing my grip until it was too late.

I fell down the shaft, past the open doors and the guards on the ladders, through the roof of the moving elevator and pudding a damn good dent into the floor. I slowly pulled myself up, trying to absorb the pain in my body. Yeah, I was invulnerable again, but it was going to be a while before I got used to the beating I could take.

The elevator dinged and I turned to see the doors opening to a hallway full of guards, cattle prods ready.

Then the alarm went off. And not just any alarm. A loud, angry one that got the attention of all the guards. And, if the alarm wasn't enough, the burst of flame through one of the now open cell doors certainly got a perk out of them.

People started stepping from their cells, charging into the guards gathered in the hall, tearing through them. The guards turned and tried to stop this new threat, all but a few who stood, prods ready, fear mixed with hate in their eyes.

"I think you guys got bigger problems to deal with right now," I said, pointing behind them. They turned to face a huge gray beast of a thing towering over them, it's mouth wide, it's teeth sharp, it's arms opening to take them into a wicked embrace.

And I pressed the "Close Doors" on the elevator and leapt up through the hole I made in the ceiling before I saw the carnage.

I climbed back up the ladder and started hammering at the ceiling again, poking a little hole at first and then pulling away at it and then tearing into the concrete beyond.

Then the sky fell in on me, pouring through the hole and filling my lungs with fresh, clean night air. I worked faster, tearing away stone and widening the hole, then reaching up and pulling myself through and onto the roof.

I raised my arms into the air and gave a shout of triumph.

And then I recalled something Alfonse had said to me.

"Ask about why he released them to help capture Millennium Man."

Capture. Present tense. Alfonse is proper enough to where if they were still in the effort of capturing, he'd have said so.

And where would the keep a captured Millennium Man?

I turned back towards the hole and stopped with Alfonse facing me.

"And where are you going, Mister Carter?" asked Alfonse with crossed arms as he stood between me and the hole.

"Millennium Man's here, isn't he?" I asked, wanting to know for sure.

"I believe so," said Alfonse with a grim look on his face.

"Then I'm going back," I said, starting to push past Alfonse.

He grabbed my arm.

"Mister Carter, Alhazred is going through a riot unlike any it has seen before. The inmates are indeed running the asylum tonight. If Millennium Man wanted to leave, he would."

"What if he's drugged, Alfonse? Like me? He's a sitting duck."

"Mister Carter," said Alfonse, "now is the time to look out for number one."

And, as if to punctuate Alfonse's point, an explosion tore into the air further along the roof, chunks of concrete and brick following a pillar of fire and smoke.

Crap.

I looked to the hole for a moment and then back to Alfonse, but he was gone.

Crap.

I turned and ran towards the edge of the roof, screaming loud curses into the night air as I fell like a rock to the ground below.

Note: Sorry it's so damn long. - Luv and mush, J~
02/04/03