Veronica's POV
"Easy there, Ryan." Veracity warned Ryan, who was performing brain surgery on Harris. We were trying to extract some ooze from Harris's brain so we can cure him but it's a very difficult process.
"A little to the right." Veracity told him.
"Are you sure he's out? If he wakes up, he'll waste us." Ryan asked, unsure.
"Trust me. He's so pumped of sedatives that nothing will wake him." I assured him.
"Just stay in the zone. Try not to think about the fact that you're basically performing brain surgery... on your friend." Mark told his brother. "Just completely remove that thought." Mark popped his lips pointing in a random direction. "Outta your mind."
"Mark." Ryan glanced at him and Mark realized his brother understood.
"You get it." Mark stepped back. "Don't think about the brain surgery."
"Can you deactivate the part of his brain that makes him call all shoes, loafers?" Spyder asked.
"Guys? Kinda need to focus." Ryan informed them and Spyder and Mark listened to him.
Ryan continued to use to his power and successfully got the sample from Harris.
"You got the sample, Ryan." Veracity smiled. "Okay, now get out of there before you make him as smart as Spyder."
Spyder chuckled but then realized what she meant and it faded.
Ryan slowly removed the needle from Harris's brain.
"Nice." I smiled. The needle was filled with ooze. "A sample of the ooze from when he monstered out the first time."
"Dang, son!" We jumped back at the usual catchphrase Harris says. Turned out it was Spyder who said that. "I'm sorry, I just-- I just felt like somebody needed to say 'Dang, son." He sighed. "I miss Harris."
We all do.
----
Ryan and Veracity went to check the ooze while Mark, Spyder, and I locked Harris up in restraints that were powered by Gravity Pucks.
Harris woke up and pretended to be confused.
"Spyder? Veronica? Mark? What happened? I-- I can't remember anything! You guys gotta help me!" Harris cried out.
"Save it. You're not fooling anyone." Mark told Harris, who snarled at him with glowing eyes.
"I can't wait to watch Traeger crush your bones into dust, pretty boy." Harris scolded.
"Admit it. Evil Harris is cool. His hair game's on point." Spyder pointed out and Evil Harris nodded. "Just like Evil Veronica."
I went to protest but agreed. "Yeah, my evil side is much cooler."
"I have an idea," Mark suggested and used the tablet to tighten the restraints. "Little tight?"
Harris grunted in pain.
"Maybe if you tell us where Treager is, I can loosen them." Mark reasoned.
"Dude, that's still Harris." Spyder reminded Mark.
"What's Traeger's plan?" Mark asked, stepping forward.
"Whoa!" I stopped Mark. "What about a gentler approach?"
"I know he's ticklish." Spyder cut in and then made weird baby noises and pretended to tickle Harris.
"Why would you know that?" Mark asked and right then the door slide open and Ryan walked in.
"What are you guys doing?" He asked very confused by Spyder strange actions. Spyder instantly retreated from Harris.
"Eh-- Ryan... What happened? I-- I can't remember anything!" Harris cried out, pretending to fool Ryan.
"Dude.. give it up." Ryan scoffed and Harris rolled his eyes.
"Just puttin' on a little pressure. Might as well see if we can extract a little info." Mark smirked.
"Not cool, man. We need to cure him, not hurt him." Ryan reasoned. "He's our friend. We don't hurt our own friends."
"He has answers we need." Mark protested.
"Didn't Harris help save Mom from Harper Futuristics?" Ryan reminded his brother. "Didn't he stay up with you all night tutoring you in French? And Algebra, and History."
Mark sighed. "I get it, I get it. I'm really sorry, guys, you're right. I don't know what came over me."
"I will personally tear your flesh-- ooh!" Harris got cut off by Spyder who shoved his dirty sock in his mouth.
"Where'd you get that?" Ryan asked Spyder.
"Spyder's foot." I chuckled.
Harris gagged.
"We need to get something to cure Harris, but someone needs to stay here and watch over him," Ryan informed us as Harris spit out the sock.
"Yeah, I'll do it." Mark offered.
"That makes sense." Ryan agreed. "You've got the most experience with Monster Harris anyway. Make sure he doesn't escape or hurt himself. Or you."
Mark nodded. "I'm on it."
"Spyder, V, let's go," Ryan told us both and we followed him.
On our way out, Ryan held me back and called out to Spyder.
"Spyder, I need to grab something, I'll be right there!"
"Ok!" Spyder responded.
"What do you need?" I asked Ryan.
"Nothing actually, I just need to ask you something," Ryan told me and grabbed my hands.
"What?" I questioned.
He seemed flustered for a moment before replying. "After all this is over and we get Harris back and you back to normal and defeat Traeger and Zelda..." He began and then swallowed nervously. "Would like to go out on a date? We haven't really had the chance to in a while and we are dating-"
I pecked Ryan's lips to shut him up. "I would love to."
He seemed relieved. "Great."
I scoffed. "Did you think I would deny it?"
Ryan shook his head. "No, I just always get nervous around you that's all."
"Why? We've known each other for a while." I questioned.
Ryan gave me a cute smile. "Just the way I am around the girl I love."
I let out a tiny giggle. "Aww."
Ryan let out a small laugh before we made our way to the hospital.
----
Spyder, Ryan, Veracity, and I made our way to the hospital to find the right materials to cure Harris.
If I'm gonna be honest, I don't like hospitals. I've never had any bad illnesses or surgeries, but some doctors have had some strange reactions to checkups I had. The hospital knows about those and hopefully won't question me.
"Okay. We've just gotta try to lay low and not draw any attention to ourselves." Ryan told us, we walked through the hospital hallway.
"We get the enzyme, we get out, and cure Harris." Veracity summarized.
"Yeah." I agreed.
"We need to stay under the radar." Veracity mumbled to us.
"Spyder!" A random nurse exclaimed.
"Betty! Did Lucy have her puppies?" Spyder asked. The nurse nodded, happily.
We turned to Spyder, confused.
"What? I injure myself a lot." Spyder informed. "The ER staff and I are tight." Spyder then waved to someone. "Hey, Kravitz! Congrats on the promotion man."
"Come on, let's at least try to blend in," Ryan told Spyder.
I spotted a rack with doctor coats on them and smiled.
"Guys..." I grabbed a coat and held it. Veracity and Ryan grabbed one too.
"Uh-- We should take the west tower elevators. They're much faster." Spyder informed us and walked off. Ryan gestured to our friend with a strange expression and followed him.
At least he knows the place.
We walked around the building in hopes of finding what we needed.
A nurse walked by us and Spyder called out to him.
"Alright, buddy! I'll see you in the cafeteria, lasagna for lunch."
"Stop it!" Ryan told Spyder, irritated.
We came to a halt when we found a door blocking our path.
"Oh, no, an electronic lock." I turned to my boyfriend. "However will we get in?"
Ryan smirked, knowing the solution.
"I got this. I just have to break the door down with my body." Spyder mumbled and ran straight forward. Ryan unlocked the door with his power and Spyder sprinted straight into the room and ran right into what sounded like full bedpans.
I averted my eyes and shook my head. "Yikes."
"That sounded like bedpans." Veracity stated.
"Full ones," Ryan added on.
We searched the room for an information on the enzyme before anyone catches on.
I searched some files and found some of the Spyders' past injuries which made me mentally laugh. I searched in the back of the files and immediately stopped at a certain one. It was about me.
I pulled it out and examined it quickly.
Veronica Dublin
Date: May 18th, 2015
11 years old
Birth Date: October 15th, 2003(I think, correct me if I'm wrong. I don't like math)
I scanned the file and spotted some unusual notes.
Blood type: Unknown
Blood type: 60/43
Known allergies: None, but has a sensitivity to cold temperatures
I glanced at the others and they didn't notice me.
I continued through the Medical Record and found the Issue List.
Issue List: Low blood pressure but the patient doesn't seem to be affected.
Blood type is unfamiliar and needs further examination.
Her digestive system is very unusual. Is shown to have more than one stomach.
Organs are in different locations. Liver and Pancreas have swapped places and her kidneys are nowhere to be located.
I stopped reading right there because I was very shocked by it. I never realized how different my body is compared to a human's body. I'm surprised they didn't examine me fully right then and there, something must've happened.
If they find out I'm here, they will examine me fully and find out I'm an alien.
I sneakily shoved the medical record inside the pocket of the doctor's coat in case I needed it later.
"Hey, everything alright?" I felt a hand gently touch my shoulder and saw Veracity.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I assured her. She didn't seem convinced by that.
She opened her mouth to speak but we got startled by a voice.
"What are you kids doing here?" A police officer asked. "You don't belong in here. This place is restricted to medical staff only."
"Yeah!" Ryan scoffed. "That's us. We are, uh, we're...
"Med students." Veracity chimed in.
Us three nodded.
"First year," I added in.
The police officer stared at us for a moment and was amused. "You guys get younger every year."
"No, man, you're just gettin' old." Spyder chuckled and I elbowed him in the ribs.
"We're supposed to take rounds with the attending doctor," I informed the policeman.
"Oh, yeah, to learn, y-- you know, doctor stuff." Ryan scoffed, smiling.
The officer thought for a moment. "It does sound legit."
"Yeah, so... we'll be on our way, and we'll get outta your hair." Ryan began and we started to leave.
"The doctor's with Mr. Patterson. I'll take you to her." The officer offered, kindly.
"Perfect." Ryan smiled and we followed the officer.
The officer led us to the doctor who was with a patient.
"Doctor? The students are here." The officer introduced us and we walked in. Other nurses were here.
"We're not scheduled to have med students observe today." The doctor protested, confused.
Suddenly, the doctor's phone dinged and she checked it. Her mind changed when she saw the message.
"Oh. Fine. Let's see what you've learned so far." She held out a clipboard. "And yes, you're being graded on this."
Ryan grabbed the clipboard and examined it. "Ah, yes! Interesting." He showed us the clipboard.
Veracity grabbed the board. "Mm, oh."
"Stop stalling, what's your differential diagnosis?" The doctor asked us.
Before anyone could respond, Spyder grabbed the clipboard and chucked it behind us.
Oh no.
"Charts don't heal people. I do." Spyder stepped forward. "Now tell me about the day you got sick."
"Uhhh... it was a pretty normal day." The patient explained. "I went to work, came home. Had some dinner--"
"Ahh! Dinner, you say?" Spyder exclaimed.
"I don't see the relevance in the line of questioning--"
"Uh-- Let the patient talk," I suggested to the doctor, smiling.
"Um... I made some Disco Dogs Double Noodle soup." The patient mentioned.
"Disco Dogs..." Spyder thought aloud. "They haven't made that in forever. Tell me about the can. Was it bulging?"
"Uhh..." The patient trailed off.
"Tell me! Was it bulging!?" Spyder exclaimed.
"Yes! Yes, it was bulging!" The patient cried out. "With flavor! What's wrong with that?"
'It's botulism." Spyder informed. "The can was so old, it was more bacteria than soup. I know this because I-- I eat out of a lot of bulging cans. Even though I shouldn't."
The nurses gasped.
All of us were impressed by Spyder.
"Wait, what?" The doctor was in disbelief.
"He needs an IV drip of botulism antitoxin," Spyder informed.
"And a pre-catalytic enzyme." Veracity added.
"That's not standard treatment." The doctor protested.
"Clearly, you're not up to date on the latest research." Ryan grinned.
The doctored stuttered, speechless.
"Please, don't embarrass yourself further," I suggested, giving her a small smirk. "Just... get it."
The doctor was defeated and walked off. The nurses applauded us.
----
We headed back to the robot to cure Harris. Getting Harris will take a lot of weight off our shoulders.
"Harris? Mark? We've got the cure." Ryan announced but it died down when we saw the 'X' Shaped glass window was shattered. Oh no.
Grace was here for some reason. "Oh, hey, honey."
"Grace, what are you doing here?" I asked.
"Mark asked me to come. To help with your plan." She informed, then gasped. "Oh! I also restocked your fridge with healthy snacks, and I threw away the stuff that you like."
"Darn." Spyder glared.
"Oh, man." Veracity pouted.
"Noo," I mumbled.
"Wait... what plan?" Ryan asked and right then Ryan's Mech-Link beeped.
"Yo, Ryan, look. I know you're gonna be peeved when you learn what I did but... I was right! I found Traeger and Zelda and... there's more." Mark's voice came through the Mech-Link
"Not for you there isn't." A different voice threatened.
We quickly went after the location where Mark's message came from. None of us were happy with Mark and what he did, but Ryan seemed more peeved then us.
"Okay, we are closing on where Mark's message came from." Veracity informed, as Ryan hastily ran towards the location
"I can't believe Mark did this." Ryan scolded.
We paused for a moment and stopped a group ran in the forest. We knew it was Zelda and Traeger with Harris.
"Let's take them down!" Ryan announced and I began to make my leave to attack.
"Wait-- Wait-- Wait!" Veracity stopped us. "I've picked up Marks car flying directly at that mountain. And Mark's inside!"
Ryan quickly ran over to the car and grabbed it before it impacted the mountain.
"Nice snag." Spyder praised. "Don't spike the ball."
Ryan lowered the car to the ground and let it go.
"Traeger, Zelda, and company are gone." Veracity informed.
"Harris?" Ryan questioned.
"He's gone too." Veracity added.
"We lost him," Ryan said. "And it's Marks' fault."
We went down to the X-Deck and waited for Mark to join us. Spyder , Veracity I sat on the couch, with Ryan in front of us. None of us were happy with Mark and Ryan has some bad news for him, which I think isn't right.
"Whoa! Nice save, bro!" Mark ran in, relieved. It was silent in the room and it was very tense.
Mark knew something was up and had to explain. "Okay, okay. Uh, listen, I had to call an audible but I managed to get some new info. Harper's working with Traeger and Zelda to create something called, uh, "The Red Bloom."
"Mark, we lost Harris because of you." Ryan reasoned, upset.
"They're headed to one of Harper's greenhouses in Brazil--"
"Mark!" Ryan yelled. "You told me you'd make sure that Harris didn't escape. And then you helped him do it. I can't believe you lied. Right to my face. I can't believe you put our friend in danger."
"We had to find where Traeger and Zelda were." Mark reasoned. "And I knew you wouldn't listen, Ryan. And I put my own life in danger."
"And delivered Harris right to the enemy!" Ryan exclaimed. "We got the cure. If Harris was still here, he'd be fine by now."
"And we can still do that, but what good is curing Harris, if Traeger completely destroys the world?"
"Mark's sorry. Why don't we just leave it at that and move on?" Spyder suggested, not wanting any more drama. Veracity and I nodded.
"Don't put words in my mouth. I'm not sorry. I used Harris to find Traeger and I'd do it again." Mark admitted. "It didn't work out perfectly, but we got the information we need to take down these guys once and for all!" Ryan turned away from his brother. "We're not gonna win always playing defense."
Mark has a point but me agreeing with him would just add to the drama.
"That's not your problem anymore," Ryan told his brother.
"What are you saying?" Mark asked.
Ryan slowly turned to Mark. "I won't work with something I can't trust." Ryan made eye contact with Mark. "You're off the team."
Mark was speechless. He looked at us and the three of us couldn't even look at him. Mark took off his Mech-Link and left without saying a word.
Now we are down two members of Mech-X5. This team is slowly falling apart and what Ryan did to Mark made it worse.
Veracity and Spyder left the robot because it's late. Only about 5 minutes had passed and Ryan was still in the same position.
I approached my boyfriend, cautiously. I tapped his shoulder to gain his attention and he looked at me. He wasn't crying but his face was full of hurt and betrayal because of Mark.
No words needed to be said, so I just wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, hoping he would feel better. Ryan buried his face in my neck, embracing me firmly and I caressed his head gently.