Chapter 15: Chapter 15
Summary:
Things get a little tense at the hospital for Maddie. She and Jack have a heart-to-heart. Sam and Tucker question Maddie, then the doctor does too. The League gets a report on what happens.
Notes:
Now that Invisobang is over, I will be able to focus more on this story! I can't make promises on an update schedule yet, but I'm doing my best! I hope you all enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Text
"Ok, Mrs. Fenton. Tell me again what happened." The detective sighed and shook his head. The woman was hiding something—he just didn't know what.
"I've told you and the doctors, already! We were routing power and the relay didn't work. Danny left the safe zone and touched the breaker box. There was a short in it, and he got electrocuted. My husband was injured when he pulled Danny off of the current."
"That's it? Are you sure that is exactly what happened? Your 'light experiment' had nothing to do with it?"
"I've made my statement. We're done. You want more—talk to my lawyer. I'm going to sit with my family."
Maddie turned on her heel and left the weary officer behind in the consulting room. She made her way to Jack's room. The man had been thoroughly checked, and was recovering nicely. He was only being kept the night for observation. Maddie found it strange to see him in something other than his orange jumpsuit.
"Hey, honey. How are you feeling?" She gently wiped her husband's hair away from his face.
"Mmm. Better now." Jack leaned into her touch. "How's Danny?"
Maddie sighed. "He is having some issues with his heart, but the burns are the worse part." An unnoticed tear ran down her cheek. It left a small wet spot on Jack's blanket. "They're not sure yet if he's going to need surgery. He's in ICU right now, and when his heart stabilizes, they're going to move him to the Burn Unit."
"This is all my fault!" Jack felt responsible for the entire situation. "If I hadn't made us wait for him to try turning on the portal, this never would have happened!"
"Hush, honey. I'm just as much to blame as you are. We both need to deal with our emotions so that we can focus on Danny's recovery." She still hadn't told him about Danny's appearance—and lack of vital signs—that had occurred when he was first pulled out of the portal. It made her feel a bit guilty—she was hiding it, after all—but she wanted to make sure that everyone was going to be ok before opening that particular can of worms.
Jack noticed her silence. "Mads, what are you thinking about right now? You look so far away."
The teal-suited woman turned her gaze back to her love. "It's nothing. I'm just tired. That's all."
Jack frowned. He knew his wife. She was definitely keeping something from him, but he knew from experience that she wouldn't tell him until she was ready to talk about it. "There's a pull-out bed in the chair next to me. Why don't you take a nap?"
Maddie gave a half-smile. "I need to go check on Danny again, first. I don't want him to be alone any more than necessary."
A large hand reached up and cradled Maddie's cheek. "We're going to get through this. I promise. That boy is a Fenton, he's going to come out of this stronger; I just know it!"
"I love you, honey."
"I love you too, Mads. Now go check on our kid. I'll be here when you need me."
Maddie turned her face and pressed a kiss into Jack's palm. Without another word, she slipped off of Jack's extra-large hospital bed and walked towards the door. With a final look back, she waved and headed towards the ICU. She hoped that the doctors were done with all the testing. She really wanted to see her son.
When she reached the ICU, it was nearly "Visiting Hour" time. The waiting room was full of anxious people awaiting their turn with their sick and dying. Maddie looked around the room and spotted Tucker and Sam sitting in a corner. Tucker was typing madly on his PDA, and Sam was scowling at the window. Neither one noticed her. She quietly made her way through the room.
"Hey kids. How are you guys holding up?"
Tucker squeaked and jerked into a straight sitting position. Sam gave him the side-eye and huffed a breath. She was the first one to speak. "What happened to Danny, Mrs. Fenton?? No one will tell us anything other than that he's in the ICU. They won't let us in, either."
Maddie looked at the floor and took a deep breath. She turned her gaze towards her son's best friends. "There was an accident in the lab with the portal. Danny got electrocuted when he touched a live breaker box that had shorted out. We tried to stop him, but…"
The accusing look in Sam's eyes darkened. "Why won't they let us in to see him?"
"Sweetie, Danny has some really nasty burns, and he's in a sterile room. Until he stabilizes and is moved to the Burn Unit, I'm afraid that they're only letting immediate family in to see him."
"Where's Jazz?" Tucker finally found his voice. "Why isn't she here?"
"Jazz left a few days ago for summer camp. I thought Danny had told you." The listening pair both shook their heads. Maddie sighed. "She's flying in tomorrow."
"Are they going to let her see Danny?" Sam's voice was edgy and harsh.
"Of course they are! She's his sister, and…" Maddie looked away and swallowed. "….and we don't know yet if he's going to recover."
Sam's hissed inhalation was in perfect sync with Tucker's whispered, "Danny?" Tears formed in both pairs of eyes as the teens took in the new information. Tucker choked out, "Will we…get to say goodbye—if it comes to that?"
Maddie's silent tears dripped to the floor. She nodded. "I'll make sure of it."
A nurse stepped in the doorway and looked around the room. "Mrs. Fenton? Is Mrs. Madeline Fenton here?"
Maddie turned and faced the unreadable nurse. "Yes."
"Ma'am, Dr. Severn would like to speak with you."
"Of course, I'm coming." Maddie's soul felt like it was going to be crushed. She prepared for the worst, but managed a small smile when she looked back at her son's best friends. "It'll be alright, kids." She didn't begrudge their looks of disbelief. She didn't believe herself.
The mother of two took a fortifying breath and followed the nurse out of the waiting room. The nurse used her badge to open the door to the ward. The "click" if the barrier unlocking sent a wave of dread through Maddie. Why was the doctor asking for her?? She had no idea.
They made their way past curtained rooms, vital-sign monitors, and crash carts in the hallway. Once they arrived at the nurses' desk, the dark-headed doctor who had admitted Danny stood up from his chair. "Mrs. Fenton? Please join me in the consultation room."
Maddie numbly followed him. "What's this about? When can I see Danny?"
Dr. Severn didn't answer her until they were in the small room with the door closed. "Mrs. Fenton," he started. "You told us that he touched a live breaker box on accident—and that it was the source of the electrical damage we found. I need to know whatever it is about his accident that you're keeping from us. Don't lie to me; I can easily ask the police and CPS to find out those answers if you do."
Maddie sat down hard. Police? CPS? What were they looking for? "I'm not entirely sure what you want to know…"
The doctor pulled no punches. He leveled her with a look. "Ma'am, we found a strange substance in his blood. It doesn't appear radioactive by our instruments, but the energy field it puts out is traceable. Barely, but it is definitively there. Would you care to enlighten me as to its source so that I can better care for your child?"
Maddie dropped her chin to her chest. She couldn't look the man in the eyes. "It is probably ecto-radiation that you are detecting. The substance is ectoplasm…"
"Ectoplasm—as in 'ghosts'?" The man's tone was flat.
Anger flared in Maddie's stomach, and her guilty feelings evaporated. "You asked me for the truth, and I'm giving it to you! Our experiment wasn't exactly about 'light'—it was more about trying to make a portal—and Danny was caught up at ground zero when the thing activated." She hissed.
The doctor sat back in his chair. He didn't look upset anymore. He looked rather intrigued. "Hm. This changes things. It also explains why he's still alive, I think." He rubbed his chin. "This 'ectoplasm' appears very similar to another substance that I am familiar with…" Dr. Severn looked at the ceiling for a long minute before he spoke again. "Tell me, where exactly is this 'portal' supposed to lead to?"
Maddie's scowl could have burned the paint off of the walls. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
The doctor scoffed. "Try me."
"It leads to what we're calling the 'Ghost Zone'—the dimension that the ectoplasmic creatures we call 'ghosts' come from."
"You're right, I don't believe you."
"And I don't care! I've told you the truth—what more do you want from me?!"
"You're telling me that you punched a hole into the—afterlife? Seriously?" Severn shook his head.
"That was the target, yes." Maddie managed to speak through gritted teeth.
"Huh. I'll…take that under advisement. I'm going to need to take this up with a higher authority to see how we can go about treating your son, but this new information is actually good news…if I can believe it. And—if you managed to succeed at what you tried, he will probably make a full recovery."
Maddie's heart got proverbial whiplash at how fast her emotions changed. "How—why would that make a difference?"
"Well, if things tie together like I think, the substance in his blood may be healing him. Honestly, he shouldn't have survived this long, just based on the electrical burn damage. The fact that he is alive and improving says a lot for your theory, anyway."
Maddie didn't hear anything but "alive and improving." Hope flared in her heart for the first time since this ordeal began. "You think he's going to make it?"
The doctor's smiled. "Yes, yes I do."
"When can I go see him?"
"The nurse will take you into the ancillary area to get you outfitted for Danny's room. We still need to take precautions to keep his burns from getting infected."
Maddie let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Thank you!" Relief was evident in her voice.
"Don't thank me yet. He's still not out of the woods. Go see your son, Mrs. Fenton. He needs you right now."
Maddie nodded and left to find the nurse. It was time to go see her boy.
👻👻👻👻👻👻👻
Dr. Severn walked back to his office in contemplation. He couldn't stop thinking about the substance in Daniel Fenton's blood. It looked like it came from the Lazarus Pit, but wasn't an exact chemical match. The stuff in his blood was almost more—pure, if that could even be a thing. One thing was sure. He was going to have to give a very detailed explanation in his report to the League. The Demon's Head was sure to be interested in this family now.
Severn didn't know if that was going to be better or worse for the Fentons. Regardless, he would do his best to help the child heal—unless he received explicit orders otherwise. Ra's al Ghul's word was the Law in this town, and Dr. Severn was not willing to fail in his duty to his master.
The doctor finally reached his office and locked himself in. After engaging the anti-spy measures in place, he headed straight to his computer. He logged off of the hospital network and into the Shadow network that ran discreetly on many of the computers in the hospital. He began typing:
SUBJECT: "ECTOPLASMIC RADIATION" AND ITS SIMILARITY TO SUBSTANCE L1
PRIMARY SUBJECT: PATIENT DANIEL FENTON [identified as clone JTW3]
SECONDARY PERSONS OF INTEREST: JACK FENTON AND MADELINE FENTON
SUMMARY OF TODAY'S OBSERVATION:
Patient Daniel Fenton [JTW3] was admitted this afternoon after an accident in his adoptive parents' lab. JTW3 was damaged by an extreme amount of electricity, which, according to the blood analysis, activated his meta gene. The accident also exposed JTW3 to a novel form of radiation, identified by Madeline Fenton as "ecto-radiation" which was a by-product produced during the opening of the interdimensional portal created today in the Fentons' basement lab. [See attachment 1] This portal is said to lead to what Fenton called "The Ghost Zone," more commonly referred to as the afterlife…
Dr. Severn detailed Danny's injuries, his blood composition, and his new healing factor, along with the information about Jack Fenton's treatment and everything he knew about the situation. It took him several hours to complete the day's report.
Once finished, the League doctor gave a weary sigh and sent the completed document. After turning off his computer, he got up and drank a glass of water before removing his coat. Finished for the evening, he lay down on the cot in his office and was asleep almost immediately.
Across the world, Ra's al Ghul had just finished his noon meal when he received an alert from one of his couriers. Apparently, something interesting had happened in his little town. After a millennium of existence, very few things brought excitement to the Demon's Head, so getting exceptional news from his "human terrarium" was a nice treat. He settled back in his chair and opened the missive. Oh, he thought to himself. Amity Park was certainly starting to pay off on the investment now…
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