‘Show yourself, you lousy slimey eight-legged toad-sucking son-of-a-bitch!’
The Moray Eel's voice reminded the octopus Earl of the sound mailing tape made as it was ripped from the roll. The eel poked his uncommonly sleek bald head around each corner sniffing as if he had a terrible cold. When in fact he was quite nearly blind.
However, The Eel's sense of smell nearly reached genius level. Of course, Earl was truly aware of The Eel's senses. The octopus stretched himself far above the deck as he pretended to be a small jib sail fluttering on the air currents. Given his location, Earl would be soon trapped by the Russian President who was cautiously slithering along the deck.
The Octopus Earl took his attention off of The Eel for just a moment, to send a telepathic message to the 20-foot-tall eldest Lion, Gloria.
The ‘Russian escaped! Need assist ASAP!’
‘Yes. Sending Susan.’
Earl quickly threw all of his attention back to surviving. But The Eel had tracked the octopus down. Or would that be up? He used his remarkable sense of smell, ascended the mast, and was mere inches away.
The evil-looking creature began firing up his cells to discharge his full 600 volts right into Earl's heart.
Suddenly Susan materialized at the far end of the vile creature. She had stepped through time to come to The Octopus’ rescue:
‘Mr. President! You seem to have escaped your cell. Time to return.’
The Eel turned his sleek head, forgetting The Octopus and sniffed deeply.
Ah Susan. So nice of you to come. It has been such a long time since we uh con….‘
Before he finished his last word The Eel struck at the lioness. Ever vigilant, Susan easily sidestepped the electrified eel. But the evil piece of negativity managed to nick her left knee. And she favored it in her next move.
Gloria had been focusing so intently on the earth plunging up and down that she nearly missed Octopus Earl’s emergency message! The Lioness hooked the Octopus Earl's message as it shot past like a speeding bullet and reeled it in. She passed it on to Susan's consciousness. Then it was back to her task at hand — changing America's healthcare system. She had invited a small group of 20-year-olds to dinner at the safe house.
As the eldest lioness looked around her table, she was pleased to see the enthusiasm the young people generated for a vibrant equal U.S. healthcare system.
First, there was Adam, who was a science fiction writer and able to project into the future. Next, there was Catherine, who was a physical therapist intent upon transforming her industry into free treatments available to all. She had graduated at the top of her class with a Masters and Doctorate rolled into one degree.
Last, Joseph was the third member of her young group. He was working as an aide to put himself through school, majoring in Healthcare Administration — an unusual, steep climb into management. Typically, management was led by people who never served on the front lines.
Gloria had recognized the three Pandaphants instantly when she saw them. These chimeras combined empathy, passion, and strength, a rare combination. The four of them sat at the long tables, clustered around one end. Catherine said:
‘I just came from seeing a very large woman. She needed a hospital bed, but Medicare in its infinite wisdom refused to cover it.
Joseph nodded in agreement:
An agency nurse who had never been at the rehabilitation unit where I work did not order pain meds. The facility's owners farm out each group of staff. Another profit margin chewing a hole in Medicare.. And no consistency in patient care. The next night they are on to another rehab center.
One patient couldn't get her pain medicine for 46 hours!
Gloria glanced around at the young adults’ faces. They were grim but determined to change the healthcare system. She turned to Adam and asked:
What do you see as the future in rehab care?
Adam glanced at each member then smiled.
A trickle of pink blood ran down her sparkling Lion hair. Unlike traditional Lions, White Lions have silky hair rather than fur. Just one more distinction between the two species. The Eel took a moment to gloat.
That was when Susan snared his spine three-quarters of the way down, overcharging his voltage and forcing the evil one's voltage back at him. It fused a handful of The Eel's spine bones into one. The electrical charges forced the Russian President to the very edge of the deck. Then in very slow motion, the vicious creature toppled over.
Susan glanced at Earl to see how he was doing as The Eel began to sink. Both Susan and The Octopus watched from the top of the mast. The dead Eel swiveled in the water as if he was in the grasp of a miniature whirlpool and finally sank in the dark water’s depths and out of sight.
The Protector White Lioness who was also 20 feet tall, looked over at Earl's body as he transformed from the sail back into his Octopus self. He read her thoughts:
‘I'm just fine, thanks to you, Susan. But you are injured.’
The great White Lion glanced at the small but persistent trickle of pink blood:
‘You're right, Earl. This wound needs attention. Now that the hideous Russian President is gone we are in much better shape. Of course, we must guard the other dictators:
‘Aye aye, Commodore.’
As she slipped back through time to return to the sitting President's side, Susan wondered what would come at them next. For during change there was always a challenge coming their way. And the greater the reformation the greater the challenges.