About fifteen minutes later, Coiley and Multi joined Big D and Phyllis down in the infirmary. Fluey had an oxygen mask over his face, and he was hooked up to various machines. There was an IV going into one arm. That had a saline solution in it. Dr. Reginald Johnson, the SSHQ's chief inventor, had been called in, because he also knew a thing or two about chemistry. Dr. Isaac Phelps was the SSHQ's chief medical officer. Coiley, Multi, Big D, and Phyllis were watching everything from behind a large glass window. Anyone entering the area had to put on a surgical mask, and gloves. No one was taking chances as to whatever Fluey had contracted was contagious.
"What's the status out there, Phelps?" Big D asked over the intercom.
"Not well, I'm afraid," Dr. Phelps said. "Temperature is a hundred four point three, his pulse is weak, and his blood pressure is quite low. Not to mention this . . . . slime. I'm not quite sure what to make of that."
"Hey, chief, I think I've got a match here," Reggie said, entering the other room with a microscope.
"Let's see it," Big D said, looking into the microscope.
"I took a sample of the slime from Fluey directly when he was going into this gelatinous meltdown," Reggie explained. "I found traces of the same bacteria that St. Mercy sent over. No doubt about it, Fluey's definitely been contaminated by the same pollutants in the city's water supply."
"But what about the slime?" Multi asked. "Why did he go into that gelatinous meltdown?"
"A chemical reaction from the bacteria in the water mixed with his superpowers," Reggie said. "Since that chemistry class accident of yours, your genes are a bit out of whack. But the meltdown is the least of it."
"Chief, we have a bit of a situation over here," Dr. Phelps said, speaking into an intercom.
"What's the matter, Phelps?" Big D asked.
"There's an abnormally high level of parasitic bacteria in his system," Dr. Phelps said. "The infection is spreading rapidly, and it's destroying his body's defenses as we speak."
"Shouldn't Fluey's antibodies be fighting this?" Multi asked.
"They should, yes," Dr. Phelps said. "But apparently, some of these parasites are feeding on the white blood cells."
"That's disgusting," Phyllis groaned, making a face.
"It will only be a matter of time before the infection claims the vital organs," Dr. Phelps said. "Unfortunately, the antibiotics we've been administering aren't doing a thing."
"We've even tried some experimental antibiotics," Reggie explained. "But the parasites are just eating those like they're candy."
"What can we do?" Coiley asked.
"Well, I have an idea, but it could be risky," Reggie said. "The only way to help Fluey is for someone to go inside his body and destroy the parasites."
"That's impossible," Big D said.
"No it isn't," Multi said. "We'll do it. Right, Coiley?"
"Right," Coiley said, nodding.
"Are you boys sure about this?" Big D asked. "It could be extremely dangerous."
"We'll take the risks, chief," Coiley said. "Fluey's our best friend. We have to go in there!"
"I know you guys can do the impossible, but how are you going to get into Fluey's body, anyway?" Phyllis asked.
"No problem," Reggie said. "Mike and I have been working on this for awhile. Follow me."
Big D, Phyllis, Coiley, and Multi followed Reggie out of the infirmary, and down to the SSHQ garage. Mike was there, working on one of the vehicles the SSHQ agents had confiscated from a criminal.
"Mike, we've got a crisis," Reggie said. "We need the sub and the ray."
"Well, I don't know about that," Mike said. "The ray's never been tested."
"It's about to," Multi said. "Whatever it does, it's going to be tested."
"All right," Mike said. "Follow me."
"What exactly does this ray do, Reg?" Coiley asked, as he and the others followed Mike down a corridor.
"Well, I started developing it about five years ago," Reggie said. "We had just gotten the files on Dr. Gesundheit, and I read about his theory of traveling inside a human body, so I thought of doing the same thing. But not to wreak havoc on someone's immune system. Truthfully, I developed the ray for just such an emergency like this one. Mike developed a submarine equipped with weapons to handle parasites and such. Trust me, you two, even though you can do the impossible, you won't be able to handle these parasites without some big guns."
"Wait, whoa, hold the phone," Mike said. "Two? What do you mean two? Aren't all three of 'em goin' to do this?"
"Uhh, well, that's the thing," Reggie said. "No. Only Multi and Coiley."
"Yeah, did we forget to mention we were going inside Fluey's body?" Coiley said.
"We'll explain later, Mike," Multi said. "We don't have much time."
Mike nodded, and opened a door. Inside the room was a vehicle reminiscent to the one from the movie Fantastic Voyage.
"Are you positive you boys want to do this?" Big D asked.
"Absolutely," Coiley said.
"So how is this going to work?" Phyllis asked.
"We'll have to move everything into the infirmary," Reggie said. "There isn't a moment to spare."
"At least the sub's not that big," Mike said shrugging.
Within minutes, everything was set up in the infirmary. Multi and Coiley were in the ship, seat belts securely fastened, and they were ready to roll.
"Ready to initiate launch?" Reggie asked.
"Affirmative," Multi said.
"Ready when you are," Coiley replied.
"You'll have to make this quick, boys," Dr. Phelps warned. "According to my calculations, you only have one hour to destroy the parasites."
"We'll be keeping an eye on you," Big D replied. "And we will be in contact through the radio on the ship."
"Check, Big D," Coiley said.
"Begin reduction sequence," Reggie said. Multi hit a few buttons on the console of the ship.
"Check," he said. The ship started, and began moving toward a large cylindrical object. That was the reduction chamber. A particle beam was going to be shot at the ship, which would shrink it. The chamber had a small opening on the other side, attached to a long tube. The tube led into a flask filled with some kind of clear liquid, though Multi and Coiley couldn't tell what it was.
"Five, four, three, two, one," Reggie counted down as the ship moved towards the ray. "Blast off!"
Reggie pushed the button that activated the beam. It hit the ship, and it shrank down to size, zoomed through the tube, and directly into the beaker. Phyllis took the beaker, and handed it to one of the infirmary personnel. He removed the oxygen mask from Fluey's face, and poured the contents of the beaker into his mouth, and down his throat, and then put the oxygen mask back in place. A dot illuminated on Dr. Phelps's computer screen, which showed a diagram of the human body. The dot was at the diagram's neck, and moving downward.
"Boys?" Big D asked, picking up a microphone. "Can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear, Big D," Coiley said. "We're inside . . . . and it looks like we're in some kind of tube."
"Probably the esophagus," Reggie said. Within seconds, the dot on Dr. Phelps's computer screen reached the stomach.
"Okay, we've landed in the stomach," Coiley said.
"Where do we go from here, Reggie?" Multi asked.
"Head for the intestines," Reggie said. "You're going to have to work your way back up. Start looking for the parasites."
Multi put the ship into forward motion, and he and Coiley submerged. They soon found their target.
"Yikes, what in the world is that thing?!" Coiley shouted. "It looks like a worm on steroids!"
"That must be one of the parasites," Multi said. Then he picked up the radio. "Reg, we've located a parasite. How do we destroy it?"
"There's a laser equipped on the ship," Reggie said. "It should take care of it. I'll turn the radio over to Mike. He's the one who installed the laser on the sub."
"The first thing you need to do is hit the red button on the right panel," Mike said, taking the microphone from Reggie.
"There it is, Multi," Coiley said, pointing. Multi pushed the button, and something came up on a computer screen nearby. It was a radar. The blip indicated the parasite.
"Once you get the radar up, hit the yellow button directly underneath the red one," Mike continued. Multi hit the yellow one, and a crosshairs appeared on the screen.
"Okay, have you got the target in sight?" Mike asked.
"Yes," Coiley said.
"Okay, maneuver the ship to lock on target," Mike said.
"You heard the man, Multi," Coiley said. "You steer, and I'll let you know when we're locked on target."
"Roger wilco," Multi said, turning the ship toward the parasite. It didn't take much maneuvering before they were locked on target.
"We're locked on the target, Mike," Coiley said.
"Okay," Mike replied. "Hit the green button directly below the yellow one."
Multi hit the green button, and a laser beam flew out of the front of the ship. It blasted the parasite, who howled in agony, and then shriveled up to nothing.
"Now I know why they tell you to boil water when there's a possibility of contaminates," Multi said.
"Keep the radar up, fellas," Mike said. "It'll come in handy for trackin' down the parasites."
"Will do," Coiley said. "Multi, I'll keep my eye on the radar, while you drive."
"Got it," Multi said, putting the ship into gear.
"Rally ho!" they called out.