Honey, I Shrunk the Egos

Silver Lining

Kathryn was sitting in the driver's seat, still in the parking lot. "Where are we going?" She asked again.

"Just... give us a minute." Amy said from the back, where she was seated with Mark in her hand. Mark was sitting cross-legged in her palm, his face in his hands, shaking his head.

"I don't know." Mark muttered. "I just don't know. He could be literally anywhere!"

"His emergency contact is Ibis." Dr. Iplier piped up, from inside the box, Tyler was holding on his lap.

"Ibis! Of course!" Mark gasped. "His number is in my phone, do you have it?"

Amy nodded a little, pulling his cell phone out of one of her pockets and held it down so he could operate it. Using his whole hand he swiped across the screen and smashed his palms against the touch screen buttons to put in his password. He grunted as it declined, and tried again, finally getting right. Tyler leaned into the back seat, tilting his head. "Ibis?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Mark mumbled, opening his contacts. "He's uh... he's the Silver Shepherd's uhm..." Mark held his hands up, making air quotes. "Sidekick."

Tyler glanced at Amy, then back down at Mark. "Why did you say sidekick like that?"

"When the Silver Shepherd appeared in this reality, his sidekick, Ibis, did not appear with him." Google Blue began.

Google Red continued for him. "In order to continue trying to fight crime, the Silver Shepherd recruited a child, who wears a bath towel as a cape, and calls him Ibis."

"How old is this kid?" Tyler rose an eyebrow.

"Found it!" Mark grinned. "Uh, he's like... 14. He's a cool kid." He waved his hand, then pointed to the phone, glancing up at Amy. "Okay, call this number. Ask if he knows where the Silver Shepherd is."

Nodding, Amy called, putting the phone on speaker phone and held it up. "Hello?" Came a quiet voice, followed by a soft sniffle.

"Ibis?" Amy asked softly.

"I guess I go by Jeremy now." The voice muttered.

Amy frowned, glancing down at Mark, who shrugged. "Ask!"

"Okay." Amy sighed. "Uh, Jeremy, do you know where the Silver Shepherd is?"

"Oh..." Suddenly there was a violent sob, and Mark narrowed his eyes, motioning for Amy to keep going.

"Jeremy? Are you alright?" Amy asked softly.

"He... the Silver Shepherd is dead, ma'am." The boy replied.

Mark's eyes widened and he stared up at the phone, shaking his head slightly. He half collapsed as he sat down, hanging his head and shook it quickly. "No... no! How does he... how is he sure?"

Amy swallowed hard. "I'm sorry Jeremy. What... happened?" Jeremy struggled to explain the situation through his crying, and then gave them the address of their secret lair, which was actually just a shed in the Silver Shepherd's back yard. Amy promised him they would be there soon, and hung up. She could feel the odd tremor as Mark shook in her hand and she frowned. "Mark..."

"This is all my fault." Mark looked up at her, tears flowing down his cheeks. "He was a goofball and he never really saved anyone's life... but he never caused any harm either and now he's gone. It was my fault he was here, and now it's my fault he's gone and now that poor kid..." Mark sniffled, shaking his head. "That poor kid is probably traumatized."

"You had no idea this would happen. No one did." Amy promised, holding him protectively close and tried to soothe him.

Google Blue calculated the route and began giving Kathryn directions as she drove. The drive to the Silver Shepherd's house was somber, everyone silent except for Mark who became a little hysterical, and Amy who continued to try and console him.