In Stereo
The lab was a nice addition to Mindy’s list of birthday presents that year. Darius had insisted on waiting until Mindy had reached an appropriate age until she could have her own lab, and while the lab provided by Snowflake was nice and all, it was lacking in a few areas that qualified as a “Real” lab. Thankfully, Dr.Dougherty was just nice enough to give Mindy her own lab, and what’s better is that it had top of the line chemistry equipment. Everything from X-ray machines, to hospital cancer equipment was stocked in that one lab. Mindy had tried to be excited by the new prospects that would come from working under Dr.Dougherty, but she couldn’t quite shake the feeling of dread whenever she thought of medicine. She never told Dr.Dougherty about Soundria, but Darius Winters knew.
Darius had tried to calm mindy when her secret got out, and explained to her that now that she has a new lab, she potentially find a cure for it. This was just before they all heard the Beatles being played throughout the lab, and subsequently all across the city. “What…?” Darius had asked, confused. He looked around the lab, trying to find the source of where the music was coming from. He looked at Mindy. “Is...this the problem with Soundria you were trying to tell me?” He asked. He stood in a nicely pressed suit, with a tiny little jay feather and folded cloth sticking out of the breast pocket.
Mindy gulped, and nodded. “I don’t know what causes it. It’s like...the medicine has a mind of its own.” She said. “I did tests on it a couple of months before I got the call.”
Darius nodded, still looking at the corners of the room, trying to find speakers. “The buyer you mentioned, correct? Charlice Goodoire. Why was she even interested in it? You said before she wanted it for her...daughter I think, but that seems kind of spur of the moment, don’t you think?” He asked.
“Yeah,” She said. “I don’t know why she was really interested in it. Maybe it was for...herself? I’ll be honest, I can’t really blame her for cracking. The first time I came to Eris’ house, her husband had beat her to a pulp, that poor woman.” Mindy shook her head sadly. “She must have just stopped functioning when that car crashed through her house.”
Darius sighed heavily, as the song started to fade out. “So...I’m assuming the Beatles are being played as a direct result of...Eris Goodoire. Is she okay?” He asked.
“They, Mr.Winters. And, I don’t know. I’d say we should hunt them down before they do something brash, but I don’t even have any equipment that could catch Eris in the state they’re in.” She walked to one of the desks, and picked up a large text book on molecular biology. “Whatever is controlling Eris now is really strong, and it’s not just backed by cells and molecules. There is some other third party in Soundria. And it calls itself Surround Sound.”
Darius blinked. “Wait. You mean...it’s sentient? As in the medicine can think for itself? Mindy that’s…”
“Incredible? Astounding? A breakthrough in the medical world? It would be if Surround Sound weren’t a strange, unempathetic monster. I don’t even know how it could have...gained sentience, since that’s definitely not a part that I included in the final formula for Soundria.” She said, flipping through the pages. They were all annotated, and marked with notes for Soundria’s final product. “I did every single ounce of research I could into past Schizophrenic medicine, and I don’t think I ever once came across a recipe for sentient pills!”
Darius could feel her anxiety growing. “Mindy, I understand. This situation is far beyond your control now. I’m a little mad that you went ahead and did this without my consent, but I think I shall save the scolding for later.” He walked over to her, and put a hand on her shoulder. “Right now, we need to figure out a way to fix this. If there’s anything you need, anything at all, I will immediately get it for you so you can fix this. Just stay calm for now.” His voice was level, and soothing. Mindy breathed in deeply.
“Right. I can fix this. I have the notes, and the...formula...I can…” She stood on shaky feet. “Eris is gonna hate me…” Darius tried to steady her feet, but she seemed close to falling. “They’re gonna hate me forever...this is all my fault...their life is ruined because of me...It’s been two weeks, what has their mother done…” Her breathing grow heavier and heavier, until she blacked out completely and fell on the Lab floor. Darius yelled for help.
……………..
Mindy woke up in a hospital bed, presumably put there after she had passed out, and gave Darius a tiny scare. She felt a tiny bit dizzy, and her eyesight was fuzzy. She tried to raise her arm up, only to find that it had been strapped down. Did she move in her sleep? Darius sat in a chair next to her bed, and he stared at her with red, tired eyes. She tried to speak, but her voice was tired and hoarse sounding. She looked over at him, expecting a response, but Darius merely patted her head, and said “Go back to sleep Mindy.” And she did.
A day had passed and Mindy had finally woken up. Darius was not there when she had woken up, but she could hear his voice from the hallway. He seemed to be arguing with someone, and from what her fuzzy mind could gather, it looked to be about her. She couldn’t quite make out what he was saying though, her brain felt to out of place at the moment. Darius returned to the room, and audibly gasped when he saw that she was finally awake. “How are you feeling?” He asked, cautiously. She tried speaking again, and her voice felt a little better.
“I feel…” Her voice came out like a croak. “My head feels weird.” She said. Mindy looked behind Mr.Winters only to notice a girl in a dark green suit, and short combed hair by the doorway.
“Darius, I feel you should reconsider my propisition.” She said. “Charlotte can sense something terrible coming your way.”
“I already told you! And..I am not having this conversation again, especially not in front of Mindy.” He spoke sternly. “Mindy is just fine. She just had a little panic attack and it got to her, right Mindy?”
Mindy was confused, but she couldn’t deny that she was in this bed because of her anxiety. “Yes…” She croaked.
The girl sighed. “Fine, as you wish. But, if this ends boiling over, don’t hesitate to call me.” She said. “Paradox’s doors are always open.”
Darius nodded. “I know, thank you.” he said. The girl left, and walked out of the room. Mindy looked at Mr.Winters, confused.
“Who...was that?” She asked.
“She’s...an old business partner, I guess. You could say she’s a prodigy like yourself...but, her talents lie elsewhere.” he explained. Mindy looked around at the small hospital room, on her desk next to her were get well soon cards, and candy. The other prodigies at Snowflake must have heard about her collapse. “They’ve all been worried sick about you for the 48 hours.” Darius said. “But, you’re better now, so I guess you can handle a few visits from them.”
Mindy nodded. She could handle seeing people now, but she cringed when Darius said 48 hours. Had she really been knocked out for that long? Her anxiety had never actually knocked her out like this before, so she wasn’t really didn’t know what to expect. Whatever the case, she was feeling a bit better now, and was ready to face her problems head on. While there was the issue of finding an antidote for Soundria, there was also the prospect that Eris would never forgive her for her recklessness. She breathed in deeply.
A few months had passed the last time Mindy had been in the hospital, and she stood in her new lab proudly over the final formula for the Soundria Antidote. It had taken a while, but finally she had made the cure. She had worked tirelessly, night after night, until tonight when she had finally felt she had failed. She will admit, crying over her creation was probably not the best way to go about handling pressure, but when she had tested it out, it proved to be the perfect antidote.
Now all that was left to do was to try to get in touch with Eris. It had been long time, but she was certain that maybe if she tried to explain herself a little, Eris would understand, and accept the antidote. Maybe things weren’t as rocky as she thought they were. She packed the lab up, and made sure to carefully preserve the antidote where it wouldn’t be destroyed.
She left the lab that day, happier then she had been for months, and called Darius up. She informed him that the Antidote was ready, and that now it was time for the witch hunt. She had no idea where Eris or Charlton had gone off to, and Max had mysteriously disappeared from town as well. It looked as if they had gone into hiding, presumably from Ms.Goodoire, who had vowed to track Eris down on national tv a few months ago. She wanted to find them before Charlice could, but she also knew she would have to get to them before Charlice got it into her head to sue Mindy. The woman has been so caught up in trying to find her daughter that she hasn’t really thought about who she got the drug from. And because Eris disappeared before others could catch them, the only side of the story heard by the police was Charlice’s, and they were a bit reluctant to believe that a girl in her teens had managed to destroy a million dollar home with the power of music. But they eventually decided to trust Charlice’s judgement, especially considering they are having to deal with a giant woman fighting giant robot.
…………..
welp, here is a post in Mindy’s perspective like I promised!
