Ok- I have been requested by zombienath and prodded for a Bonus Chapter.

(KJ rubbs a sore spot approximately the size of InuGhost2.0's boot.)

This is just almost purely fluff. Please don't expect any story development, or plot, or anything like that. This is just for fun at the request of you, the reviewers. I hope that you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it.

Claudia helped Artie across several aisles towards the Edison Car. The old agent was limping along painfully so he didn't notice her modifications as he climbed up. He settled into the seat tenderly as the teenager swung up behind him into the driver's seat.

Claudia leaned forward and touched his shoulder from behind. "You ok?"

"Yup!" Artie grunted out, breathless from the walk. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back to relax. His eyes flew open when the car jerked forward and the tires squealed. His heart was suddenly in his throat as he was caught totally off guard. "CLAUDIA!"

Claudia was taken by surprise too. She jumped on the brakes which only threw her boss forward into the railing.

"Whoa! Stuck accelerator Artie I swear!"

"What… what did you do?" he hollered over his shoulder at her.

"Uh…. Nothing…" she squeaked out lamely.

"Nothing?" He turned in the seat to look at her behind him. He lowered his voice to a low growl that made Claudia grimace more than his shouts. "This car runs on electricity produced from two humans. TWO!"

He stared at the red head who could only sit there and swallow hard.

"How many batteries did you hook up?" he growled.

Claudia smirked and grimaced. "uh… three…" Her voice was suddenly two octaves higher.

Artie sucked in his breath to yell again, but caught himself. He closed his eyes as his blood pressure spiked. Claudia held her breath to see if he was going to spontaneously combust.

With a great effort Artie spoke through his teeth. "one" he took a deep breath and opened his eyes. "One battery." He said deadly calm.

Claudia's eyes were wide in alarm. She would rather that he yelled at her. She gulped audibly. "Yes sir!" She hopped off the car and unhooked two of the three batteries giving the electric car its extra horse power. She ducked as spark flew when she re-hooked up the last battery. In short order she hopped back into the driver's seat, both hands on the steering wheel, staring at her boss for permission to continue.

Artie stared at her hard from his sideways position in the front seat. "One?" He held up one finger to reemphasize.

Claudia nodded quickly. "One!"

The senior agent released another breath. He turned forward again, flinching when his right arm didn't quite clear the back end. Claudia slowly stepped on the accelerator and the electric car gently chugged forward.

(A Little Later)

A few rows later Claudia turned the now gently moving car right, down an aisle.

Artie set up straighter. "Left. Claudia left." He pointed to the left.

Claudia brought the car to a stop. "Artie, this is the fastest way to the office." She reached for her map that she managed to hold on through the whole day and referenced it.

"No, no, no, no… the pipe." Artie used both hands to gesticulate his point.

Claudia was incredulous. "Artie! I'm getting you to the office." She started to move the car again.

"Claudia!" Artie's voice had a frantic edge to it that made her stop the car again. "We have to get that neutralizer flowing or that vine… will be the least of our worries."

She considered for a brief second more. Artie was right. She briefly weighed the potential threat against her concern for her boss. "Bah! Ok! Ok!" She cranked wheel around and turned the car to the left.

(A Small Car Ride Later)

Artie looked to the top row of the aisle as Claudia slowly drove the car up to the ladder. "Ok, ok. Here."

Claudia stopped the car and saw Artie starting to get off. "Artie! What are you…"

The old agent cringed as he moved toward the edge of the seat. "I'll just…." He gestured upwards. "You know."

"But you…"

He waved his hand dismissing her objection. "It's simple; just have to put it back together. Besides, I have the harness." The safety harness had survived the whole ordeal surprisingly well and was still over Artie clothes.

Claudia tilted her head in disbelief as she watched her boss struggle. He could barely walk and now he was fighting her to climb a huge ladder to the top row? He's crazy! She shook her head and watched for the inevitable outcome of his stubbornness.

"Artie- just let me go up." She begged one more time.

He waved his hand at her again. He slid off of the seat and instantly his left leg gave out. He whimpered and grabbed the car for support, dragging himself back up.

"Ok you go up."

Claudia huffed at him and jumped down. They removed the safety harness from Artie and tightened it up significantly for Claudia's frame. Artie gave her instructions on reassembling the neutralizer pipe. As Claudia scaled the super sized ladder Artie called after her "Don't forget my bag!"

On the ground Artie took his time hobbling to the end of the aisle. Once he saw Claudia starting to descend the ladder he ran a diagnostic that tested the pressure in the system. A few seconds later he got a high pitched ding and a green signal. He quickly pressed a few more options on the screen and started the neutralizer flowing. He looked straight up at the pipe running at the top of the shelves. Everything appeared normal, which he confirmed on the system panel. Seeing that the neutralizer system was indeed operation once again, Artie felt stress fall away from him.

Claudia climbed down the ladder. She saw Artie slowly hobbling down the aisle, leaning on crates as he came upon them. He was waiting for her at the car when she made it down to the floor of the warehouse. The red head was out of breath from the long climb down and the grey head was breathless from his struggle down the aisle.

She stood beside him, both of them taking a second to catch their breath. The apprentice agent looked at her mentor and gave him a grin about their shared struggle. He threw his good arm around her and gave her a quick hug. In unison they both leaned back in exhaustion.

Fin.

Thanks for reading.

KJ~