Disclaimer: I don't own OK K.O.! Let's be Heroes!

Title: Misplaced Sawblades

Summary: K.O. really needs to start wearing shoes

Warnings: Mentions of blood.

...

"Hey, where's K.O.?"

Enid glances up from wrapping the cut on her arm. The stock room is eerily quiet and dark, but they all prefer it that way after such a bad bout with the Boxmore bots. It's less embarrassing to patch up boo-boos when you can barely see past your nose. "Didn't he say something about getting band-aids?"

"Yeah, like, ten minutes ago," Rad insists. He's got a goose egg and a black eye. "D'ya think he ditched us?"

"Doubtful. Where would he go?"

"Carol?"

Enid snorts. "Bleeding? No way." It's probably bad to say such a thing, but it's true. K.O. wouldn't walk up to his mom until he'd been properly cleaned up. He wouldn't see it as oh, I'm getting help- he'd see it as oh, I'm scaring mommy, and K.O. never wanted to scare Carol.

Rad stands up, wobbling just a bit on the uptake. "Let's go find him."

It doesn't take very long. There's only three suspect places- the bathrooms, under the counter, and Rad's van- and the first two are easily checked. Rad complains about blood on the seats again- as if there hasn't been far worse substances in that van- as they approach, so for his own peace of mind Enid decides to peek in the back first and give it to him gently. A small shaft of summertime light descended on a pile of blankets as she did so, and Enid caught sight of one eyeliner-covered eye. She quickly shuts it.

"How bad is it?" Rad asks anxiously.

"That's not K.O.," Enid says.

The alien tilted his head to the side, eyebrows raising. "So what is it? Like... a mutant hedgehog, ooooor...?"

"It's totally T.K.O., dude."

"T.K.O.!? In my van!?" he cries, clawing at his hair. "Enid, we gotta save 'er!"

"Relax." She sets a hand on his shoulder. "If he wanted to blow up your van, he woulda done it already. K.O. was super-stressed, so he flipped. That's all." It's not the first time T.K.O. has come out after a battle, but usually the cretin shambles off to punch trees or whatever. "You got the bandages?"

Rad nods, holding them up in a tightly clenched fist.

Enid flashes him a thumbs up before ripping the doors open with enough force to make the whole van wobble. T.K.O. hisses at the sudden intrusion, tangled in the various blankets. She grabs his wrist. "Alright, you little gargoyle. Let K.O. back."

He glares up at her. "Or what?"

"Or I'll tell Carol."

T.K.O.'s fangs poke out as he grins at her deviously. "Can't even take me by yourself, huh? Have to go get mommy to protect you?"

"Dude," Rad says, breaking into the moment. "Your foot is bleeding."

He tucks it under his rear. "What's it to you, punk?"

Enid sighs. "Okay, I guess we have to do this the hard way."

For a moment, his smirk falters. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She pounces, wrapping him in a backwards bear hug. She's not as buff in the upper body as Rad, especially considering one of her arms burns like hellfire, but she figures that extra bit of strength will be better for the area that has to be held down and wrapped. "Honestly, this would be waaaay easier if you just let K.O. out."

T.K.O. flails. "I hate both of you!"

Rad grabs the foot and dabs some anti-septic on it. T.K.O. hisses again, this time in agony, and kicks out, but otherwise stifles himself. It's a good show, as far as heroic shows of stoicism go. Enid usually bites something when she does it. One time, in a fit of stupidity and lack of resources, Rad had actually offered up his hand; which, when you consider her werewolf and vampire ancestry? Not a good plan. "How'd you manage this, anyway?"

"I didn't manage anything," he growls. "It was my stupid weaker half."

Enid squeezes. "Cough up the deets or I'll post a photo of us hugging on my social media page."

That threat clearly daunts him, because T.K.O. actually does as he's asked. "H-He stepped on a Shannon saw. The blood freaked him out, so he went and hid in the van, and then I came out."

"That sounds like something K.O. would do," Rad agrees. He's on to bandages now. "I can't believe you'd rather bleed out on my blankets than get a band-aid done. Like, seriously? Get your priorities straight, bro."

"Strong heroes take their lumps in private," T.K.O. snaps.

"Says no hero ever," Rad laughs.

"You really should wear shoes or something," Enid adds, though none of them take it seriously.

"Shoes are for weak heroes." T.K.O. wriggles his toes experimentally. "I'm too strong for that."

"Sure you are, buddy." Rad finally lets go of his foot, wiping his hands on the already tarnished blankets. "That's why we gotta fix you up in the back of my van."

T.K.O. grunts to show he's heard, but ultimately doesn't answer. He stays where he is, even after Enid lets go of her tight grip on him, just quietly appreciating the warmth.

Author's Note: Happy Valentines' Day, ya'll! Take this random dip into wound treatment to celebrate. (Fun Fact; I was originally gonna have T.K.O. scuttle under the car like a weird rodent, but I soon realized I couldn't make it work, so the back of the van it is.)

-Mandaree1