Sub-Zero: Origins

Maggie

"My mother's in an insane asylum?" Kuai Liang blurted out as he looked at the Ranger, his anger and confusion swirling through him like an angry blizzard. "Why didn't Jax tell me?"

"It's not on this print-out," Sonya said apologetically. She immediately showed him the paper that Jax had printed out earlier. Above the address in the top left corner, it only read Rockford Hospital. "Whoever punched in these records must've made a mistake. They accidentally omitted the word 'Psychiatric.' I'm sorry."

It wasn't really her fault, but it didn't make him feel any better. He had really hit the Trifecta these past few weeks. First his brother died, then Tomas got captured and automated, and now he'd just learned that his mother was crazy. He felt a migraine coming on. Part of him wanted to throw up a white flag and surrender. But instead, he set his jaw in stubborn determination and climbed out of the GMC to meet this Dr. Anderson, who was trying to look into the tinted windows to see the visitors.

The man frowned at Kuai Liang as he stepped out. Wispy strands of white hair fringed the broad bald dome of his forehead. "This is quite unusual," he began as Sonya approached him.

She flashed her credentials at him. "Times are unusual," she replied cryptically and then nodded to the Cryomancer. "His mother is here, and it is crucial that we speak to her immediately."

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Dr. Anderson asked him as he now led them both inside. The building smelled of cleaning chemicals, antiseptic, and must. "And what happened to your face?" 

Kuai Liang swallowed. He didn't want Sonya to know more about him than she already did, but he didn't see a way around it. "My name is...Connor," he said, and felt odd calling himself that. He knew that was his given name, but the only name people had ever called him was Kuai Liang. "Connor Sullivan. My mother is Magdalena Sullivan. And as for my face, I've had a rough couple of days."

Dr. Anderson immediately stiffened as he frowned. "I'm sorry, but I don't know what you think she can do to help you. She's very sick," he said. Just past the foyer and the grand staircase leading up to the next level, he hung a left into a large workplace framed by glass and stainless steel. He swiped his badge through the lock, prompting the red light to on the black box to flash green, granting them access to his personal office. Then he settled into a fancy leather chair behind the desk. He motioned for Sonya and Kuai Liang to sit in the equally exquisite chairs on the opposite side.

"What exactly is wrong with her?" Kuai Liang demanded to know.

"I'm sorry, but I can't share that information with you due to patient confidentiality laws," he firmly replied, folding his hands together and resting them on his desk calendar.

"I'll show you 'patient confidentiality'," Sonya snapped.

"Sonya, please," Kuai Liang told her as he held up his hand to silence her. Then he looked back at Dr. Anderson. "I'm her son," he insisted.

"So you say," the doctor shot back. "However, her son has been missing for over twenty years. And unfortunately, you're not the first one calling himself 'Connor' to come looking for her."

Kuai Liang frowned. Someone had tried to pass himself off as him? "What are you talking about? Why would someone do that?"

"Is she rich?" Sonya interrupted.

"Sonya!" he coldly snapped just as the doctor said, "I beg your pardon?"

"Well, that would be my first guess as to why others have faked their identity just to see her," she explained, and it actually made sense to Kuai Liang. He expectantly looked from her to Dr. Anderson. "So, answer the question. Is she rich?"