"I've got a couple of roles here to fill and at a bit of a loss Barn. This job is turning out to be more than I had anticipated. The whole management structure has been gutted. Everyone jumped ship during the last administration," Wally grumbled into his phone. Jumped ship or were thrown into the Device, he thought, but didn't voice it to his friend on the phone. If he was going to bring any of his acquaintances in, then it would be best not to spring the grisly nature of the work on them up front. "Everything needs a manager or supervisor. When I took on the role I didn't think there would be so many gaps in the ranks. And not just sales or purchasing, but even the damn cafeteria needs a manager."
"Sounds like you got your work cut out for you Wall. I don't have a whole lotta advice to give, I could ask around and see if anyone is interested but--"
"Do you think Poppy would be interested in running the cafeteria? She likes to cook and there is no shortage of people here to help out."
"Poppy is afraid of using the stove in her own house," Barnaby reasoned. "I can't see her being comfortable surrounded by a whole room of industrial kitchen equipment, there would be more feathers than food."
"Eddie could probably do Shipping..."
Barnaby sighed over the phone line, his wit and humor was running dry. "Look Wall, I'm going to be frank with you."
"Oh please not Frank, I can't stand that pri--"
"Don't hire your friends Wally." Barnaby stated plainly.
"What?" Wally leaned up in his chair and adjusted his grip on his phone. "Why not? Who else can I trust? You would make a great assistant."
Another heavy sigh came from the phone. "Wall, would you be able to fire me?"
Wally grew silent.
"Would you be able to fire me if I messed something up so bad that there is no coming back from it? Or fire Poppy for not being able to cook enough food to feed everyone?"
"I--"
"Its the same in show biz," Barnaby said offhandedly. "You pick the best person for the part. We all have our parts to play. Just because you want someone to be a good fit doesn't mean they are."
There was a bit of wisdom in that, Wally had to admit to himself. Before he could comment Barnaby spoke up again.
"Look kid, I'll ask around for ya. If they don't want to then maybe they know someone who does. Julie's got a big family, one of them has to know someone who knows somebody."
Wally felt his expression soften. "Thanks Barn."
"Don't mention it. New job, new you. I'm rootin for ya kid. Smell ya later."
The phone went silent and for a moment Wally sat in the comfortable quiet of his office letting Barnaby's words sink in. He had a feeling that the previous Factory Manager had done just that, reached out to all of her friends to fill in the gaps in management. And when the chips were down and deadlines were to be met, then friendships were broken. Ponies ended up in the Device. He also had to accept that he could not be the one to fill in these roles alone. He needed help. So perhaps his first task should be to find an assistant? No. He could always find a personal assistant later. For now he needed to fill the void in HR, and let that poor soul go through the process of finding talent. Once they passed that filter, then Wally could deal with the results.
But first, Coffee.
Wally reached for his mug. His four fingers had just closed around the handle when the lights in his office went out. The computer made a strange noise and went dark, and somewhere distantly at some far end quadrant of the Factory, there was a "boom" sound. A long moment in the dark passed, and Wally slowly let go of the mug and lifted his hands to his face, resting his cheeks on his palms before taking a deep calm breath...
...Then roared his frustration to all within earshot.
After a few minutes, Wally composed himself and started searching his desk for a flashlight. No luck. His phone would have to do. The Rainbow Factory was abnormally dark when the power went out. No emergency lighting (he would need to work on that) and no windows. He used the flashlight on his phone to find his radio and toggled the switch. "Maintenance come back."
Static.
"Maintenance, come back," he said a little more firmly, and sighed when still only static greeted him. "Frickin great..." he mumbled. Barnaby had suggested that Wally try to curb his cursing as it wasn't "professional" and he needed to at least try to act the part. He snagged his white labcoat and white hard hat from the hook next to the door. He hated how the hat would flatten his hair down, but he didn't want to risk stumbling around in the dark facility and then run into some pipe or low hanging processing line."I hope the dumb doors still work." Wally stepped out of his office and swept the phone from side to side. He couldn't quite pin it, but this place was even more creepy in the dark. He continued to the break room at the end of the hall and looked out of the large windows to the production floor. Distantly he could see flashlights or phones creeping around in the dark, someone had the idea to walk around with a flask of Pure Orange from the lab to use as a lantern. Wally lifted the radio to his lips again and called for Maintenance one more time.
Only static.
"I'm going to eviscerate that entire department when I get more people in here," he closed the break room door then rested his hand on the knob. Using the "shortcut" method to get around the Factory took some effort but he was getting the hang of it. He still wasn't able to rapid fire doors the way QC could. "Maintenance..." he whispered, then opened the door. The first time didn't work, so he closed the door and tried again. This time he closed his eyes and thought about that dusty little shop, the smell of grease and spilled oil with an underlying tone of coffee. A mild dizzy feeling took hold and when he opened the door again he was greeted by the Maintenance shop.
The inside was brightly lit from many flashlights that had been converted into lanterns. The Maintenance crew stood around a table with a few large blueprints spread before them. They were a mixed bunch of different species and races. A couple of humans, a Pony, Puppets, and some guy that looked like he was made of solid rock. They pressed greasy fingers (or hooves) onto the paper and argued over which transformer blew and where.
"I'm tellin' ya! It was the main in the parking lot, its the only one that can knock out everythin!"
"That one only affects the amenities, this was one of the bigger ones deeper in the plant."
"Even the back up systems are down, has to be one of the main connective ports or even a supplier."
Wally cleared his throat and the arguing stopped. "Gentlemen?"
"Oh hey Boss," the rockman spoke up. "Didn't see you there."
Wally came forward with his hands behind his back and looked down at the blueprints. He couldn't make heads or tails of them. "Is there a reason none of you are answering the radio? I called several times."
The maintenance crew all exchanged glances. "We didn't hear the radio..." All of them nearly simultaneously went for their respective radios to check for activation. They then tried contacting each other. "The radios are down..." the crew exchanged glances one more time then pointed at the same section of blueprint with shouts of "Thats it!" or "A-ha!"
Wally remained quiet while they had their moment. "So you know whats wrong?"
"Yeah, its one of the connection banks near Receiving, blows all the time, doesn't always take the radios with it though. We'll go check it out, see if it can be fixed or if we need to swap out some parts."
Wally nodded. "How long until its fixed?"
"Eh, can't give a good estimate just yet. Could be an hour, could be as much as six depending on what broke."
Wally looked around the shop. "I'm borrowing a flashlight, my phone is almost dead," he grabbed one of the nearest ones then went back to the closed door. If the problem was in Receiving, then he would make that his next stop. Receiving: loud, open, smelly. The confirmation dizziness took over again and he opened the door into the Receiving Shed. Here the trucks and forklifts were still and silent for once, their flood lights providing the only light in the area. In the middle of the shed a cage carrying Puppets had been knocked off the conveyor and the employees from Live Hang ran around with catch poles to round up escaped material. "What the hell happened here?"
"We got sent a Doozy," said a soft voice at his elbow.
Wally looked down to see QC standing next to him. She would be here first. QC wore her usual white lab coat and yellow hard hat, her short yellow hair peeked from around the edges loosely contained by a fine hair net. She held a clipboard in one hand and a small lantern in the other. The lantern seemed unusual, it had no flame or light bulb, instead the source of the light was a small glowing five point yellow star. The overall effect was quite cute. "I see the broken cage but the crew seems to have it under control."
"No, a Doozy. It's a large critter that needs special treatment and restraint before going into the Device. We were not warned that a Doozy was coming in this shipment, so the Live Hang crew was not prepared for it. It got out."
Wally rested his hand on his forehead and breathed deeply. "So...there's a Doozy loose in the Factory?"
"The foreman is already on it. They're tracking it. I highly recommend that you return to your office Mr. Walden, at least until the Doozy is caught and the power is back on," she looked up at him.
"I want to see this thing for myself, I admit I have no idea what a Doozy is."
QC shifted her gaze as the last of the escaped Puppets were rounded up and put back in the cage. "Please be careful Mr Walden. A Doozy can take many forms, but they are almost always a problem. Now if I may be excused, I need to check on the material coming out of the Stunner and ensure they are not waking up anytime soon." She tucked her clipboard under her arm and pulled a stun gun from her pocket, then walked with purpose toward the door to Live Hang.
Wally watched her and couldn't keep the grin from his face. "I'll leave you to it..." he mumbled under his breath, and approached the fallen cage. The Live Hang crew managed to round up all the escapees and righted it on the conveyor belt again. To the side was another larger cage that had been broken open and mangled. Wally lifted the flashlight and read the side panel "Living Island Farms...huh. Now I know who to write the complaint letter to." He stepped away from the broken cage and swept the beam back and forth. The side of the Receiving Shed had a large hole punched through it. Beyond the hole was a small dark parking lot dedicated to the Live Haul trucks that dropped off material, and beyond that was the Factory wall. He saw a few of the Maintenance men working on some large amalgamation of electrical equipment illuminated by their own equipment. It was another dark and moonless night. Wally stepped away from the hole and shrugged. There wasn't much more that he could do here except be in the way. The power would come back on eventually and there would probably be some other escaped Puppets running loose. He returned to the door leading to Live Hang that QC had gone through only a few moments before.
He rested his hand on the doorknob and stepped through...into a place he had never been before. He didn't have a firm destination in mind when he opened the door and so it had just taken him to some place at random. For a moment he looked back over his shoulder at the Receiving Shed, then stepped through and closed the door behind him. His shoes touched the grating of a catwalk and his flashlight illuminated a narrow walkway before him bordered on either side with rusty railing. He took a step and felt the metal groan under his foot. "Another thing to drop on Maintenance..." he advanced another step and continued on slowly through the dark until he reached an intersection. Wally took this moment to lean the flashlight over the edge and inspect whatever lay beyond.
Far down he could see a glimmer in the dark. He fixed his gaze on the shimmer and slowly shapes came into view. They were mixing vats filled with paste-like color and mixed with glitter. Wally remembered that he turned down this part of the tour a few days ago and had been so busy in the office he never picked it back up. He found a set of steps that led to the mixing floor so he could get a better look at the vats and their contents. As far as he could tell there were three chutes that led into each vat. One was the Pure Color that came from filtration and labs, one was glitter, and the other was some custom media designed to hold the two together. Even in the dark small drips of Pure Color were visible on the edges of the observation platforms, even if they didn't illuminate the area around them.
Curiosity got the better of him and he walked along the mixing floor looking into the vats. Each vat resembled a large bowl with a mixing arm and paddle set inside. Even in the thin light of the flashlight, the colors were spectacular. Over the past few days he had made himself familiar with the wide variety of products the Rainbow Factory produced. Contrary to what he had assumed when he first started, the factory didn't make paint, but instead they made pigments in many forms. Most of them were the powder or liquid variety, but others were also sold in the form of crystals for magic users (who needed that extra kick to their spells) or even gas pigments or plasma. He didn't quite understand how the latter worked, and had wanted to ask QC about it when he had the time. They also produced and bottled colored sound. Because of course sound needed a color to get the point across. Considering the wide range of unusual products they made, this was probably the safest room he could have found himself in. Good old tangible matter pigment.
Wally continued walking. At some point he had walked through some spilled product and now one of his dress shoes left red prints as he walked. He cursed in the dark about ruining one of his favorite pairs and kept on going. If he touched any of the pigment in the vats it would never come off. All he had to do was find a door and then he could return to the safety of his office. He swept the flashlight around and approached one of the walls of the mixing room. He couldn't even see the ceiling anymore as it was so high overhead. He didn't find a door but he did find the entrance to the next room over. In this room there were large mesh tumblers suspended sideways in shallow liquid. Wally drew closer to study the nearest tumbler.
When operating properly, this room probably was loud and colorful like the rest of the Factory. The tumblers would rotate and pick up the liquid in the fine mesh and then as they rotated, the liquid evaporated leaving powdered pigment behind. The powder was then scraped off by a bar near the top of the tumbler and collected in a hopper. Fascinating process but still no door. Wally pondered backtracking to the steps he had come down but thought against it. He would just get more lost in the dark.
At his side the radio chirped, and he jumped a bit, startled by the sudden noise. He calmed himself and then pulled the radio from his belt loop. Good, they were working again. He lifted the radio to his lips and pressed the toggle. "QC come back."
Nothing.
"QC come back?"
Still nothing.
"Dammit," he turned the radio off, then back on again. "Radio check, radio check."
This time he heard static, as if he were slightly out of range. Wally picked a direction and started walking while toggling the radio to search for a stronger signal. His phone, likewise, had no signal either. He passed under an archway and looked for a door or a map or something to help him figure out where he was. "Radio check, radio check." The signal seemed to be getting stronger, but still wasn't quite there yet. For a moment he stopped and looked around to see what room he had ended up in now. All around him were gently glowing storage tanks of Pure Color. "Radio check, Radio..." his gaze went upward to the ceiling, "...check?"
The ceiling looked like a flower, like a massive chrysanthemum made of multi-colored glowing gently waving stalks. He watched the flower change shape and elongate, like some massive fuzzy caterpillar that had been curled up in a circle had just unwound itself. Wally watched in silence as the glowing field crawled across the ceiling. He almost didn't notice that the power had come back on and the overhead lights were slowly warming up. He heard the sound of ripping metal and a flow of Green Pure came from the ceiling. The stalks flicked through a range of colors then settled on green as the Pure stopped flowing. The lights in the room suddenly flickered on all at once and Wally beheld the full horror of what was on the ceiling.
It was a creature that seemed to be part sloth and part caterpillar. It had a long fuzzy glowing body the size of a city bus with no less than ten pairs of arm-like legs extending from along the length that held the creature to the ceiling. Each arm ended in a strange paw with three long hooked claws. Its head was much smaller than the rest of its body and could elongate or withdraw to almost half the bodies overall length. Wally watched as it drank the pipe dry, then went to break into another one and drink the Pure there.
He had found the Doozy.
Wally lifted one foot with the intent of a quiet retreat when his radio suddenly squawked to life. "Loud and clear Boss."
The Doozy suddenly whipped its head around and fixed three black eyes on Wally. For the barest moment, Wally wondered if the Doozy was just going to go on drinking up valuable inventory, but then he felt something like a shiver move through him. The stalks along the Doozy's fuzzy backside flickered through another range of color before settling on a vibrant purple. Wally realized with growing dread that shade of purple was his purple.
"Shit." He stated, then turned and began running. He kicked his heels up, gripping the radio in one hand and flashlight in the other. Behind him he heard and felt a loud "THUD" as the Doozy dropped from the ceiling and gave chase.
"Hey Bossman, whats your 20?"
Wally juked behind a tumbler and slowed his pace long enough to lift the radio and shout, "DOOZY!!" He didn't have time to register the silence over the radio before the Doozy ripped the tumbler from its mount and threw it across the room into other tumblers, splattering pigment and powder everywhere. Wally started running again, not caring about the direction, only that it was away from the Doozy. And the creature was fast, faster than should be possible for something of that size. It didn't crawl after him, instead each of the arms pulled itself across the floor or wall. Wally followed his one foot print trail back along the path he had previously taken. He found the steps again and took them up to the catwalk three at a time. The Doozy, not be be outdone, climbed up a support beam, grabbed the catwalk, and began to shake it.
Wally felt his feet slide out from under him and he fell, hitting the rough grating of the catwalk before adrenaline forced him back to his feet and running once again. The catwalk gave under the Doozies' assault, and Wally felt his hopes fade as the catwalk fell away from the door he had been searching for. He exhaled a curse then turned his feet in another direction. The Doozy continued pursuit, knocking off parts of the catwalk or jumping between support pillars. Wally's lungs began to burn but he forced himself to keep moving. If there was one thing his long legs were good for, it was putting as much ground behind him as possible. He passed under another arch and his feet touched concrete, well one foot did, he had lost his other shoe somewhere back there and didn't notice. The concrete was another overlooking walkway to a production floor, some kind of packaging hall from the looks of it. Boxes of neatly packed sets of pigment were arranged on pallets down below, each bearing the Rainbow Factory logo. For a moment Wally slowed and kicked off his last shoe to even his stride, wondering if the Doozy would be able to follow him through the archway.
The Doozy did seem momentarily stalled, but soon extended its long neck topped by those three black eyes and began to ooze its way through the arch. "Fuck!" Wally shouted and used this chance to get the lead on the creature. As he ran he lifted the radio and shouted into it. "Doozy! Packing hall!"
"10-4 Mr Walden," QC said calmly over the radio.
Wally resumed his previous sprint. "I'm going to fire everyone who set eyes on that damn thing...!" Behind him he heard slight "pop" as the Doozy finally cleared the archway. Its spines now alternated between rich purple and bright red. Fine, it could be mad. Despite his situation Wally pondered the strange feeling that had come over him when he realized the Doozy had every intention of coming after him. There was something so intimate about the purple color, like some secret that someone else was never meant to find. Violated. That's how he felt. That purple was a reflection of his own Essence, it was personal, something he only wanted to share with someone else who could understand and appreciate it. Now this creature pursued with an insatiable hunger set in its three eyes. It didn't care about Walden Darling, all it wanted was to be satisfied with that purple Essence.
And this made Wally understandably furious.
He continued running along the concrete overlook, and finally saw a door up ahead. He grinned in elation. Oh where oh where did he want to go? His office? The Maintenance shop to grab something he could use as a weapon? Perhaps Live Hang to beat the shit out of bastards that let this thing escape? He had to pick one. One door, one destination. He slammed into the door and rested his hand on the knob. His office. He could catch his breath and--
Wally glanced over his shoulder at the Doozy. It had shifted color again. This time it shifted from purple to brilliant sunny yellow.
"Canary...!" She was here somewhere, he just couldn't see her yet. Dammit, she would get here that quickly.
Without thinking, he reacted. He left the safety of the door and began to pursue the Doozy. "Get back here!" he roared, his sore lungs already burning from his escape. "You piece of shit! I'm what you want right?!"
The Doozy had left the overlook and jumped to the production floor. Pallets of boxes overturned as the creature chased its new target. Wally finally saw her darting between stacks of boxes. She was quick, but the Doozy was bigger, faster, and closing in. Wally ran alongside the Doozy on the overlook until he pulled just ahead, then vaulted over the railing and into open space. His outstretched hands grabbed a chain hanging from an overhead crane and he swung down, landing barefoot just behind QC, grabbing her around the waist and out of the path of the Doozy. They went through a pile of empty boxes and slammed into a closed door. Before QC could protest, he touched the knob and practically commanded, OFFICE, then opened the door and threw her in. Before he could follow, the Doozy had snapped back around, extending one of its clawed rear hands/feet and batted Wally bodily away, slamming the door shut in the process.
Wally flew through another pile of boxes before coming to forceful halt against a stack of wooden pallets. His head slammed into the wood and he was silently grateful that he had remembered to put on his hard hat. The impact had knocked the wind out of him momentarily. The Doozy shifted from yellow to purple again and began to close in. Wally saw a mouth open just under the triple black eyes and knew he wasn't going to have time to get away.
A forklift suddenly slammed into the side of the Doozy and the creature screeched in both pain and frustration at being denied a well-won meal. One clawed paw reached out in defiance and slashed Wally across his chest. But much like his missing shoes, he barely registered the injury. He pulled himself to his feet as the Live Hang crew came in with catch poles and chains. For a moment he leaned on the stack of pallets and caught his breath, then his eyes settled on a fallen length of pipe on the floor. With a grin he closed his hand around the pipe and lifted it up. Another forklift had come in and more workers struggled to contain the Doozy.
"Move." Wally commanded, and two of the Live Hang crew got out of his path. "This fucker," he raised the pipe like a baseball bat. "Is mine."
He wasn't sure how much he had left in him to swing, but greater things had been done in the name of spiteful revenge. He still managed to land a fairly impressive blow across what the Doozy considered a face and nearly popped one of the three eyes out of socket. Wally leaned on the pipe and took in more deep breaths. As much as he wanted to beat the literal black and blue out of the Doozy, he didn't have it in him for another swing. Instead he took his pipe and stepped off to the side to let his crew work. "Get this damn thing to the Device. I want to this fucker to be a box of glitter and new paint for my car in the next hour."
"Yes Bossman!"
"And somebody check on QC!"
The Doozy was restrained by the chains, and then rolled into position with the forklifts. They then dragged it to a loading bay where the pallets of product would be put on trucks for delivery to either the warehouse or customers. Wally eventually caught his breath even though his chest still burned, both from his mad scramble through the plant and the wound he just noticed. He followed along as the Doozy was moved outside then picked up with a bulldozer and hauled across the parking lot to an open door for the main production area. Halfway across the lot he began to feel feverish, and attributed the sensation to the fact he hadn't run like that since high school. He wouldn't be surprised if he puked later on.
More forklifts moved the Doozy into the production area where the Device sat warming up. Some of the puppets that were on the processing lines had come out of their stun and were being dealt with by both the Live Hang and Production crews. They would have to be returned to their cages and fed back through again, as was procedure. Wally left the crews to do their work, he only wanted to watch one thing burn, and that was the Doozy.
As soon as the Doozy was set on the ground, it began to struggle against the chains. Its body twitched whip-like side to side, sending both crew and material flying. Wally began to feel dizzy, the wound on his chest burned.
"Get it in the Device! Hurry!" the foreman shouted.
A large panel on the side of the Device was opened, a panel created just for large creatures like the Doozy. Wally backed away, stumbling to get clear of the crews, but not making it far as his ability to walk became impaired. This was not just a fever or nausea, no this was different. It had come on too quickly, just after that Doozy had scratched him. He suddenly covered the wound on his chest with his hand. Poison? Could these creatures do that? He felt something hook his leg and he looked down.
Three forklifts pushed the Doozy into the Device and five crew members shut and locked the door. "Alright Boss, in two minutes the Device will start up again, you wanna push the button? Boss?...Boss? Anybody see the Boss?"
So this is what the inside looked like. The Doozy had reached out one clawed paw and caught Wally's leg as it was pushed in. Normally he could shake it off, but not this time, not with his senses scrambled. The Doozy was still bound up in chains and wasn't going anywhere. Wally managed to stand and leaned against the wall, then raise a fevered fist and hit it weakly. A burning sensation began to spread to his entire body, he felt both hot and cold, and uncomfortable in his clothes. He reached up and pulled the hard hat from his head and weakly beat on the wall with it. "You fucking idiots..."
He heard and felt a deep thrumming whine. Wally knew that sound by now, it was the start up tone of the Device. Panic began to rise in his chest, compounding against the dizziness and the burn in his body. The floor of the chamber began to grow brighter and an aperture in the center began to open like an iris, like some all-seeing eye somewhere deep below. Wally hit the wall with his hat harder, adding a shout that seemed pitiful compared to the whine in his ears. The Doozy extended a claw toward its would-be meal, but Wally's attention had been drawn elsewhere. The aperture had opened far enough that he could see what lay beyond it. Down below was a prism with many facets, each one reflecting all colors of the rainbow and even a few he had never seen before. It shimmered with an inner light that resembled stars in the night sky.
"Wally!" QC called from somewhere.
It was so pretty, so hard to look away from. Just looking at it filled him with a sense of peace. Peace he hadn't known since...
"Wally! Don't look at the prism! I know it's hard, but do not look at the prism!"
And then it began to open, like crystal petals unfolding from a glass flower. The wall under his back seemed to shift, but he barely felt it. The light. Everything was safe within the light. The purity of it all.
A hand grabbed his pompadour and yanked his head back just as the room exploded in white light. It felt solid, shaking him down to the core of his being, rendering him into...and then he was out. Out of the light and into the cold, away from the Rainbow and into the Factory. For a moment he lay on his back, his head rested on something soft and warm while above him bright solid light and energy spilled from the Device and into the room. Two workers with their eyes wrapped in rags pushed a hatch shut and locked it down tight. The small hand let go of his hair and he heard Canary breathing heavily behind him. Was he laying on her?
Sleep. He needed sleep.
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Wally awoke sometime later in a bed that wasn't his. At first the world was blurry, but then as the dregs of sleep washed away he could make out more. There was curtain around the bed, similar to a hospital or a doctors office. It wasn't long before his mind put together the pieces and he remembered this place as the nurse's office in the Rainbow Factory. Like the rest of the place it was old and dusty from a decade of non-use. Seated in a chair beside his bed was QC. She was reading a book by the light of her little star lantern. She had taken her hard hat and lab coat off but still wore her vest. The lantern played gentle light on her nearly white hair.
White? No, it had been bright yellow before. When did it turn white?
QC looked up from her book as Wally stirred. "Hey, lay back down," she said gently. "You're okay."
"Where?" his voice croaked.
She put a ribbon between the pages as a bookmark. "You're in the nurse's office of the factory. You have been asleep for the past eight hours. It's currently nine in the morning, and the sanitation shift has just started. Everything is getting cleaned up and the Factory is doing fine."
"What--" he tried to sit up again.
"Lay down," she placed a hand on his shoulder and gently pressed him back to the bed. "The Doozy has been turned into car paint and a box of glitter as you requested. Although I'm not sure you want your car to be painted color-shifting Green," she smiled. "You had taken a dose of the initial blast from the Device, as well as a mild case of poisoning from the Doozy. The poison should be out of your system by now, but you might feel hungover for the next twenty four hours. The blast from the Device however...might take a bit longer to clear."
"Please let me sit up."
"Okay," she said with a warning edge to her tone. "There's a bucket beside the bed in case you need to vomit."
Wally sat up and looked down at chest, bare with the exception of a bandage. He lifted his hand and covered it. "Did you do this?"
QC nodded. "No nurse or medical personnel here, so I've had to learn a few things. I only took off your shirt though. You're on your own for the rest," she set the book down and turned on a lamp at the side of the bed, then turned off her lantern. She ducked behind the curtain for a moment, and when she came back she set a folded up shirt on Wally's lap. "Here, it should be your size. Its a janitorial uniform, but better than nothing."
Wally grinned at the irony, but put the shirt on anyway. He had been dealing with a lot of shit lately. In the brighter light he could get a better look at QC. She seemed...faded somehow. Her yellow hair had changed color to nearly white and the healthy pink glow of her cheeks now appeared bleached and clammy. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, it's not the first time I've gotten a bit of blowback from the Device. Almost everyone has at some time or another. My color will come back in time. As will yours. Hmm..."
"Huh?" Wally froze as she leaned in closer to his face, close enough for him to see a small star-shaped freckle on her cheek.
"You looked into it didn't you?" she returned to her seat.
"I don't think I had much of a choice. What do you mean?"
"Your eyes changed color," QC found a small mirror and gave it to Wally. He inspected himself in the mirror and as expected his hair was a mess, but it had also...faded. Even the yellow of his skin had lightened up a few shades. But the most startling change were his eyes. They had always been deep brown, nearly black. Now they were red with clearly defined iris and pupils. All pigment and color had been drained from them. He gave the mirror back to QC, who set it off to the side then presented him with a small plastic bag with a mass of his blue hair inside. The difference between the former and current color was obvious. "I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to pull any out. But it was the only way to get you to look away from the prism."
Wally accepted the bag from her. "I'm glad you did. Thank you Canary."
QC looked to the floor and grinned, then she looked up. "Oh! Almost forgot!" she set another box on the bed. "No more dress shoes in the plant. Honestly, what gave you the idea that they were acceptable in an industry environment? These are steel toes, well more carbon composite toes, anyway. Water proof, oil proof and slip resistant soles with added rubber insulation for protection against electrical work. Also the soles have a flexible plate installed in case you step on the odd nail it won't go through your foot. Wear them."
Wally opened the box and beheld a pair of work boots that looked as if they would be at home on a space station. "Thank you Ms Yellow." His voice sounded gravely and rough from all of the screaming the day before.
QC slipped out of her chair and collected her things. "Oh, and when you're ready, there's someone in the front office asking about the HR job?"
Wally almost couldn't hide his surprise. Barnaby had come through.
"I'll see you on the floor," QC chirped, then left the nurse's office.
Wally sat quietly for a moment and let his thoughts settle. When he felt confident enough he swung his legs off the bed and slipped the boots and included socks on. They felt amazing on his feet, supporting all the right places. "Oh where have you been all my life?" He took a moment to freshen up in the attached bathroom and tamed his hair. There was a decent chunk missing, but he could easily hide it. It would grow back soon enough. He then made his way to the HR office. There was only one person seated within and as soon as he saw him, Wally's heart sank.
Frank stood up as Wally entered. Frank was one of his neighbors, a grey-skined black haired know-it-all Puppet with a liking for insects and colorful argyle sweaters. Frank looked him over with his trademark disapproving frown and Wally reflexively pulled the monocle from his pocket and looked Frank over with it. Franks Essence was a tone they produced known as "Disappointed Lime." Frank in turn saw the janitors uniform and put his hands on his hips. "I thought you said you were the factory manager?"
"Uh...I am. Last night...uh. Last night was a Doozy."
"Well that's just how management is Wally, you take the hits and roll with them,"
Through several pallets of boxes,
"And you keep getting back up to do it again. You don't get to complain about it being tough." Frank folded his arms. "Its no surprise you said you needed help, after all you never could seem to get things done on your own, of course it was only a matter of time before you reached out for your neighbors to save you, again. But I never have turned you down even though I know I should just let you take the fall on your own. Builds more character I say. You can't always pick someone up when they tumble, they gotta learn to stand on their own two feet. So what it is Mr Darling Manager sir? What mess do you need me to clean up this time?"
For the longest moment Wally pondered if they needed more green. Nothing would have made him happier than to toss the smug bastard into the Device. Instead he went to a filing cabinet that he somehow knew would be there, and removed an old packet of stapled papers that he also somehow had arcane knowledge would be there. He set it down in front of Frank on a table. "I need an HR manager. Someone to help hire and fire talent. Would you like the job?"
"HR? Are you sure Walter?"
"Walden," Wally firmly corrected. "Mr. Walden. If you would."
Frank paused. The Wally he knew had never bothered to bite back like that before. At least not to him. He took up the packet and looked it over. "HR is a big deal. But why me Mr Walden."
Wally breathed deep. He tried to play nice with his neighbors, but at the moment he was out of fucks to give. "Because, Frank. Barnaby recommended that I not hire my friends, and I couldn't think of a single person in the world that I hate more than you."
Franks jaw dropped.
"So, Frank. Do you want the job or not?" he growled.
Without taking his eyes off of Wally, Frank flipped to the last page and signed on the dotted line. "I'm only doing this because I want to see you fail. You want bodies, I'll give you bodies and be here to watch you step on all the pearls at your feet you swine."
Wally grinned. A madmans grin that seemed to split his face in two and gave a hint as to the darkness that lurked underneath. "Your office is over there. Welcome to the Rainbow Factory Frank. I look forward to seeing what you can do."