"Ouch!" Said Kenny, the unimportant character from the last chapter that got his finger cut off who you probably already forgot. "Watch what the hell you're doing." He sat on one of the many hospital beds that were divided by curtains in a white sterile room that was filled with medical equipment.
"Quit squirming! Unless you don't want to have a functioning finger anymore!" The small girl with a medical mask(Who swapped her helmet out for a white head covering) was able to stop Kenny's bleeding and was attempting to get his finger back onto his hand. She took out some sutures and was getting ready to sew the finger back on.
"Woh! What are you trying to do? I hate needles! Why would I trust some little girl with tha-OOF." She punched Kenny right below the rib cage causing him to exhale all his air, while the shock knocked him unconscious.
"The name is Suzie, asshole," She said under her breath as she quickly stitched his finger back on. And bandaged it up. As she was wrapping up, a secret door in the wall opened up and out came Emi, Hector, Gustavo, Marcus, an unconscious Ronaldo carried by Q, and a limited edition vinyl of Purple Rain by the great Prince.
"Oh, hey Suzie," Gustavo said as he waved gleefully. Suzie's angry eyes relaxed at the sight of Gustavo and she began to wave.
"Hi, Gustavo!" She ran over and gave him a hug.
"How's everything going?" he asked her.
"Well, that guy that got his finger cut off was being a jerk so I punched him really hard. But I put his finger back on no problem. And Nelson is stable in the healing tank." At the opposite end of the room, Nelson was in a cylindrical glass tube with various monitors attached, floating in an amber-colored liquid with no breathing apparatus.
"Good job holding it down," Gustavo said to Suzie as he patted her on the head. Emi looked around in awe.
"What is this place?" she asked.
"Well," Marcus began, "This room technically belongs to the Medical Club over here at the school. We help support some of their research, and they take care of any fighters or attendees that get injured. Q and Suzie over here are from the Medical Club and help us out tremendously."
"Huh," Emi said. "I always just assumed there was some special room in the actual arena area." Suzie shyly walked over to Emi, with Ronaldo still slung over her shoulder and began to speak while looking down at the floor.
"Well..." Suzie began. "We um... we can fix minor stuff in that area but... but sometimes we need to take people here for if they get really hurt." Hector gawked at this sight.
"Damn. That's such a tiny voice, from a girl that can lift someone twice her size." Suzie started turning her head side to side nervously.
"Uh... uh..." She puffed out anxiously. Q went from being bubbly to angry and marched over towards Hector and tugged on his pant leg. Hector looked down at the little Suzie.
"What is it little one?" Hector asked with a smile.
"Don't," Suzie wound up her fist. "Make Q feel selfconscious baldy!" She punched Hector's stomach with incredible force, knocking the wind out of him and sending to the floor gasping for air. He lifted a hand in the air while his vision faded.
"I feel... cold." Hector blacked out. Q rushed over to Suzie.
"S-Suzie. We aren't supposed to hurt people," Q said with tears in her eyes.
"He was being a jerk!" Suzie responded. Marcus clapped his hands.
"Come on you two, we don't have time for this right now. We need to get Ronaldo into the healing tank ASAP."
"Right!" Q and Suzie both said in unison. Marcus then walked over and cracked some smelling salts underneath Hector's nose. He quickly jumped up clutching his nose, his eyes watering.
"Ouch! My nose! And ugh," Hector clutched his stomach. "That girl really hit me."
"Sorry," Marcus said. "Suzie is a hothead. Best you watch what you say around her." Emi watched the girls walk off.
"Yo Marcus." She said. "What are they doin' with Ronaldo?" Marcus patted her on the shoulder.
"C'mon, I'll show you." They all walked over to the healing pods, Hector still rubbing his stomach. All the pods were empty except for the one with Nelson in it. He was suspended in an amber-colored liquid without any breathing apparatus, pads monitoring his vitals. His normally short hair had grown into an afro.
"How is he supposed to breathe in there?" Emi asked. Suzie walked over and began to explain.
"The tank is filled with a perfluorocarbon, or PFC for short. They were synthesized during the development of the atomic bomb and were codenamed 'Joe's stuff'. After years of research, it's capable of delivering oxygen to the lungs at a much more effective rate than if we just allowed him to rest with a breathing mask and can even be effective in treating acute lung injury such as in the case of a pneumothorax. The fluid also gives some feedback on his biometrics, so it can automatically adjust to his homeostatic temperature, down to the decimal. We're also able to administer any necessary medicine or nutrition through the PFC itself, which maintains a much more even and consistent dosage through the body versus an IV delivery. This also eliminates all concerns about bed sores or blood clots from a patient laying down for too long, making this the most stress-free environment for a person to heal, which speeds up recovery time dramatically."
"What?" Emi responded in confusion. She felt a tugging on her sleeve and looked down at Q who quickly turned away.
"It's... kinda like being a baby before your born..." She said. "Some sa-sa-psychologists believe that for some people... being born can be a traumatic event because... you're in a comfy place... but then you are just pushed out and you have to hear and see and feel so much..." She paused for a moment. "Doesn't... that sound like a lot for a baby? This is kinda like being a baby again..." Emi wondered how this sweet little girl can throw around Ronaldo without breaking a sweat. She still didn't really understand any of this, but she didn't want to upset Q. Emi looked down at her and smiled.
"Thanks, Q. I understand it much better now." Q's normally timid eyes lit up from Emi's gesture.
"R-really." She said gleefully. Marcus started chuckling.
"Wow. I don't I've ever seen Q warm up to anyone that fast before." Marcus said with a smile. The happy Q quickly became bashful and started nervously looking down at her feet.
"Marcus!" Suzie said angrily. Marcus began to laugh.
"I'm only teasing. Now let's get our friend here into the tank." Marcus said.
They ended up having to pry the umbrella from Ronaldo's hands despite him being knocked out unconscious for so long. They removed his clothes and gave him pants suitable for the healing tank and place him inside. Q then operated the touchscreen on the side of the tank and put in all the necessary settings.
"O-ok. And start." She hit a green icon and the tank started to fill up with thick amber-colored fluid. It slowly filled the tank until Ronaldo was completely submerged. Hector watched in awe.
"Looks like he has Joe's stuff all in his lungs now," Hector stated. Emi sighed.
"I think you should probably stick to the scientific name." She said. After that brief hiccup, Emi turned her attention to other matters."So now what?" Emi asked.
"Well," Gustavo started. "We're gonna have to lay low for a bit since a certain someone decided to blow up the arena."
"C'mon babe." Marcus extended a hand and Gustavo moved out of the way and flipped his pink cornrows.
"Don't c'mon babe me. That took time to get together and now all I have is Prince." Gustavo clutched the album.
"Hey," Marcus put a hand on Gustavo's shoulder. "Don't say that about Prince. Prince is everything."
"You're right." Gustavo started tearing up and embraced Marcus with a hug. Hector looked confused.
"A relationship between men?" Hector said. His eyes then lit up as he clenched his fists. "This is the manliest relationship I've ever seen." Emi started rubbing her eyes.
"Can we stay on topic here." Everyone paused and got their composure together.
"Well," Marcus began. "We're definitely going to have to lay low after that toboggle. We'll stay low and try to keep things under control in the school as best we can."
"And what about you Hector?" Emi asked. "You were sayin' that we were going to need more people?" Hector nodded.
"If we're gonna take her on we're gonna need an army. And I know jus' the person. We need-".
"Did somebody say army?" Kenny emerged from his curtained area and walked confidently towards the group, reattached finger, mohawk and all. "I know what yous is thinkin'. 'How are we gonna get the Blood Bike Demons on our side'. Well don't worry, we'll help. But we're doin' this my way." Everyone let his words hang in the air for a moment before they turned their attention back towards each other.
"So what were you sayin' before Hector?" Emi asked.
"I think he was talking about getting an army?" Gustavo said. Q nodded in agreement.
"Uh-huh." She said.
"Where do you plan on finding one?" Marcus asked.
"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Kenny shouted. Emi turned to him in confusion.
"Oh, you still here?" Emy said.
"Hey! We're the toughest crew around!" Kenny shouted back.
"I don't remember hearing anything special about you guys," Emi responded. She turned to Hector. "What's the story with these guys?" Hector paused for a couple of moments recollecting.
"Uh not really."
"Hey!" Kenny shouted.
"Oh wait, now I remember." Hector began. "While the Vipers were fightin' with random gangs for the scraps of turf we had left, the Blood Bike Demons were lyin' low." Kenny turned bright red.
"We were jus' bidin' our time! Whatever screw this. When you're in trouble don't expect us to bail y'all out. Hmpf!" Kenny slung his red leather jacket and made his way to the door and left the infirmary. This didn't really phase anyone(I mean it's Kenny) and Emi turned to Suzie.
"Oh by the way, how long til Ronaldo recovers?" She asked Suzie.
"Well he took a lot less damage than Nelson did, and it seems like it healed a good amount before being knocked unconscious. It could still take anywhere from a few days to a week."
"Uh, g-guys..." Everyone turned towards the subdued voice of Q who was monitoring Ronaldo's biometrics on the screen. "The... temperatures are spiking. I haven't seen anything like this before..." Suzie hurried over to her.
"What do you mean?" Suzie asked.
"I-I'm not sure." As she said this it became apparent to everyone what she was talking about. The PFC in the tank started to slowly bubble. As it did Ronaldo's hair began growing at a fairly fast rate until it was about shoulder length.
"I don't understand this. I've never seen readings like this," Suzie said. As the tank began to rapidly bubble, cracked began to slowly spread over the healing tank. The wounds on Ronaldo had completely closed. Suzie looked at the group to address them.
"We should probably back up." As she said this, Ronaldo's eyes cracked open with intensity and he burst through the pod, sending amber-colored fluid spilling over the sterile white tiled floor of the infirmary. Ronaldo looked down, drawing in some deep breathes, getting used to breathing in regular air.
"Dammit! These things don't grow on trees!" Suzie shouted. Q was holding her back.
"S-Suzie... he just recovered." Ronaldo wasn't phased at all as he arched his head back, his long hair leaving a trail of amber fluid flying through the air and turned towards everyone. Suzie still angrily trying to get out of Q's grasp.
"So," Ronaldo said. "What's this I hear about an army?"
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