New Earth: Black Lightning

Chapter 39

Jen was currently sitting in the waiting room of Star Labs new medical building where Caitlin was personally performing the procedure to implant Khalil's new implants that would not only restore his ability to walk, but also give him better abilities than the ones the ASA had given him, not that his mother knew that part.

"How much longer is this going to be?" Nichelle asked impatiently.

"Relax Mrs. Payne. I for one am glad that they're taking their time with this, since I'm guessing that if something goes wrong because they rush through it could cause even more damage." Jen said, though she was struggling to remain patient herself, right as her phone rang.

"Sorry, it's my dad checking in." Jen said and Nichelle smiled.

"Of course. I'm grateful enough he let you be here today." Nichelle said as Jen got up and walked into the hall before answering.

"Hey dad, what's up?" Jen asked.

"How's Khalil doing?" Jefferson asked.

"Still in surgery, but honestly, I just hope that it works the way we hope it will." Jen said.

"It will. But that's not why I'm calling." Jefferson said.

"Okay, why then?" Jen asked.

"We have a few potential ways to track down Tobias, but one of them involves talking to Cisco." Jefferson said.

"What do you mean?" Jen asked.

"We want to see if we can use the Star Labs satellite to track down a potential way for Tobias to get in touch with the Markovians." Jefferson said.

"Why not just use the satellite to track Tobias himself?" Jen asked.

"We likely will, but we also need to be able to track the Markovians, should they attempt to attack Freeland now that the ASA is gone." Jefferson said.

"Okay, I got it. Cisco isn't here right now, but when I see him, I will talk to him about it." Jen said.

"Thanks." Jefferson said as he hung up.

When Jen returned to the waiting room, she found Nichelle standing up and Caitlin waiting for them.

"Well?" Jen asked and Caitlin smiled.

"The procedure was a complete success. Khalil is recovering right now, you can see him soon, but I have to warn you now that he has a long rehab process ahead of him, since he's essentially learning how to walk all over again." Caitlin said.

"We'll give him all the support he needs." Nichelle said.

"Well, it will mostly depend on you until he's able to return to Freeland, since my parents aren't going to let me blow off school or even do it online until he's able to return to Freeland." Jen said, though she was a little annoyed about that, considering they'd pulled her out of school and made her do homeschooling for months after her powers had first surfaced.

"And they are right to do that Jen. You shouldn't put your entire future at risk to help Khalil. He wouldn't want you to." Nichelle said.

"Anyways, it will be a while since we want to keep Khalil under observation to make sure that his new bionics are working properly." Caitlin said.

"And that is completely fine. I also want to go over any potential risks that these bionics could lead to." Nichelle said.

"Cisco will be here soon to go over all that with you, since he is the one who designed and built them." Caitlin said.

"Actually, I'm here." Cisco said as he entered the room.

"Mr. Ramon, are you sure that these implants are safe for my son?" Nichelle asked.

"As safe as you can be in science. I'll go over everything with you all one he's awake." Cisco said and Nichelle nodded in understanding.

"In the meantime, Mr. Ramon, can I talk to you privately for a minute?" Jen asked and Cisco picked up on her tone of voice.

"Yeah sure." Cisco said as he pulled her aside.

"So, what's up?" Cisco asked.

"My dad wanted me to ask if we can have access to your satellite." Jen said and Cisco sighed.

"I wish you could, but it's kind of in use right now. But I'll pop over to your Sanctum later tonight and talk about other options with your dad." Cisco said and Jen nodded in understanding.

"I'm sure they'll appreciate any help you can give." Jen said as they walked back into the waiting room to find that Caitlin had returned.

"He's ready for visitors." Caitlin said.

"Let's go." Cisco said as Caitlin led him, Jen and Nichelle back to Khalil's room.

When Khalil woke up, he felt groggy as the last bit of anaesthesia wore off and he found his mom and Jen standing over him with Dr. Snow and Cisco Ramon standing back.

"Hey, did it work?" Khalil asked.

"That's what we were hoping you could tell us." Jen asked and Khalil smiled.

"Well, I think I'm starting to regain feeling in my legs, mainly pain." Khalil said and Jen chuckled.

"That's better than nothing." Jen said.

"True. But it's not just in my legs, it's also in my back and even in my neck, but you said that would happen." Khalil said and Cisco nodded.

"The pain in your neck is due to the chip we implanted there to act as the nerve center of your bionics, allowing them to sync with your brain." Cisco said.

"Can you take it out?" Nichelle asked.

"No we can't. This is still new technology and while it works, right now, the chip is needed as a buffer, a way to maintain Khalil's bionics, along with determining any issues that might come up. Without it, the bionics could go haywire and do even more harm or even kill Khalil." Cisco said.

"We leave it in then. But how heavily will Khalil's life be impacted by these implants?" Nichelle asked.

"Once he adjusts to them, not that much. He will be a bit stronger than he was before, that's to be expected. I did my best to design the bionics so that he wouldn't even notice them. However, he may be disqualified from running track due to being part robot giving him an unfair advantage." Cisco said and they all chuckled at that.

"Hey, if it means I'll be able to walk again at all, that's a small price to pay." Khalil said.

"On that we agree." Nichelle said.

"How long will he need to be here now that the operation is complete?" Jen asked.

"A few months at least, since we need to be sure that the bionics are working properly and then we're going to want him to check in once a month for us to make sure they're working properly." Cisco said.

"Any way that can happen in Freeland? I don't think it's fair to have to ask them to keep travelling back and forth?" Jen asked.

"When Khalil returns to Freeland, I'll go with you to see if there's anyone there who can handle maintaining his bionics." Cisco said and Nichelle nodded in agreement as they continued to talk about the changes in Khalil's life.