The staff comes to see what is happening as Doctor Clarke keeps Steven pin against the wall. A few staff members begin to shout for security. Steven’s attention shifts from Doctor Clarke’s glare to his chest by a small change in the Doc’s size causing his shirt button to strain. “Don’t do that here,” he whispers. “Let’s do it here!” Steven says louder.

Doctor Clarke glances down, realizes his size is growing slightly, exhales, and puts Steven down. Steven’s eyes shift at the Doctor’s change without a remote. Doctor Clarke half-heartedly smiles at the staff and says a few things. The staff leaves as the two men walk slowly down the hallway a little. “How did you do that?” Steven did not hide his curiosity.

“You really didn’t learn about your system?” Doctor Clarke snipes at Steven. Steven still looks as eager as a puppy with a new friend causing Doctor Clarke to sigh.

“That’s not what you want to talk about though,” Steven begins again.

Doctor Clarke glances at him. All the seriousness in Steven’s tone is matching his body posture and face. Even with the stern-looking resolve Steven is showing Doctor Clarke is still upset, “That gym should have been safe. Nothing should have happened to her there. I thought you would have taken care of her after reading my note. Especially after that night.”

Steven shifts back on his feet as his face feels hot, “I did.” He sighs and rubs his neck as his mind starts going through a few things. “We were always careful. She was great. It... I. I just found out about what happened,” he begins.

“And?”

“I haven’t figured out what to do yet.”

The elevator chimes again. This time a woman and a pair of men come out. Doctor Clarke’s eyes widen, “You.” He starts back down the hallway. “I saw you at the airport. You were with her that day,” he begins ranting as he points at Athena. Athena and the group turn towards the noise. Steven catches up. “It was you. You killed my girl!” Doctor Clarke shouts. The staff leans out again.

Steven catches the doctor before he gets to Athena. He wrestles his hands down as he tries to pin him, “Not here. Not here.”

He thrust against Steven a few times, trying to get by. Finally, he huffs and growls slightly as he calms down, “Fine. My office.”

Doctor Clarke leads the way, storming and fuming. Steven, while surprise is showing seems much more together now, follows closely behind. The group barely recovers from the hallway confusion enough to go to the office.

Doctor Clarke’s office is always clean and very organized in appearance. Today though the chairs are to the wall, books are everywhere, some pictures are face down, and papers are across his desk under a photo album. Steven watches the doctor sit down and motion him to the chair across from the desk. Athena gets a side glare from him while no one else is even worth his acknowledgment.

Steven asks, “What happened with the surgery?”

Doctor Clarke slips the album away before he begins explaining, “A lot happened with the surgery, which she still had because of the intense care I gave her when she got back from their trip.” He is not hiding the glare or snarl in his tone for Athena. “I had to flush her system, like a cleanse. I wanted it to be more natural and safer. She seemed to be having an intense nanite reaction but it wasn’t like any I have seen before. I’m not surprised since there is no accounting for what her mother did to her.”

“Mother?”

“A crazy bitch,” Doctor Clarke mutters as he rubs his head. “Smart but crazy and twice as lethal.”

“Anyway,” Steven tries to bring the conversation back on topic.

“Right,” the doctor sits up. “She cleared the required health checks for the mastectomy. The surgeon is an ass but great at his job. When they were going after the noids and muscle tissue they saw small irregularities. So, they removed them. Damaging any muscle or tissue it was connected to. All of it,” he pauses to let it set in. “Her entire system was violently purged and most of her upper body tissue is damaged because of it. Since he didn’t know of any nanotech work on her the surgeon just purged it all.”

Steven shifts in the chair as his fingers play with his chin. Doctor Clarke is not known for his soft touch but this causes a void to develop inside Steven. He is not the only one adjusting to the news. Mark and Raph shift on their feet. Mark covers his mouth. Athena begins to gasp as she squeezes the chair handles. She starts to twitch as her stomach tries to empty itself. Raph grabs her shoulder. She squeezes his hand.

Doctor Clarke rocks back in his chair as his hand runs through his beard, “The concern now is the hospital policy to keep all samples till the patient can sign off on their destruction upon nanotech discovery. That means her tissues and nanotech are just sitting there for anyone to examine. I’m not sure what the officials are going to do, to any of us, if they find NeoMuscle in her system.”

“But what are you currently concerned about?” Steven catches. Doctor Clarke looks at him. “I know that look. You’re thinking of something.”

Doctor Clarke smirks for a moment before his gaze returns to his desk, “The main worry is that the shock of removal, as well as the tissue damage, might cause multiple issues if she ever wakes up. And why there was so much leftover to start with.”

“Wake up?”

Doctor Clarke does not miss a beat as he begins stroking his beard, “Taking that much out of her body sent her into a state of shock. She didn’t regain consciousness after the operation.” He is only silent for a moment before his mind begins to spiral. “Difficultly during the operation might have been too much stress for her system. She might not wake up. Even then most of her muscles will be gone or damaged by then. It might be better if she doesn’t. First her mother, then her father… I’m not sure...” he covers his face as his mind begins looping memories.

That giant man, Viola’s father, his dearest friend, felt more and more like Santa Claus as his hair turn white. Finally having his own child only increased his friendliness towards children in general. It only made him more enjoyable to be around. Her father always made Benard smile.

Doctor Clarke looks at his hand. ‘His little flower bud,’ plays in his mind with the image of her father holding her as an infant. Now he is going to lose the last person he has connecting them. Even with his invention inside him, losing her means losing the last piece of him.

“Doc?”

He glances up. ‘Right. They’re still here,’ he thinks as he looks around his office. “That is all I have to tell you about her condition and the surgery. So, I suggest that you get out of my office. I have work to do,” Doctor Clarke begins as he walks to the door. He ushers everyone out but keeps Steven close. The rest leave without noticing that Steven does not follow.

He walks him to the glass of the intensive care unit, “You seem to be the one she cared about the most. It is up to you if you want to see her like this or not.”

Steven nods. He takes a step and looks in to see Viola.

Her chest is bandaged but still has drainage tubes coming out, iv lines in an arm while monitoring cords on the other, a tube down her throat, and a blanket covering her from the bottom of the ribs down. He did expect a decrease in her chest. They were trying to prepare for it.

But the noticeable decrease in her arms, the ones she worked so hard to build up, is a shock. It all makes her look-

“Deflated...”