It was early Tuesday morning, and Stefan made his way to the hospital where Mike was admitted.
As he entered Mike's ward, a sudden projectile hurtled towards him, forcing him to duck frantically. The can crashed into the wall, fell to the ground, and rolled away, drawing attention to the commotion.
Stefan glared at Mike, who had thrown the can.
"You almost got me killed, you idiot!" he yelled.
"That's not even enough to kill you, dumbass," Mike teased. He winked at Stefan, leaving him stunned.
"Y...you can see me?" Stefan stuttered, flabbergasted. "Your sight is back?"
Mike nodded, a smile spreading across his face. Stefan flung himself at him, embracing him tightly.
"Finally... I was so worried," he said, tears streaming down his face.
Mike patted his back slowly.
"You shouldn't cry, a high school senior like you shouldn't shed crocodile's tear. No need for that, bro."
Stefan pulled away, wiping his tears. "These are tears of joy, idiot. I'm overjoyed, even if I'm still in disbelief."
Mike's gaze shifted towards the door. "Let's get ready for school. She'll be here any second from now."
"Who? Are you expecting someone?"
"3...2...1... Piuuuh!" Mike whispered, pointing his index finger at the door.
Just then, the door creaked open, and Rachael walked in.
Stefan's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh my God!! How did you–"
"Her footsteps," Mike replied, smiling knowingly. "They are so loud."
Rachael's eyes scanned the room, taking in the scene. "Hello—Oh Stefan, you're here already!"
But Stefan remained silent, still in shock.
"You guys knew I was coming?" she asked.
"Rachael, your brother is…" Stefan trailed off, unsure of how to complete it.
Rachael's gaze landed on Mike, and her eyes lit up with amazement.
"You got back your sight?" she squealed as she hugged him. "But...how did it happen?"
She pulled back, scanning Mike's eyes for verification.
"It's a long story, I'll tell you later," Mike said. "Let's get ready for school. Did you see my message last night?"
Rachael nodded. "Yes, I thought you have lost your sanity along with your sight."
She sat down beside Mike on the bed.
"So you didn't bring them? Seriously?"
Rachael chuckled, "Of course, I did." She set down the bag she was carrying. "I'm a curious person, you know. I wanted to know what you planned to do with them."
"What's going on, guys? Why am I being left in the dark?" Stefan's grumble cut through their conversation.
"He texted me last night to bring his uniform and school bag this morning," Rachael filled him in.
Does that mean you got back your sight yesterday?" Stefan asked, tilting his head in confusion.
Mike nodded and stretched his uniform to look closely at it.
"Then why did your mom tell us yesterday that you were sedated?"
"Yes, that's true," Rachael joined in. "Mom said you were sedated. Were you?"
Mike shook his head. "That never happened. She must have had her reasons for saying that."
Rachael's expression turned grim. "Are you implying mom lied to us?" she groaned.
"I didn't say she lied," Mike said. "The doctors might have misled her to make her leave, so they could continue their pointless observations."
He stepped down from the bed, inspecting his uniform. "And speaking of it, I didn't get much attention from the doctors yesterday, and a strange man came to inspect me, but I recoiled."
"Something seems strange, I can feel it," Rachael's brows furrowed.
"The feeling is mutual; there's something amiss that we're not privy to," Stefan added, stroking his chin thoughtfully as he paced back and forth across the room. His eyes sparkled with intellectual curiosity, betraying a mind racing with possibilities.
Mike, however, seemed unfazed by the ominous undertones.
"Whatever is going on is now none of my concern," he said. "My sight is back, and I get to live a normal life again."
He winked at them and disappeared into the bathroom to change.
Rachael's gaze lingered on Stefan. "Did you notice the abundance of guards on your way here?"
Stefan halted his pacing, his eyes retaining activeness. "Yes, I counted around four or five of them, they're armed," he replied. "Perhaps your mom arranged for them to keep a close eye on your brother."
"That's unlikely," Rachael said. "My mom wouldn't waste resources stationing guards in a hospital. And judging by their demeanor, those men didn't appear to be ordinary guards. They seemed to belong to a large, organized entity."
Mike emerged from the bathroom, now dressed in his school uniform.
"What's going on? Why would mom deploy guards here to watch over me?" he asked. "What am I? A gangster? A president' son?"
Stefan and Rachael exchanged confused glances.
"You heard our conversation?" Rachael said.
Mike nodded, seriousness on his face. "I heard everything. Loud and clear."
"How...did you? We deliberately kept our voices down to avoid arousing suspicion," Rachael queried.
"He even heard your footsteps earlier, that's how he knew you were coming," Stefan pointed out. "Do you possess superhuman hearing or...?"
Mike snapped his fingers and smiled. "You get it, that's my second symptom," he replied.
"Enough with your nonsense! Super hearing? Don't be ridiculous!" Rachael snorted. "If my suspicions about these guards are correct, then you might be in grave danger."
"What are you thinking?" Mike and Stefan asked almost in unison.
"I'm thinking of a possible hostage situation. Your medical records must have reached the people up there," she said, pointing her finger up. "And they might be interested in exploiting your unique condition."
Mike and Stefan shared skeptical glances. "People up where?" they asked simultaneously, staring at the ceiling where Rachael's finger was pointing. "Are there people up there?"
"You're being ridiculous, stop taking things literally, I meant the higher-ups – the government, scientists, or whoever is interested in your case." Rachael clarified.
"Stop talking nonsense, Rachael. Hostage? Dream on," Mike scoffed. "I can just reveal to them that my vision is back, and that would be the end."
"And you think that's going to change anything?" Rachael swiftly rationalized. "Think about it, Mike. Your situation was mysterious, attracting various doctors who were baffled by your transformation. Do you think they'll let go of you without understanding the phenomenon behind it?"
Mike's confidence wavered.
"Even if you leave here without their interference, do you think they won't be monitoring your every move?" Rachael pressed on.
"Dammit! She's so intelligent." Stefan muttered under his breath.
"Shut up, I can hear you!" Mike yelled, his super hearing picking up the whispered comment. "I'm also intelligent!"
Stefan's jaw dropped, wondering if Mike's super hearing ability was indeed true.
Mike's thoughts turned to his recent encounter with the nurse.
"Now that I'm thinking of it, the nurse who attended to me today was different from the ones before. She didn't ask me any questions, nor did she answer mine."
"Whoa! You're in deep shit," said Stefan boisterously. "What are we going to do now?"
"We need a comprehensive and foolproof plan to extricate Mike from this predicament," Rachael said and she turned to Mike. "Do you have a strategy in place?"
Mike's smile exuded confidence, hinting at a sense of self-assurance.
"Of course, I do. You guys create a diversion out there, and during the ensuing commotion, I'll seize the opportunity to make a swift exit."
"So we can get in trouble while you hide your tail between your legs and flee?" Stefan said.
However, Rachael didn't share his concern.
"What if something goes awry? What's your contingency plan, your plan B?" she asked.
Mike's smile faltered, and he scratched his head, betraying a hint of uncertainty. "Uh...well, there's always a plan B, isn't there?"
"What is it?" Rachael asked. "Don't tell me you don't have a backup plan, a safety net to fall back on. You wouldn't want to get us into trouble, do you?"
Mike's grin returned, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "If plan A fails, plan B is... we flee the scene!"
Rachael and Stefan's gazes fell to the ground.
"What was I expecting from a bat boy?" Rachael scoffed.
"Or should we say...Batman? Or bat baby, the caped crusader of our time?" Stefan chuckled.
"Don't even compare him to my favorite superhero," Rachael countered, rolling her eyes in mock disgust. "He's no way near Batman. He can't fly, not strong and...he can't even see during the day."
"So you love Batman more than your brother!?" Mike grumbled. "I feel like I can fly also, and I'm strong."
Rachael and Stefan burst into another whoop of laughter, they continued for about one and half minutes, unaware Mike had left.
"You think because…" Rachael's sentence trailed off as she whirled around the room, looking for him. "Where the hell is he? Did he leave already?"
Stefan's eyes widened in alarm, his voice etched with concern. "Oh no! Let's go catch up to him, before he messes up the whole plan and puts himself in jeopardy!"