Shout Out- Thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed so far. Wow you are a diverse group from 38 countries different and all sorts of walks of life. I have enjoyed the conversations I have had with some of you and I look forward to hearing from even more of you in the future. To everyone who did review the prologue I really hope you enjoyed the sneak preview.
Thanks-Thanks again to all of you who took the time out of your day to review, also a very special thank you to my technical beta Dr. Person for keeping my facts straight and my medicine realistic.
Disclaimer- I do not happen to own Tiger and Bunny, do you really think I would be a 'starving' grad student if I did?
Chapter One- "What is going on!"
When Fire Emblem arrived at the hospital minutes later, the ER was still in chaos. He wasn't quite sure what was going on, but Nathan knew that it had to be bad. Barnaby had left his bike parked on the sidewalk in front of the ER, and apparently had not bothered to wait for the automatic doors to open. He had simply gone through them. Nathan parked as quickly as he could in the parking lot and sprinted into the ER waiting room. Picking through the glass, it only took moments to spot Barnaby. The hero was wedged into a corner, head pressed into his hands, as though he wished to hide from the world and everything in it. Nathan's concern increased exponentially.
"What happened?"
"I don't know. One moment he was fine, the next moment he was coughing up blood and complaining he couldn't breathe. By the time we got here he had passed out and he was turning blue…" Barnaby's green eyes were not fully focusing on the floor. "I knew he was hurt, I just didn't know he was hurt like that, I…I should have seen it sooner."
"Barnaby." When the hero failed to react, Nathan tired to add a bit more force into his voice. "Barnaby look at me." Nathan did his best to position himself between Barnaby's face and the floor, but the hero's eyes still wouldn't focus on him. "Listen to me, we can't change the past. All we can do is move forward. And you are not going forward alone - you have all of us supporting you and Tiger." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Karina and Pao-Lin enter the ER. "Barnaby do you have your keys?"
"I think…I left them in the motorcycle." Barnaby continued to stare at the floor. Nathan rose from his knees and met the two girls halfway across the room.
"What is going on!" Karina's alto was sharp with a mixture accusation and confusion.
"It seems that Tiger managed to hurt himself badly and then failed to inform anyone about it. He passed out in front of Barnaby which shook him badly." Nathan sighed. "Barnaby is new to this, so he really didn't know what to do next. So he panicked. Honestly he panicked just like anyone of us would have done when we were that green."
"So what is next?" Pao-Lin asked.
"First thing we get things organized, Blue Rose can you move the motorcycle? Pao-Lin, we need to get something to help calm Barnaby's nerves. Getting a glass of water or juice would be a good start. I will go talk to the receptionist and see what we can find out about Tiger, as well as an estimate of when we can get Barnaby checked out."
"Do you think he is hurt?" Pao-Lin asked quietly.
"Probably something minor, things like bumps and bruises. But there is the chance he has had a major injury and doesn't even know it yet. Came straight out of an adrenaline rush into the state he is in now. Just look at him. One look at his eyes and you can tell the whole situation has put him into shock." Pao-Lin just looked up at him with her big amber eyes before turning to find a drink dispenser. Nathan turned to his own task.
The receptionist simply gave Fire Emblem a cool glare as he approached. "Hello, my dear Madame. I am Fire Emblem and…."
"I know who you are." The woman was clearly not thrilled at that fact.
"Well then Madame, that simplifies things! Dear Madame, I am sure that you are up to date on what we heroes spent the morning working on." The receptionist gave a noncommittal sound. "Good, I know you are very, very busy, but it would be very helpful to get some information about the condition of Wild Tiger. All of the paperwork allowing us an update should already be in the hospital's computer database. Also, when the doctor is available, we need someone to take a look at Barnaby." This got a raised eyebrow from the receptionist.
"Alright, I will notify the NEXT department they have a patent in the ER. As a non-critical patent he will have to wait until someone becomes available."
"Understood, and thank you Madame." Fire Emblem said with a flamboyant bow.
By the time Nathan returned to the corner, Pao-Lin managed to convince Barnaby to take a sip of the apple juice before she sat at his side and leaned her head against his side. Subconsciously Barnaby wrapped his left arm around the girl. Moments later Karina arrived looking a bit green, but to ease everyone's concern she put on a half hearted smile.
"I am okay." She rubbed her gloved hand across the back of her neck. "It's just that there was just blood splattered across the side car. It was a bit nerve racking."
"Don't worry, Dear, I know it is scary but things will work out all right." Beside him he could hear a paper cup crumple slightly as Barnaby's hand tightened around it. "Kotetsu is too stubborn to let a bump in the road like this keep him down for long."
A contralto voice come over the intercom system "Paging Mr. Brookes and other assorted heroes. Paging Mr. Brookes, please report to the ER receptionist."
"Can we see him?" Barnaby's head shot up, it was the biggest reaction that Nathan had observed in his fellow hero since his arrival. Nathan felt a little guilty about squashing it.
"Barnaby, actually I believe that the nurse is here to tell you it is your turn to get checked out."
"But I am not the one hurt." Barnaby stared at him with those unfocused green eyes again.
"We don't know that for sure, and Handsome, you will not be leaving this hospital until we know for sure."
Nathan placed his hand gently on his fellow hero's arm, before dragging him to his feet. There was a nurse standing at the double doors between waiting area and the actual ER. She briskly showed them through the doors and down the hall on the right. Even though the ER was relatively empty, it was only 10:30 am in a city under lockdown, they could hear a commotion to the left. From the tone of voice, the patient was clearly a mess.
"Henderson what is wrong?"
"He has a blood pH of 7.15!"
"What? Are you sure?"
"Lab said they ran it twice."
"This can't just be respiratory acidosis! We have got to have some hypoperfusion or some metabolic acidosis going on!"
"Stay calm. Remember we are working with a NEXT here. We can't expect everything to be the same results that you would get in a normal human. That said, his blood pH are too low and blood CO2 levels are way too high. Even for just after 100%."
There was only two, known NEXT in the city who could achieve 100%. Before Nathan could react, Barnaby was sprinting back down the hall. Then, as suddenly as Barnaby had began to run, he stopped which almost caused Fire Emblem to slam into him. Barnaby stood stock still at the entrance of the curtained off area, the harsh florescent light making the dents and scorch marks stand stark against his the suits exterior. Nathan rounded his fellow hero, just in time to see a harried looking intern glare at them.
"Prior to his sneaking out of the hospital, we had pushed crystalloid fluids for almost 8 hours to correct for the hypovolemia, if we push any more we are going to push him over into pulmonary edema!"
"We need to get fluid to buffer the acidosis. The CO2 in his blood and tissues will kill him just as fast as edema could." Barnaby flinched visibility at the word 'kill'.
"But the chest x-rays indicate there is no way that his left lung can take the air volumes it would take to compensate for the acidosis. We will injure the lung further."
"We don't have much of a choice about intubation, but we can do our best to minimize further damage Call up to the ICU…we are going need two of the Jet Ventilators prepped for when we send him up. "
"Robinson, get me two pediatric endotrachial tubes!"
Barnaby was mesmerized, his brain blocked out the technical mutterings of the medical staff. He didn't budge as Robinson pushed past him. He just stared at his partner lying limply across the table striped of everything but a sheet and wired up like a Christmas tree. There were tubes and needles and blood. And he was terrified.
"Your name is Barnaby, isn't it." Barnaby barely nodded. "Barnaby, son, we need you to move so we can get him moved up to the ICU." He moved, but just barely enough as the swarm of doctors, interns, and nurses wheeled his partner down the hall to the elevator.
"What is going on? What is wrong?" Barnaby said almost to himself.
"According to the x-ray's, he has severe pulmonary contusions," Barnaby gave the doctor, who still stood beside him, a pretty good impression of a deer trapped in the headlights of an oncoming semi, so Dr. Lewis elaborated. "Basically Mr. Tiger, he has badly bruised lungs. The bruises are causing his lungs to lose their ability to absorb oxygen. In addition to low oxygen absorption, the body has lost a lot of its ability to flush out CO2. Basically his body has too much CO2 and can't flush it out, so we are going to help your partner breath by placing him on a specialized type of ventilator that will not hurt his lungs."
"He is going to be okay, right?"
"Once we get him on the vent and measure his response to it we will have a better idea. That said, most patients respond very well to this type of treatment. Mr. Tiger was severely injured, was very healthy before the incident. That significantly raises his chances."
"Can I see him?"
"Not at the moment. Right now the doctors are concentrating on stabilization. It would be best to stay out of their way for the time being, but I promise that we will let you know about any major developments." The Dr. Lewis took a good look at Barnaby and instantly realized that the younger man was walking on eggshells. "But while you wait, there is something you can do to help."
"Anything." Barnaby cocked his head to one side.
"We still do not fully understand the nature of Jake's attacks, nor the full medical implication of it. Because of this we want to run a battery of medical tests on every person who fought Jake. Hopefully it will help us create a better treatment plan for Mr. Tiger. We also need to make sure that no one else will have a reaction as severe as Mr. Tiger's."
Barnaby's tests took decades…at least that is what it felt like to Nathan. The skin tight spandex uniform he was wearing had been designed for style, speed, mobility, and protection. Long term comfort had been a very low priority. The plastic chairs that were lined up along the outside of the examination room were also clearly not designed for the comfort of the person sitting in them. The spandex was currently sticking to the fake leather cushion. He was even beginning to wish he hadn't sent the two girls up stairs to the NEXT wing of the hospital to check in with the others. If they were here, he would at least have someone to talk to. Everyone who walked by took one look at his bright red get up and quickly ran off. He was beginning to wonder if he should sneak off for a moment and buy a magazine or something at the hospital gift shop, when exam room finally opened.
"Alright Mr. Fire Emblem, you can come back in now." Dr. Rebecca Peterson, one of the more type A personalities on the hospital's NEXT research staff had finally opened the door. "Today's tests are done and the labs look clean."
"That is good isn't it?" Barnaby said, still seated on the exam table. He had changed out of his armor and body suit into a pair of hospital scrubs. A large ice bag was slipped under his left thigh.
"Very good, actually, all your oxygen and CO2 levels, as well as, your blood pressures are now within normal range. But that doesn't mean we know you have completely dodged the bullet. If you have any trouble breathing, any at all, I want you to immediately call us and report to the ER. Do I make myself clear?" The woman's blue eyes were sharp. "Now, I am going to be giving you some Ibuprofen and crutches for the pulled hamstring. You will use both. Lastly I am prescribing a full 8 hours of sleep."
"Okay." The word seemed more like an automatic response then an actual agreement.
"I know you are a bachelor, but given the state of your nerves I would prefer that you stay the night with someone." She put her hand up to quiet Barnaby before he had a chance to say a word. "Just in case your lungs start giving you trouble. If you decide to stop breathing on us, I would prefer to know about it soon enough to do something about it. If you would like I can call Hero-TV…I am sure they have an intern or someone they can put on nurse duty."
"That will not be necessary, Dr. Peterson. I would be delighted to play nurse for him!" Nathan spoke up. Barnaby just barely managed to choke off a groan.
The doctor ignored Barnaby's reaction, and handed Nathan a long green duffle bag. "This is your basic oxygen tank and mask set up. Do you know how to use it?" Nathan nodded. "Good. If he starts having trouble breathing, don't hesitate to use it."
"Yes, doctor." Nathan was finally feeling as though he was useful. It was the first time since he had arrived at the hospital.
"I am going to stay here." Barnaby's voice was quiet, but held a note of defiance.
"No you are not." Dr. Peterson stated flatly.
"But." The note of defiance was dying fast.
"I do not except 'buts' as an excuse."
"Tiger is my partner. He got into this mess because I already abandoned him once in the last 24 hours."
"Barnaby, you are on crutches, you are exhausted, and you're an emotional mess. You are not going to help Tiger by driving yourself to collapse." It was a low blow, but Nathan didn't really care. Barnaby was a train wreck at the moment.
"But…" The argument was tired and the exhaustion made it almost seemed half hearted.
"You are going home, and you are going to sleep." Sparks of flame could be seen in Nathan's glare. "There are eight heroes in the city. I will make sure that one of us stays with Tiger every moment the doctor will allow it, but you are going home."
The drive back to the Barnaby's apartment was surprisingly quiet, but that was primarily because Barnaby was halfway between sleep and being a zombie. Once through the door of his apartment, he immediately crawled into bed, not even bothering to change out of the scrubs he had been given at the hospital. With Barnaby's breathing now slowed in sleep, Nathan went to the lonely desk in the living room. He dialed one of the few numbers he had memorized off of the top of his head. Within seconds the image of a rather plain woman with chin length brown hair appeared on the screen.
"Hello, Carolyn."
"Mr. Seymour, you do realize that I got off work over an hour ago?"
"Yes I do Carolyn, dear, and I wouldn't have called you if I didn't need you."
"Does this have to do with an argument with one of your boyfriends, because I am not going to help you..."
"I promise my requests will be strictly work related. As a result of that dreadful string of terrorist attacks, I currently need to stay at the house of a friend. Unfortunately, said friend is neither my size nor has my sense of fashion, which leaves me in a real need for a few changes of clothes. Also said friend's cupboard is frightfully bare, and I also need to pick up John, Keith's dog, at the doggie daycare, because Keith is stuck spending another night in the hospital. That said, I probably shouldn't leave the friend alone at the moment."
"Which is why you are having me do all your errands." The secretary said flatly.
"Exactly. Thank you Carolyn, you are such a dear. I am staying the night at Barnaby's house at…" Before Nathan could give the address Carolyn cut in.
"You're not corrupting the boy are you?" His secretary asked acidly.
"Of course not." Nathan said with offence in his voice. "Some other time I might consider it, but the kid may have just lost his partner. He is an emotional wreck and is physically exhausted. He isn't in any state to take care of himself…much less to be corrupted! There is no way that a friend would make him spend the night alone after all he has been through today."
Nathan hung up the phone, settled back into the desk chair, and looked out the floor to ceiling windows to the cityscape below. It wasn't even 7 in the evening. It was going to be a long night.
Hello reader, you have reached the end of the chapter, but now see a pretty little button. Please push it and give me a review. It convinces me to write and post chapters far sooner then I planned. Plus I give out virtual cookies! Also here is new diagnosis challenge: What disorder is Barnaby exhibiting?
Medical Term of the Week- Acidosis. Definition-A drop in the body's pH (usually the blood's plasma) below 7.35. The drop is often related to excess CO2 in the body but can also be linked to accumulation of other acid residues such as urea. Symptoms- Pretty good range of possible symptoms from headache and nausea, to seizures, coma, arrhythmia, and death. Example-Tiger has acidosis caused by reduced blood volume, reduced respiration, and increased cellular metabolism.
