Art is by  thetunafish

PART 2


Kiki stirred to consciousness despite her mind still being mired in lethargy. The opossum woman felt the unnatural chill of withdrawal. Even over the din of fatigue, her body and brain demanded the drink and narcos she spent the last few years swimming in. With enough effort Kiki was able to focus her vision. Gone was the decrepit hovel she had called home back in the Lower City of Metropolis, now she found herself in what appeared to be a hospital room. The floors and walls were a stark and sterile white, a heart monitor beeped in rhythm with her heart, a powered-off television looked down on her from the corner of the ceiling and lastly Kiki noticed an IV drip in her arm. The writing on the bag was too small for Kiki to discern but to her side she noticed someone brought her flowers at least.

Then a not-so-innocent realization dawned on Kiki: her wrists were bound to the bed. Even in her incapacitated state Kiki made vain attempts to defy the binds that were some kind of reinforced leather. The type even a sharp knife would need a hot minute to cut through.

Kiki ceased her struggling when a nearby door opened with a sleek hydraulic hiss. In strolled a familiar dragon wearing a white lab coat complete with stethoscope. Kiki knew this dragon- she met him before she lost consciousness back in Metropolis. Kiki tried to speak but was too weak to speak.

The large musclebound dragon must have noticed because he spoke up, "I'm glad you're awake. I was waiting for the motion sensors to alert me. If you can understand me, shake your head."

Kiki was more puzzled than anything at this man's questions. His build and stature put him more at him in a gym not dressed like a scientist in the quietest hospital on the planet. But she decided to humor the dragon regardless and willed her body to rock her head up and down.

"Excellent. I'm sure you have many questions and I have many answers to give. Do you remember your name? Shake your head if you remember." The dragon asked as he picked up a file and began thumbing through it.

Kiki centered her thoughts and channeled her strength to mutter, "K-Kiki. Kiki."

His brow perked up from his reading, "You were always an impressive woman Ms. Blackneck."

"Who...re' you?" Kiki stammered with labored breaths.

The dragon paused for a moment in contemplation, "My name is Zaphoros. Dr. Zaphoros. And to answer your next question you are at my home and in my personal clinic. We are far away from Metropolis."

Kiki cleared her throat, "Why me?"

Zaphoros closed the file and loomed near, "I've been.... watching you for quite some time." He lied. He thought Kiki was dead but she was one of the few women who was ever nice to him before he became Zaphoros. And to find her in her sordid slum in Metropolis... Zaphoros had to get her out. Now she was home, where she could be safe but she could not know who he used to be lest they all be placed in danger.

"What coul.. you see in narco fiend like me?" Kiki slurred again.

Zaphoros thought how to respond. He wanted to wait to reveal to Kiki her new life in his harem, where she could live a simple but good life in captivity with him. At least until her treatment was done. "Because I want to help you and I could not abide by your sorry life in Metropolis. I brought you here to be treated."

Zaphoros curbed her next question and continued, "I have access to advanced medicines not on the market. I'm curing your addictions by sending your metabolism into overdrive essentially with a series of increasingly strong steroids. This is why your arms are bound- for your own safety."

Kiki's stomach let out a furious growl before she could speak. "That's a side effect. You're going to be very, very hungry. We have been feeding you a liquid diet for the past three weeks. We use catheters and the like to remove your bodily waste and have you on a series of hydro massage regiments to make sure your muscles don't atrophy too much while you are under for the worst parts of withdrawal. Apart from the drug use- you came out with a surprisingly good bill of health. X-rays came back clear, STI tests came back negative- save for some mild damage to your liver I'd say that's a miracle."

Kiki was not sure how she should feel about the prospect of being spirited away by this strange man and given all these invasive and intimate procedures. But Kiki used to be a doctor, she had seen more than her fair share of genitalia and ran more catheters than she could count. She reconciled if it was for medicine, she could look past the unpermitted use of her body.

"Who's we?" Kiki asked again, finding more of her voice.

Zaphoros put the file down on a nearby table, "Assistants of course. How about we see if we can get some physical food in you now?" He deflected and left to prep her meal.