What If-Chp1

Started & Completed: 11-06-04

WHAT IF…

“This is not good. This is so not good.”

OJ was still hanging onto the strip of glue that was dangling just above Shane’s real eyelashes. The nurses were taking the crying Shane further and further away from the ward and slowly out into the waiting room where his Uncle Bob stood waiting outside. Shane struggled and cried in Uncle Bob’s arms, demanding to be brought back into the ward to see her dad, and OJ was trying not to fall off onto the solid floor below and break into pieces. She was making a loud racket in the hospital and the attendants have no choice but to call the nurses to sedate her. OJ could see the nurses coming in with a syringe and Uncle Bob held out her arm to let the nurse inject her with a sedative.

“No! No, no, no! Don’t do that, man! I need to get back to Frank! Don’t inject her with no morphine or anything, come on!”

Too late. He could see the needle of the syringe stuck into Shane’s arm and Shane slowly fading away into unconsciousness. Her body began to slump to the floor and one o the attendants caught her just in time and carried her into an empty ward to sleep. OJ struggled hard to keep his hold on the strip of glue above her eyelash.

“Damn! Damn, damn, damn! Why do they always have to do that? Frank is gonna be toast in there and I have his hypothalamus here!” OJ complained as he strained to climb up to Shane’s eyelid. While he was figuring out how he was going to return to Frank’s body, he heard the doctor talking to Uncle Bob.

“I’m sorry, sir. His body temperature went up too high too fast. We couldn’t save him in time.”

“You mean…You mean…Frank’s…dead…?”

“I’m very sorry.”

“Oh no, what am I going to tell Shane?”

Dead? Dead? Frank can’t be dead! He was so close! So close into saving Frank! He almost went through oblivion just to defeat Thrax and get back that bracelet and now he’s dead?! ‘This is a nightmare!’ he thought. ‘This is a serious, serious nightmare! This is the worst nightmare in the whole reality! Could it mean that Drix…and…and Leah are…’

He stared at the bracelet that was wrapped around his wrist. The bracelet that contained Frank’s hypothalamus DNA he had fought with his life for. Now that he had got it, he was too late to save him. He was too late to go back to Frank’s body and get the hypothalamus DNA into Frank’s system. He was too late to save his partner, his chief, his love…

Throwing the bracelet as far away as possible, he let out a scream of defeat and agony.

“Looks good on you, Jones. You wear it well!”

OJ choked as he felt the wrath of the bracelet around his neck. Struggling to breathe, he fought with all his might to try and free himself from being strangled to death and trying to figure out how he was going to get the bracelet under his possession to save Frank from being a human torch.

“He’s burning up! We need to cool his body down!”

OJ finally got the bracelet. He watched as Thrax disintegrated into that weird chemical he had fallen into. He was getting ready to find a way to get to Frank when the whole nightmare began again: Shane taken further and further away from the emergency ward and was injected with the sedative. The worst thing was he saw Frank's body started to burst into flames and those flames formed the shape of Thrax's head. He could hear him laughing menacingly in victory at OJ...

OJ scared himself awake. He looked around him and was relieved to see no Thrax, no fire, no dangers ahead, nothing. He was safe. Safe from Thrax's clutches and safe from everything he had tried to fight for.

OJ quickly crawled further out of sight when he heard footsteps and people talking. He stole a peek and noticed that there were a few red blood cells—a couple, actually—standing near the eye watching the view before them, talking sweet nothings to each other. It dawned to OJ that after he had let out his scream of rage and defeat, he suddenly felt an overwhelming feeling of fatigue and had staggered absentmindedly into Shane's eye and inside her body until he found a spot to lie down. He had blacked out soon after and didn't wake up until that nightmare did the honours for him.

Looking at the couple, he was slowly reminded of him and Leah. Leah had always played the hard-to-get type and had always said that OJ wasn't her type. He knew he was the kind that was all talk and all show-off and everything, but that's the only way he could express himself in front of Leah. Talking sweet lovie-dovies and romantic fluff was definitely not his style. But he did, however did something quite romantic later on—the kiss he gave Leah before he blasted himself out of Frank's body was still fresh in his mind. This was the first time he had ever been so direct to Leah without using any fancy words.

And his last time.

The couple stay there for a moment or so before moving to some place else. OJ sighed in relief. He sure didn't want to be found; not under these circumstances. He felt bitter and his heart ached at the thought that he had failed Frank and had killed everyone he cared about inside Frank. He was never going to see Drix, his best partner he ever had; the Chief whom he looked up to like a second father; and most importantly Leah, his one and only true love. He didn't think he would ever be able to get over the guilt. Not ever.

He was about to decide that he was going to stay in this corner he's hiding for the rest of his life wallowing in self-pity when a pair of raven-black eyes stared widely at him. OJ was shocked and almost wanted to shout in horror when he realized that the eyes that were staring at him belonged to a young muscle cell. OJ calmed down a little.

"Hey, kid. What are you doing here?"

The muscle cell didn't reply. He continued to stare at OJ with interest, like he was some kind of a new cell.

"Go away, kid. Leave me alone. There ain't nothing to see here. Go home to your mommy or something."

"What are you doing here?" the little muscle cell asked.

"None of your business, kid. Go bother someone else."

"Are you a virus?"

"Do I look like something contagious to you, kid?" OJ exclaimed, feeling offended. "Of course not! I am Osmosis Jones, a white blood cell! I work in the immunity force and bust virus, not become one! Who are you anyway? What are you doing here?"

"I'm Gillian. Gillian Tricep," Gillian replied. "Why are you hiding here? Don't you wanna come out or something?"

"No. I'm just gonna sit here and die," OJ said bitterly. "Go away and leave me alone."

"You wanna get something to eat? You look hungry/"

OJ stared long and hard at Gillian. 'This kid sure is persistent,' he thought. 'I'll just let him do whatever he wants and sneak off.'

"A plasma donut would be nice," he finally muttered.

"One plasma donut coming right up!" Gillian smiled.

OJ stared on as Gillian bounded off to look for the donut stand. As soon as he was out of sight, OJ got up and got ready to split but his legs went weak all of a sudden. He couldn't move more than an inch without toppling down to the floor. 'What's happening to me?' he thought in horror. 'Is my body rejecting Shane's body mechanism? It can't be! Frank's kid is also part of Frank! What can it..?'

"Here ya go, Mr. Jones. I've got 5 plasma donuts for ya, in case you're really hungry."

At the words 'plasma donuts', OJ immediately turned to the little muscle cell and almost snatched the bag away from his hand. Gillian wasn't the least bit offended. In fact he was glad and quite proud as he watched OJ gobbling the donuts hungrily. After he finished every last crumb, it struck OJ that he was actually too hungry to move. There was nothing else wrong with him. Soon he realized that he's been watched the entire time he was eating.

"Hey, uh...Thanks, kid."

"No prob," Gillian grinned. "Need anything else?"

"Yeah, I suppose," OJ admitted sheepishly, scratching his chin. "You know any place where I can...you know, find out where exactly am I?"

"Well, you're in the Eye Auditorium of Shane Metropolis. If you wanna know more about this place, you can go see my Mom."

"Your Mom?"

"Yeah. She works at the SPD, the Shane Police Department. It's quite small, but it'll get bigger soon. She knows every inch of Shane Metropolis and I bet you can get some answers right away. Oh, no, wait. She might be on a mission right now. Maybe you can go meet my cousin instead. He’s more often in the PD than outside. Anything else you wanna eat? My treat."

Soon OJ could be seen munching more donuts and drinking lymph coke as he followed Gillian down towards Shane Metropolis on Gillian's motorbike. It wasn't much of a surprise for OJ to see young Gillian having a motorbike, but it sure surprised him to see Gillian driving it better than any other grown cell combined. The first motorbike he ever had was a quite rundown secondhand bike when he was 12 and yet he didn't stop wobbling from the bike until he was 14.

"How old exactly are you, kid?" OJ asked, curious.

"8 years old this year," Gillian replied.

"You drive like a pro, man. How did you do that?"

"Learned it from my cousin. He's also in the SPD immunity force."

"You sure have loads of relations in the force, don't ya?" OJ commented. When Gillian nodded and made a swerve to the left, avoiding a waste truck, OJ asked again, "I thought only white blood cells are qualified to enter the immunity force. You're a muscle cell. How can you have family from the whites?"

"I know that," Gillian replied, pouting. "Everyone says that. Just because my mother married a muscle cell doesn't mean that a muscle cell cannot be related to a white blood cell. It's not like it's a crime..."

"Woah, woah, woah, wait! Wait just a microscopic minute here! Your mother, a white blood cell, married a muscle cell?"

"Yeah, so?" Gillian turned around and snapped. "You got a problem with that?"

"Hey, chill out, man!" OJ held up one hand in surrender. "Don't get so worked up. It's just that it's something new for me to hear a white blood cell and a muscle cell being a couple."

"Just keep yourself to yourself," Gillian muttered before saying out loud. "Here we are, Mr. Jones. Shane Metropolis."

OJ looked up and saw what Gillian meant. Right in front of the city entrance bore a huge signboard writing in bold: SHANE METROPOLIS - Population: 2,900,000,000,000 billion. Shane Metorpolis wasn't really as big as Downtown Frank, but it sure was more advanced than Frank. Everything was slightly similar to Downtown Frank, yet there was a slight modification in every part of the building and structure, making it look futuristic and new. OJ was impressed.

"Woah! Now that's what I call the future generation. This Shane kid literally is the future generation of Frank."

"And much cleaner too, since she eats cleaner, healthier food. We're very proud of Shane Metropolis. There's SPD up ahead."

OJ turned to where Gillian was looking and SPD just ahead. It looked no different than FPD in Frank, only that it looked more hi-tech, just like the rest of the town of Shane Metropolis. Gillian got off the motorbike and gestured OJ to do the same. As he continued to survey the place, Gillian took hold of his hand tightly and waved valiantly at someone who was standing in front of one of the white blood cells' desk, yelling, "Hey, Jared!! Hey, Cousin Jared!!!"

The white blood cell called Jared turned around. OJ couldn't help feeling that this Jared seemed familiar. He had on a pair of shades and when he took it down, it revealed a pair of deep set black eyes. He had a tuft of front hair almost like OJ and he had that naughty aura in him. But when he took the shades entirely and turned directly towards his cousin Gillian, he noticed that he had the naughty aura all wrong--he's as serious as someone fresh from military school.

"That's your cousin? The one who taught you how to ride that bike?" OJ whispered.

"You got it," Gillian replied before smiling widely at Jared.

"Yeah, Gill. What is it this time?" Jared asked.

"I found someone here in the Eye Auditorium. He said he was from Frank," Gillian said as he pointed at OJ standing behind him.

"Yo there," OJ tried to sound as friendly as possible. "Sorry for the bother, but I really am pretty much in a bad fix here."

Jared stared at OJ and moved his gaze, scrutinizing OJ from top to bottom. He had an air of pride, like OJ was an insignificant being before him. OJ challenged back—annoyed at this kind of treatment—by staring back at him with the What's-your-problem kind of look. Obviously, Jared was unperturbed.

"Right, follow me. I know just the person who can help you," Jared said as he turned around, gesturing him to follow him yet show no signs of looking back to see if he was being followed. OJ was getting more and more annoyed by this arrogant attitude by the minute. Nevertheless, he reminded himself that he was a foreigner here and should watch out his every move. He tried to strike up a conversation with him as he rode the young cop's car.

"Say, uh, Jared, right? So, uh, who are we gonna meet? Who's this guy whose gonna get me outta this jam?"

"Mayor Charliehorse, as you may call him," Jared replied, sounding very business-like. "He's pretty much the brains of this outfit. He's the one who's been giving Shane great ideas to eat right and all that so that we could all live in a clean and healthy town."

"Yeah, I bet he's a real swell guy. He's able to make her cool but he did nothing to give Shane ideas about helping Frank," OJ muttered a little too near of Jared's earshot. Jared looked at him in a cold way.

"Well, you wouldn't be in this place if your Frank had listened to her now, would you?"

OJ was about to protest when the car screeched into a sudden halt. Judging by the height of the building they stopped in front of, OJ could expect that he had been taken to the Mayor's HQ. As usual, it looked like an advanced version of Frank's. It seemed as if Frank was everywhere before his eyes no matter how he tries to forget about it, only that it's slightly different in terms of civilization. He followed Jared quietly up to the Mayor's office, not wanting to fuss anymore with childish, fruitless attempts to be friends with him. In the office, Jared was greeted warmly by Mayor Charliehorse and was told about OJ's predicament (you can guess what a Charlie horse is). The Mayor looked impressed as he shook OJ's hand, seemingly glad to see someone who came from the creator of Shane. Jared didn't seem too pleased but he hid it quickly before OJ noticed it.

"I can't issue you an ID immediately, but," Mayor Charliehorse said as he took out a piece of paper from his shelf and signed it, "I can give this temporary ID so that you can move around this city freely. Carry it around with you at all times and I'll notify Jared if your permanent ID is complete. Enjoy life in Shane Metropolis."

OJ took the temporary ID and looked at it skeptically. He doubted that this piece of paper was going to hold his citizenship together just yet. But then again, better safe than sorry. He thanked Mayor Charliehorse and pocketed the ID before following behind Jared. As they took the lift down the building, Jared voiced out icily, "You sure made a good impression on the Mayor now, didn't you?"

"What do you mean by that?" OJ asked, a little offended.

"I expected something bizarre or anything, but this sure cuts the cake."

"What the hell are you trying to say exactly, Jared?"

"There's something you should know," Jared said as soon as the lift stopped and the door opened. "You are not going to get the best of me. That means you gotta find your own home, your own friends, your own life. That's final. We have no strings attached whatsoever. I'll get you your ID, and after that, you're on your own."

With that, he rode on his car and drove off, leaving a dazed OJ alone standing in front of the Mayor's HQ. He didn't even bother to ask if he needed a ride. When OJ got back to his senses, the car was long gone and he was stranded in the middle of nowhere.

"What's his problem...?" OJ muttered as he slowly made his own way towards the SPD where Gillian was waiting.