The Atlantis Expedition

Chapter Twenty-Three: Apotheosis

It was a long time before Bad Cop could stop seeing spots, the light of the portal was so blindingly bright. And even then, his vision seemed unusually dim, like spending too much time outside on a bright sunny day then coming back indoors where there were no lights on. His sunglasses weren't being much help with that matter, either. When his eyes finally adjusted, he could see he was indoors somewhere, but the place was thoroughly unfamiliar. It was enormous, though, everything scaled for a being possibly a thousand times his size. How did he get in the home of giants?

It would be in his best interests to get out of the open, he decided, but his limbs wouldn't respond to his commands to get up and move. He felt completely numb, like a mind set free from its physical confines, almost. It was eerie, and really not doing much to improve Keelan's state of mind either. Easy, he thought at his little brother, trying not to let his own panic overwhelm them both. He just had to think. Emmet had mentioned something like this, he remembered, the night they were telling stories. Is this where The Man Upstairs lives, then? Are we on the Other Side?

yeAh, Keelan sent back.

Then he found himself being lifted from where he lay, and wanted to shout at the indignity of it would you get your paws off me already and blinked when he was greeted with the sight of a young, if very large, face. The kid had a mop of curly brown hair and a smile that could rival the sun. It could only be the Finn Emmet had described, that he had seen in his dream. "Hi Bad Cop!" Finn greeted with enthusiasm he usually didn't receive, looking excited for reasons he couldn't even begin to guess. If only he could communicate!

Emmet had mentioned the extreme amount of effort it took even just to twitch, but he'd failed to mention the sheer amount of desperation it also took. He found he couldn't budge an inch, no matter how hard he tried. Focus! He scolded himself.

Cary, plEase don'T let tHem eraSe mE, Keelan begged.

I won't, buddy. I'll figure something out.

Finn carried him over to where a lady had set up a small table, focused on a box whose contents he couldn't see. "Are you ready yet Amy??" the boy asked, bouncing eagerly.

"Almost," the woman answered, smiling at his excitement, and began taking paints and brushes out of her box. Bad Cop could only watch in curiosity and wonder just what it was she meant to do with those art supplies. "Alright, it's time. Hand him over here, would you?" Finn broke into a wide grin, carefully handing Bad Cop over to her. She didn't handle him with quite the same care that Finn did, holding him as though he was just a piece of plastic. Which was exactly all he was to her, he realized. If only he could run, or fight! Time for what?!

Amy plucked off his helmet, and he wanted to shout at her, or bite her. How dare she! She hummed thoughtfully, turning him this way and that to inspect him, and he hated the feeling of being so closely scrutinized. This was a bad idea this was a terrible idea this was the WORST idea what had he been thinking to step into that light with no preparation or warning?! He was now at the mercy of these giants with no idea of their intentions, even with the sense that Finn at least meant them no harm. She turned her attention back to Finn. "The face you drew back on is actually off-center just enough that we can leave Scribble Cop intact," she told him, and Bad Cop felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted off his heart. Keelan was nearly sobbing in relief, and he sent the best mental version of a hug he could manage.

The lady picked up a sheet of paper towel and carefully wrapped it around his shoulders, like he was at the barber's about to get a haircut, then selected a brush, dipping it into a tiny dot of white paint. If he'd had any mobility, Bad Cop would have shivered at the tickle of the brush's bristles when they touched the back of his head, and wiped at the wet sensation of the paint touching skin that shouldn't have been bare. What happened to his hair??