EYE OF THE STORM, Chap. Three

Just as Chloe had predicted, the emergency room was packed. People with all kinds of injuries, from burns to cuts to broken bones, filled every chair, every bench, and most of the floor inside the waiting area. There were several charred-looking characters still standing in line at reception as well.

"Well…" said Bernard, looking around contemplatively, '… let's go get me checked in!"

Chloe sighed. She thought that seeing so many people in much greater need of medical assistance would change Bernard's selfish mind, but clearly she was wrong. Trying to avoid eye contact, she led him to stand in line at the reception desk. Five minutes later, they came face-to-face with a big nurse in scrubs, her elbow resting on the desk in front of her, and her tired face cradled in her hand. She looked like she was asleep. Beside her head rested a small buzzer, and Bernard rang it impatiently.

The nurse sighed, opened her blood-shot eyes, and fixed Bernard with a steely stare. "What?" she snapped.

"I am very badly and dangerously injured," Bernard replied quietly, while Chloe rolled her eyes.

"You don't look so bad," the nurse contested.

"Yeah, but look at my forehead!" Bernard cried out, nearly head-butting the nurse as he tried to show her his injury. "Just look at it! I might have a concussion… or eternal bleeding!"

"It's internal bleeding, and what exactly happened?"

"I barely survived the explosion of the Metro Man museum!"

The nurse just kind of stared, first at Bernard and then at Chloe. "Is he for real?" she asked, addressing Chloe.

Chloe shrugged apologetically, a sheepish expression on her face.

The nurse mumbled something about psychological disorders, took Bernard's name, and directed him and Chloe to the waiting area.

It took them a few minutes just to find an empty spot on the floor so they could sit down, but finally Bernard managed to fight off a family with a stroller to get him and Chloe some space along the wall. They sat down beside an older woman whose entire head was bandaged from the eyebrows up, and Chloe decided once again to try and talk some sense into Bernard.

"Ask any of these people, Bernard," she said enthusiastically, "and they will tell you the exact same story - about Tighten and how Megamind defeated him!"

"I doubt that," Bernard grumbled back.

"Oh, yeah?" Chloe challenged. "Excuse me, ma'am?"

The woman with the bandaged head turned to look at Chloe with a questioning expression on her face.

"Did the psychopath known at Tighten go on a destructive rampage through Metro City last night?" Chloe asked her casually, but had to turn away as fast as she could because the woman gave her such a look that she quite honestly thought she was about to get punched in the face.

"See?" Bernard said, still looking very satisfied with himself.

"Oh, whatever," Chloe replied with a yawn.

"If you must know, my head really hurts."

"I don't care."

"I think I might have permanent brain damage."

"That would explain a lot."

"I do value my brain, you know - something you probably never had to worry about."

"Mhhhmmm," Chloe replied, yawning again.

Bernard said many things after that, but Chloe found something strange happening to her. The noise around her was becoming muffled and unintelligible, her eyelids were drooping, and slowly but surely she drifted off.

*    *    *

"Don't think about elephants!" Chloe called out as she woke up with a start several hours later. What met her was blinding sunlight pouring through the open window of the emergency room, but not much else. In fact, the room was nearly empty. She groaned at her burning eyes and checked the time on her watch. It was twelve minutes past noon. She rubbed her aching neck and stretched, realizing with frustration that she was not rested at all.

"I can't believe it," came Bernard's strangely quiet voice from beside her. She had actually forgotten that she was currently babysitting him, and for a brief moment was genuinely surprised to find him there. Surprise quickly turned to disappointment. "This can't be possible," Bernard repeated. He had found himself a copy of the morning paper, and was currently immersed in it.

"What is it?" Chloe asked groggily.

"You were right."

"I am well aware of that -"

"Never for a second have I thought that Megamind would turn to the side of good… and I have devoted my entire career to him…."

"I didn't know that. Does that mean you're kind of like an expert -"

"I suppose I owe you an apology for last night…."

"Yes…!" Chloe exclaimed, actually thankful to be interrupted for once. "An apology would be very appreciated -"

"BARNEY! BARNEY NADLER?" screamed a nurse across the empty waiting area. Bernard continued to read his paper in oblivion, the front page of which, as Chloe could now make out, was adorned with the big bold headline, "BADBOY DOES GOOD - TIGHTEN BEHIND BARS."

"Uhm… Bernard…?" Chloe said cautiously. "I think you're being called in."

"I'm not going in," Bernard replied, putting down his paper and staring off into space for a couple of moments.

"… What?" Chloe asked uncertainly.

"I'm fine. I don't need a doctor," Bernard replied, placing the paper on the floor beside him and getting up.

"You're kidding, right?!" Chloe exclaimed, getting up as well. "After everything I did to get you here, you're just going to leave?"

"Yes, I need to get back to the museum. I need to find out when I'm returning to my job," Bernard said, heading for the door.

"And what about my apology?!" Chloe called after him.

"What about it?" Bernard asked without looking back, and was gone.

Chloe had never felt this frustrated in her life. She was exhausted, hurt, and confused, and she had received neither thank you nor sorry for everything she had been through. She gave out a rather Bernard-like sigh and headed forcefully towards the door, but a sound behind her made her stop. It was the tiny TV sitting on a table in the waiting room, emanating from which was Roxanne Ritchi's voice.

"… live from the Metro Man museum, with the mayor himself!"

"Thank you, Miss Ritchi," replied the mayor, "though I'm afraid this won't be the Metro Man museum for much longer!"

"Whatever do you mean, sir?" Roxanne asked, making Chloe stifle a laugh at her expression of feigned surprise.

"Well, since Metro Man is dead, and since there is a new hero in town, it is only appropriate to re-designate this museum to… MEGAMIND!!!"

"Oh," Roxanne replied, but her face fell. Then she looked thoughtful. "Oh…." Suddenly a smile spread across her lips, and soon she was beaming. "Oh!"

"You better believe it, Miss Ritchi!" the mayor cried out, seemingly overjoyed with his announcement. "Construction plans have already been made, and the museum is due to reopen in no later than a month! Bring your children, bring your cameras, even bring your dogs! I'll see you ALL there!"

"Well, this is quite the announcement, mister mayor!" Roxanne said enthusiastically, now an expression of genuine excitement on her face. "I'm sure that all of Metrocity- er, Metro City must be looking forward to this event with hopeful hearts and peace of mind now that a new hero has taken us under his wing!"

"I think so, too, Miss Ritchi!"

"Well, thank you for your time, mister mayor."

"You are most welcome, Miss Ritchi."

"We'll be right back," Roxanne said into the camera, and the news cut to commercial.

Chloe smiled for the first time that morning. The reopening of the museum meant that she would surely get her job back in no time. The fact that she did not have to come into work this afternoon even proved to be an advantage to her, because at the moment there was nothing more she wanted to do than get back to her apartment, crawl into her soft, familiar bed, wrap her blankets tightly around herself, and catch up on all the sleep she missed. With a yawn, she headed out of the emergency room and towards the nearest bus stop… and then her phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered, a little annoyed to have her pleasant thoughts of slumber interrupted.

"Claire, this is Bernard. I just got a call from City Hall. They want all available museum employees to come in straight away and help salvage what is left of the art collection. That means you. Bye!"

Chloe slowly withdrew her phone from her ear, and, as her face contorted into an expression of unconstrained rage, she looked up to the cloudless sky with a woeful, "Fuck."