Chapter 10 - True hospitality
Well, we have achieved it, Ladies and Gentlemen! We have reached the double-digits in chapters! And the chapter-title is a pun! I freaking love this story! Anyway, you know the drill: Constructive criticism and everything is always welcome, and if you have recommendations or ideas for future chapters, I'm also all ears!
That being said, enjoy another original chapter and villain! :D
-s-s-s-
(Manuel's POV) (afternoon)
Whelp, now I've really gone and done it, eh? Here I am, in a freaking hospital-bed, with my arm in a sling, and half my body in bandages. Yeah, turns out the minor injuries from the rest of the battle weren't quite as minor as I had thought.
If I understood what the nurse told me correctly, the only part of my body that wasn't injured in one way or the other, was my neck. Getting smashed into a wall at full force really messes you up, apparently.
Anyway, fact of the day is: I was supposedly not allowed to leave the bed for about a week. So, my mission just turned nothing short of impossible. For anyone with some common-sense and the bare minimum of self-preservation-instincts, at least.
Thankfully, I had already proven several times, that I had neither of these things, so I didn't really lose that much. The only thing I was really worried about, was how I could continue stone-hunting now. I mean, if I asked Soleil would probably fill in for me until I was on my feet again. Actually, she probably would do that anyway, but either way, she couldn't sense the stones like me. So, for her, it was just a game of finding a needle in the haystack.
The nurse had declared me bedridden for another week and forbid any heavy physical activity for the rest of the month. Not to mention, she wanted to forbid me from going stone hunting all together, but that clearly wasn't gonna happen.
The one thing that was gonna bite me in the butt soon enough, was the schoolwork I was forced to miss, though. I don't perform all too well under pressure. It makes me tend to procrastinate heavily. And needing to catch up on an entire week was definitely going to screw me over.
"Hang on a moment, did we all just skip school today? Isn't it Monday?", I noticed. Sunday was yesterday, so today would be Monday. And freaking nobody went to school. Marinette, Alya, Soleil, me, nobody! I mean, given that not even Adrien- I-have-to-live-up-to-my-fathers-perfect-expectations -Agreste attended school today, I could only assume that it was out for the whole day. Maybe because of the statue-unveiling that was happening earlier.
…Or something happened in the messed up timeline that was this show.
Anyway, I looked up when the door to my room opened, and the same nurse from previously came in. She was just another side-character judging by her plain character-model. Bland red hair down to the shoulders, nurse-uniform, named Anabelle, and that's about it. I didn't even catch her last name.
"Mr. Gilson, the girl who brought you here would like to see you.", she informed me with an oddly calm voice that seriously surprised me, "Is it alright to let her in?" Seriously, she is so calm! You should have seen her when Soleil dragged my half-incapacitated ass in here!
-o-o-o- (3 hours earlier) -w-w-w- (Narrators POV)
"Hello?!", Soleil called up the counter when she had finally made it into the reception of the hospital with Manuel in her arms, "Down here, please?!"
The man behind the counter was currently busy with a phone-call, so the two were forced to show a bit of patience, "Mm-hm… Yes, there's an appointment free… No. …No, I'm afraid Dr. Trouvé is only here for the night-shift… No, I can do nothing about it… Yes, THAT I can do. Thank you, have a good day."
"Ehem.", Soleil cleared her throat notably, since her patience was running low by now, "We're waiting here!"
Now, the receptionist turned towards them, "Yes, sorry for the wait. Do you have an appoint-MY GOD, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!"
"Do you accept walk-ins as well?", Soleil asked nonchalantly.
The horrified scream took Manuel by surprise, but after looking up and down himself, he understood his reaction. He had paid so little attention to his appearance, he didn't even notice how ragged he looked by now.
Torn clothes, scrape marks all over and a clearly broken arm made him look terrible.
All of that combined with the bleeding head-injury he got from Dark Noir throwing him against the wall at full force, and several other bleeding wounds, it all made him look like a living corpse.
"Way to make me feel insecure about my appearance, thanks a lot…", he grumbled to himself, but Soleil stepped right up to restore his sense of self-worth, "Don't say that! You look totally badass!"
"More like a bad ass.", I replied, touching the wound on the back of my head, and observing the blood I had on my hand afterwards, "I look like I'm starring in a war-movie."
"Anabelle, come in the reception-hall, right now!", the receptionist called in the microphone of his desk slightly panicked.
Moments later, a hurried nurse rushed into the reception as well. "Jim, I was right in the middle of taking inventory.", she complained, "What's so- JESUS CHRIST!"
Manuel didn't even get to follow the rest of the conversation, as he suddenly blacked out entirely from the exhaustion of the whole last week. The last thing he registered was Soleil starting to panic as everything turned dark around him.
-o-o-o- (3 hours later) -w-w-w- (Manuels POV)
Yeah, turns out, the unreasonably high exposure to excessive exhaustion, combined with the overdose of Adrenaline in my hormone-system and the blood loss and all my other wounds, it all basically forced my entire body-system into a complete shutdown once the last bit of tension left my body at last.
"Okay, send 'er in then…", I accepted my visit, and mere seconds later, I heard the relieved voice of Soleil scream, "MANUEL! My god, you're alive!"
First, she gave me a happy hug. Second, she slapped me on the cheek. "Don't go passing out on me like that! I seriously thought you were about to freaking die!"
I gave a light chuckle, just so I didn't have to admit that I was thinking the same. "Hehe… If it were that easy to kill me, I would have died a week ago…"
"Miss Chausson, I am legally obligated to ask you to stop causing harm to Mister Gilson.", Anabelle asked of her, while gripping her shoulder firmly and giving her a cold death-stare. "Unnecessarily fancy word-choice."
Soleil shrank under her look and backed off from me. "Chausson?", I noticed by the way, "Is that your last name? Soleil Chausson?"
Judging by the light scoff and how she looked away, I must've touched quite the sore spot right there. "Yeah, big deal… You gonna fire me because o' that?"
"Fire you?" I laughed slightly, "You're not even officially employed."
"I thought we had gone over this!", she called out in frustration.
That, I had to agree with, "Yeah, we have. And I haven't changed my opinion about you. But helping me out with screwing bad guys over is not an employment." I looked away in thought, "The most I could do would be to send you away…"
The girl gritted her teeth. "So, you gonna send me away instead?", she hissed annoyed while looking to the ground again.
"Nah, couldn't afford to do that anymore.", I denied casually, before adding, "And aside from that, I don't WANT to do that either."
Soleil looked up confused, "You don't?"
"Why would I?", I asked directly, "You're one hell of a powerful ally. I would be an idiot to kick you out. Plus, even though it took you a while, you're currently the only one who is taking this as serious as me by now. That's a valuable quality that I seriously can't get enough of."
The girl blinked slightly annoyed, "So, essentially, I'm still part of the team, because I'm a needed asset…"
"And the only one thus far I would call an actual friend.", I added by the way.
Apparently, that was the response Soleil was waiting for the whole time, given that she beamed at that, "YES! Finally! Went from nuisance to ally to friend at long last!"
Aaaand just like that I had second thoughts about what I just said. "…You're a friend, alright. But still a nuisance all the same.", I replied with a grin.
"Right back at'cha, mate.", Soleil countered, "YOU'RE the one dragging ME into battle time and time again."
"I never dragged you even a single time.", I pointed out slightly annoyed at her statement, "YOU kept coming along even when I told you not to!"
"And look at the result, we're both still alive!", she added to that.
"And I couldn't be happier about it!", I admitted.
-o-o-o- (about an hour later)
The playful bickering between Soleil and I had just kept up and, honestly, repeated itself over and over from there on, until nurse Anabelle came in again (hadn't even noticed she left…) and informed me, "There is someone else who would like to see you, Mr. Gilson. A Mr. Wang Fu."
Ah yes, I was wondering how he was doing right now. "Sure, just let him in."
When Master Fu came in, I couldn't exactly pinpoint his expression. Something in between worried and… was that disappointment? Disapproval? Something along those lines.
"Manuel, are you alright?!", he asked with more worry in his voice than disapproval, so I'm guessing it was more in the back of his mind.
Didn't excuse the stupid question though. "My entire body is in bandages, I have a gaping wound on the back of my head, and my dominant arm is broken. I'm perfectly fine.", I answered sarcastically.
Whether or not we were close enough for sarcastic comments already, I wasn't sure, but I couldn't exactly hold that one back with all the pent-up frustration in me. At least he managed to pick up on sarcasm today. "Don't worry, I'll-" He stopped midsentence. Apparently, he just remembered there was someone else in the room. "-do what I can to help you recover."
It was only then, that he turned to the young girl who was just about his height, even if nowhere near is age, "I'm sorry, I believe we are not acquainted?"
"We aren't. And what exactly's the deal with you?", Soleil asked snidely , positioning herself between him and me, "You his old man? 'Cause if so, I ain't falling for that caring façade."
"Not my old man, that one's still in Austria I believe!", I corrected Soleil, before she tried to attack the master, "That's Maaa-h grandfather!" I seriously almost made the mistake of calling him 'master' to her face. That would have been a problem, eh?
First, she looked back at me for a second, which was good because that way she didn't see the confused look on Fus face. Then she made way again, "Okay then. You'll know better than me."
She offered the man her hand, though her harsh expression still persisted, "Soleil. Unofficial partner of the just as unofficial civilian-hero."
Shaking her hand, Master Fu returned the introduction in kind, "Wang Fu. Grandfather of the unofficial civilian-hero."
"So, given that he has very little contact with his actual parents, you fill in as his guardian, correct?", nurse Anabelle asked, a medical form in her hands. I was actually startled by her speaking up. I hadn't even noticed she was still here.
"That he is.", I confirmed.
"Right then…", she answered, writing his name down on her document, "Would you mind coming to me after your visit? There are a few things I need to talk to you about."
"Of course.", he accepted, upon which she left us alone again.
After a bit of awkward silence, Master Fu decided to take word again, "So… How do you two know each other?"
"Soleil has been my partner in crime for the better part of last week.", I answered simply.
And from there, the girl continued, "You should have seen our first meeting. We were just gathering all the abandoned kids together when the Bubbler was on the loose. And then, all of a sudden, this dork comes stumbling along and hijacks a car to hunt down a stone."
"That's… not as inaccurate as I'd like it to be…", I hesitantly had to admit, "Life took a weird turn the moment I stepped foot in this city."
Seems like Fu needed a second to process this. Whatever image of me he had before, he had to update it. "And it has certainly taken its toll on you, hasn't it?"
I looked at him. It was so obvious that he didn't know what to say in this situation, I almost felt sorry for him. "Gee you think?", I asked deadpan.
"Well, if nothing else, I'm really proud to have such a brave and selfless grandson.", he offered instead, giving an uncertain smile.
"Thanks, but I don't need any cheering up.", I replied, "I have no regrets. If I can do anything to ensure the safety of the people, I'll do it."
"Yeah, while on the topic…", Soleil took word again, "You COULD stand to practice a bit more caution. ESPECIALLY since Ladybug can't heal you."
"Probably…", I agreed, but then another thought entered my mind, "Then again… Do hospitals have loyalty-boons?"
Okay, it was more of a joke than a thought. And my grin didn't make it better.
"That would be a terrible thing for a hospital to have.", Soleil just replied deadpan, but Master Fu stuck with that thought, "I think what you mean is Insurance."
"Does insurance work that way?", I asked confused, "I never really looked it up."
"No damn clue.", Soleil answered again, "But if it does, you should probably make sure to get one. Whether you'll be more careful now or not, you're not gonna be here for the last time."
"…That sounds like a goddamn threat.", I pointed out, causing Soleils eyes to widen, "That's NOT what I meant!"
"I'll be sure to get insurance either way.", Master Fu agreed with her anyway, "If you are really going to make this a part of your routine, it will be a blessing to have it."
Apparently, that caught Soleil a little bit off guard, "Hang on, you're not just condoning, but actually supporting this?! Your grandkid putting his life on the line?!"
"If he's doing it by his own free will and for such a noble cause, then I will not stand in his way.", the master confirmed, staying collected as usual.
But Soleil didn't exactly seem convinced, "…Even though you know he could die?"
"That's why I'm going to support him too. To make sure he does not.", he pointed out, before looking directly to her and adding, "And I would be ever so much in your debt if you could do so too."
Now that DEFINITELY caught Soleil off guard, "H-HUH?!"
But not gonna lie, it caught me off guard too. "The guy is really fond of recruiting children for deadly missions, isn't he? Kind of concerning when you think about it. Maybe I should have a talk with him about it someday."
"Please know, that I do not like involving this many people in this conflict. And young ones too, at that.", Master Fu stated right away, and at least the guilt in his voice sounded sincere enough, even if his actions gave me every reason to doubt that, "But if you could at least look out for my grandson – make sure he stays alive – I could not thank you enough."
Taking a careful step back, Soleil took a moment to think about this. But eventually, she answered, "You're in luck, Mr. Fu. I was going to do this anyway. Manuel's a cool dude after all." However, she stepped forward slowly, and looked him right in the eye, "But I have one question for you: How deep in this are you two?"
Master Fus eyes widened. I was gonna tell him that he was letting a bit too much on myself, but Soleil pointed it out for him now anyway, "The way you speak about this… this conflict. Your role is more than just being the grandfather of the civilian-hero."
"…You are right and wrong at once, young lady.", Master Fu answered after a few seconds, "I have a vital role indeed. But what I am remains: just the grandfather of the bravest teenager of Paris."
"Ah, pulling the cryptic wise-guy thing on me, eh?", Soleil groaned annoyed, but as Fu turned to leave he called back, "Things will get clearer as you too learn the truth of this battles nature. Until then, I look forward to seeing you again."
And thus, he was gone.
Soleil looked after him, confused as hell, obviously. Then she turned to me, an ever so clearly questioning look on her face, and pointed towards the closed door.
"Yeah, he's always like that…", I sighed slightly exasperated, "At times I can't help but wonder if he's really wise or senile as hell."
"Maybe both?", she suggested, to which I replied, "Might be."
"…Do you know his role?", the girl asked, looking for any resemblance of sense.
"I wish I did.", I lied straight to her face.
After a few seconds, she answered, "Do YOU have a role of your own?"
"Nah, just a regular teenager with a lack of survival-instincts.", I denied wrongfully.
"Okay…", Soleil sighed, rubbing her face trying to put non-existent pieces together, "You know what, I think I'm gonna go home for the day. Your oldest man threw a lot of weird curveballs in the mix that I need to wrap my head around, and I'm probably missed at home by now anyway. Sooo… Try not to mess up your body even more. I'll see you tomorrow to make sure you don't!"
"See ya later then!", I called after her as she left.
-o-o-o- -w-w-w- (1 hour later) (Narration)
When Master Fu got home, he immediately started to brew another healing tonic. Wayzz, on the other hand, still had some questions, "Master, how come the Miraculous Cure can't heal Manuel? Every other kind of damage, no matter how severe, has always been cured."
The guardian looked up from his tonic in the making, and answered, "I do not know for sure, but I think, for the time being, we can assume, it's because of his otherworldly origins."
"Hang on!", the hedgehog-kwami Whissp called out, as he came flying from Manuels new room, "Where did you leave the kid?"
"Manuel is currently in the hospital for recovery.", Fu briefed the little one in, "He got gravely injured in his last battle."
"And you didn't tell me that?!", Whissp called out alarmed, "His kwami has to be there with him then! I gotta make sure he's safe!"
A certain phrase in that sentence stood out to Wayzz, "Wait, you're his kwami? When did that happen?"
Slightly offended, the white hedgehog replied, "Well, duh. Mine is the one the kid chose as his Miraculous."
"For test-purposes only.", Wayzz corrected his new fellow kwami, "It's still too early to tell, which of the new Miraculous suits him best."
"He is right, Whissp.", the master agreed whilst picking ingredients off his shelf, "The Miraculous and their bearers need to be a perfect fit for each other. Otherwise, their powers could come out of control and do more harm than good."
"Well say what you want, I've felt a connection to the kid the moment I laid eyes on him!", Whissp claimed, "His black clothes and my white spines complete each other perfectly!"
Wayzz looked at him in confusion, before replying, "…Aesthetics are not going to carry you through battles."
"Well, I'll definitely be his favourite little kwami, when I take care of him in the hospital!", the white kwami called out in frustration, before flying back into his room, and coming back with the hedgehog-bracelet, "And if need be, I'll be the one to transform him as well!"
"Whissp, I cannot allow this.", Fu declined strictly, "A great part of your powers are still a mystery even to yourself, and letting you go all on your own is a risk we can't afford to take."
But before he even finished that sentence, the kwami already flew out the window, only calling back, "You can't stop me, old man! I'm a kwami!"
The two remaining looked after the white spot that quickly gained distance on them. "Should I follow him?", asked Wayzz carefully, but Fu declined, "No, I can't let two kwamis go out all alone. Not when there's a villain, we know almost nothing about, roaming around the city. We'll follow him together."
-o-o-o- (in the night, 2:37 am) -w-w-w- (Manuels POV)
I woke up to the sound of crashing glass somewhere in the hall outside. Curious enough, I usually would have slept straight through that. But apparently, fighting supervillains day by day had sharpened my senses over time.
Anyway, I didn't think much of it. In a really busy hospital, some crashing here and there shouldn't be so unusual, I thought. But, since I was… half-awake anyway, I figured I might as well use the toilet. I was NOT going to use the bladder-device these people had hooked up to me, just so I wouldn't have to get up. I had my dignity, dammit!
Detaching the device from my private area, I carefully got up, my broken arm in the sling sending a wave of pain through me. But damn me if I let THAT stop me. I had dealt with worse by now.
So, take a guess what I saw, when I snuck outside all secret-like! There was a puddle of medicinal fluids further down the hall, together with a bunch of glass-shards, and a nurse right next to my door, leaning against the wall and sleeping soundly.
I took in the scene in front of me, trying to wrap my head around what the hell I was looking at here. "Wow, shitty work-ethic for a hospital.", my still half-asleep brain wrote off everything, and proceeded to lead me to the bathrooms, "I'll see if I can find a janitor tomorrow…"
Two corners further, I did find a bathroom, and after taking care of my hygiene and sneaking back out of the bathroom, my half-asleep brain was rattled wide-awake when a terrified scream pierced my ears. "Whoa, what now?!"
Blindly following the noise, it didn't take too long to come face to face with a… quite frankly horrifying figure. It looked like it came straight out of a horror-movie.
At least 2 meters tall, pale pink hospital-gown with a blood-red cross on the chest, and skin freaking white like a ghost. It also had a very prominent blood-red ribbon tied around the waist. Didn't help, that the wide open, staring eyes were shining through the darkness in a bright-red colour like a goddamn demon as well.
"Whaaat is that?!", I asked myself freaked out, as I fled back around the corner, just moments before a needle filled with some… glowing yellow substance pierced the wall I was just standing in front of. "Yeah, no! I ain't staying here!"
No longer sneaking but sprinting down the hall instead, I just tried to get some distance between me and whatever the hell THAT thing was. "Shit shit shit… Where are the authorities when you need 'em?", I cursed internally, as I heard the menacing footsteps follow me.
As I ran through corridor after corridor, somehow always just a skip ahead of my pursuer, I had to jump across the sleeping bodies of more nurses and employees. "I'll be damned if that's not the work of… whatever the hell that thing is.", I connected by then as well.
-o-o-o- (10 minutes later)
Slightly out of breath, but with my heart still racing, I finally managed to enter a room that wasn't closed shut, and immediately barricaded the doors. Leaning against the wall, I took a moment to breathe. "Slow, deep breaths now… Breathe in… Breathe out… In… and out… Okay, better now."
I looked around the room I entered. Apparently, it was an office of sorts. Lots of desks with computers and shelves and stuff. And, most importantly for me, PHONES! "First things first.", I talked to myself to keep my thoughts straight, "I have to call for help."
I picked up one of the phones, but heavens forbid anything works the way I wanted, "Lines are down. Of freaking course.", I sighed frustrated, and moved on to the next thing I had in mind, but "And so are the computers. Apparently, I went from a childrens cartoon to a goddamn horror movie."
My attention turned to the barricaded door. I heard footsteps outside. "Now, this could EITHER be someone coming to help.", I thought, "Or, it could be that horror-monster."
Thinking quickly, I picked up one of the office-chairs standing around, and threw it straight through the window on the opposite side of the door, effectively making a way out of the room, "And I sure as hell ain't gonna chance it."
However, I didn't jump through it. Why? Because that wasn't the plan in the first place. Obviously, this thing had been tracking me down one way or the other. And I could only assume it did that via sound. So, instead of opening the window SILENTLY and risking to lose track of it, I instead smashed the window as LOUD as possible, to lure it there. At least I would know where it was headed then. Plus I could confirm my assumption that way.
And judging by the frantic footsteps leading away from the door to the office, my theory held strong. "Okay, noted: It's sound-triggered.", I confirmed, whilst carefully opening the door as quietly as I could to sneak out. Only, to have a needly fly right past my face way too closely, "WHOA! What the-"
When I looked down the hall, I saw the murder-nurse standing right by the corner, her glowing red eyes staring right at me. "Also noted: Smart enough to lure you out."
Not to mention, it… or she was very precise with her needle-daggers. Precise enough to block the door by getting a thrown needle stuck in its hinges. "Oh you gotta be shitting me!"
For a lack of other options, I headed back into the office. But with the door not closing, that monster was following right after me. "Give me some time to breathe, dammit!", I cried out, as I threw myself through the smashed window to escape her needles.
Turns out, you shouldn't do jumps like that with a broken arm. Who would have thought, huh? If you don't land right on the broken arm, chances are, you'll ram it into the opposite wall and, in my case, get basically paralyzed by the agony. Even my adrenaline didn't numb THAT pain anymore.
By the time I could even see properly again, that nurse-like thing was already towering above me, a needle with my name on it prepared in her fingers… literally. Talk about creepy, and slightly cringy shit.
Anyway, point being, even my desperate dodge-roll to the side didn't save my arse anymore now. The last thing I felt before getting overwhelmed by a sudden, probably magical darkness, was a stinging pain somewhere on my back.
-x-x-x- -w-w-w- (Narration)
"Well done, Tyranurse.", Hawkmoth praised his newest supervillain, "That's one problem out of the way. Now we just have to wait for Ladybug and Chat Noir to show up."
Stepping over the unmoving body of Manuel, the villain called Tyranurse made her way through the hospital.
However, unbeknownst to her, someone else was currently watching the scene. "Okay, now we have a SERIOUS problem!", receptionist Jim, who was watching from behind the other corner, whispered to himself as he tried his best not to lose it, "What am I supposed to do in this situation?!"
He waited for a few more seconds, listening for any sort of movement around him, but eventually could be sure that Tyranurse had really left. "Okay, that means at least I should be in the clear for now.", he breathed ever so slightly easier, "Now, let's see about the civilian-hero."
Carefully stepping closer and turning the body on its back after pulling the stuck needle out, Jim pressed his ear to Manuels chest. "This would probably be easier, if my own heart didn't beat so heavily.", the receptionist sighed, but after a few seconds of careful listening, he could allow himself to calm down, "Steady heartbeat and regular breathing. Seems like he's just having a casual nap. Whatever was in that needle, it definitely wasn't lethal at the very least."
He picked the akumas weapon up and took a closer look. "I've never seen any liquid emitting such a yellow light before. I mean, I'm the receptionist, not a nurse, but I'm pretty sure THAT isn't normal."
Jumping at the sound of… something coming down the hallway, Jim made a quick decision, "Time to follow the boys example! I'd better get a raise for this…" And under immense straining, he lifted Manuels presumably sleeping body and fled the other way.
-x-x-x-
"Man, if I had known hospitals were so dark, I would have brought a flashlight.", Whissp groaned annoyed, as he flew through the dark hallways. He had of course tried switching on the light, but the light-switches seemed jammed for some reason.
"Manuel? Kid, you there?", the hedgehog carefully whispered through the darkness, but instead of his master, he ran into a pitch-black figure. "Oh hey! Sorry, you wouldn't happen to know something about a boy with blond hair around here?"
Instead of giving an answer though, the figure swung right at the hedgehog in an attempt to grab it. "Whoa, okay that's rude.", the kwarmi called out as he flew to the side. "A simple 'No' would have done.", he added, while flying between the dark figures legs as it continued trying to catch him.
"Whissp!", the hedgehog heard another familiar voice call out, just moments before the figure was struck by a green shield.
"Oh hey, you're here too, old man!", he replied grinning, "You okay over there?"
"You need to find Manuel, and fast!", Shelldon commanded the kwarmi, "If there's a dark clone here, that means there is also an akuma active right now."
The eyes of the kwarmi widened, "Wait, THAT'S one of those dark-", and then things clicked into place for him as well, "Ohhhh… That's why it's trying to catch me…"
"And remember, don't let anyone see you!", the turtle-hero reminded the young kwarmi, "I'll keep the clone busy in the meantime."
"Yeah, yeah, I remember!", Whissp confirmed, now getting fairly nervous as he recognized this as his first real mission, "Gonna find him all stealth-like!"
With the hedgehog-kwarmi getting away, Tyranurses clone tried to pursue him. But its path was blocked by a shining green barrier. "You face me, dark creature. I won't let you cause any further harm."
-x-x-x-
"Okay… Now what to do with you?", Jim asked himself once he heaved the sleeping body of Manuel on a free hospital-bed, "Well, first of all, I should probably barricade every entrance in this room…"
Upon shoving a shelf in front of the door, he turned to his sleeping patient again, starting to wreck his head, "Come on, how do you wake up someone from a magical sleep?! I work in a hospital! I should be able to do that!"
The receptionist proceeded to try various strategies to wake the civilian-hero up, none of which professional but rather desperate.
But his attempts of awaking the boy ceased unexpectedly, as he was suddenly startled by an angry scream coming from the door, "Get away from the kid!"
Letting the glass of water he was holding fall, Jim let out a terrified scream, before getting hit in the back of the head by something small and spiky, "OUH! What was that?!"
Looking around himself and not finding anything, an unknown young voice caught his attention, "Step back right now, or I'll make you regret it!"
When Jim followed the voice, he found the one speaking sitting on top of Manuels chest. A small white hedgehog-like thing small enough to fit in his hand. "What the hell are YOU?!", he shrieked horrified, backing up all the way into the corner of the room.
The receptionist got no answer though, as the hedgehog was currently busy worrying about its owner, "Manuel? Manuel! Wake up!" Pulling the boy by the collar, he tried to get him on his feet that way, "Come on, kid! You still got things to do!" Letting him fall on his back again, a slight whimper entered its voice, "WAKE UP ALREADY! I NEED YOU, MAN!"
"I… don't think we can wake him up this way.", Jim tried to calm the despairing hedgehog down, which glared at him in response, "What did you do to him?!"
"I didn't do anything, come on!", Jim cried out, "I'm trying to help him here as well!"
"Well then, come up with an idea already!", it started yelling at him.
"Believe me, I've tried! I'm running out of ideas myself here!", the receptionist defended himself.
The hedgehog reacted with an annoyed groan, "Unbelievable! The only one awake in this building, and he's freaking useless!"
"I mean, I got one last ditch effort at the ready.", Jim offered, to which the floating spikeball replied with intrigue, "Oh? Well let's hear it then!"
-o-o-o- (2 minutes later)
"You ready, Spikeball?", Jim asked the floating hedgehog, who replied, "The name's Whissp, you know? Anyway, ready when you are!"
Making sure both parts of their device were fully attached one last time, Jim spoke to himself, "Well, here goes nothing, then."
A sudden shock of electricity, and Manuels eyes shot open before he sat up instantly, "GA-A-A-AH! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! ARGH, MY ARM!"
The first thing Manuel recognized when he looked around, was a freaking defibrillator attached to him, "WHAT THE SHIT HAPPENED TO ME?!"
"Yahahay, it worked!", the hedgehog rejoiced as he and Jim shared a relieved hug.
Watching this scene perplexed, Manuel eventually spoke to himself, "Fell asleep in a horror-movie, woke up in an LSD-trip."
"Kid, I'm so glad you're okay!", the white spikeball cried out in happiness as it snuggled itself into the boys arm, "Ow ow ow, Whissp! That arm's still broken!"
"So the little guys name is Whissp then, eh?", Jim noted by the way, reminding Manuel of his presence, "Hey there. You were the receptionist, weren't you?"
"My name's Jim. Pleased to meet you.", he answered, offering his hand. But the only response he got to this gesture was a displeased look from his patient. "Oh… right… Broken arm.", he remembered then as well.
"So, uh, Whissp: What the hell are YOU doing here?", Manuel asked the little thing, who then floated in front of him, "To take care of you, of course!"
"Well, now I have even MORE explaining to do!", Manuel chastised him, gesturing to Jim with his good hand, "You know no one is supposed to see you!"
"I know!", Whissp confirmed, before he put two and two together, "Ohh… Riiiight…"
"…I feel like I just acquired some forbidden knowledge here.", Jim took word again, to which Manuel responded, "Because you have. But as long as you don't understand anything, I think we're in the clear." Then he turned to his little spikeball again, "But never pull such rogue shit again, got it! We can't have anyone know about you!"
"Yeah, I'm aware.", Whissp agreed carefully, "I won't do it again. Promise."
"Well good.", the civilian-hero accepted, before heading for the blocked door, "Now to get back to business."
-o-o-o- (about 10 minutes later) -w-w-w- (Manuels POV)
I have no clue what I missed, but it seemed to be a lot. Obviously, whatever put me to sleep was another akuma, given that I could sense yet another dark stone. But as I was hunting that thing down, I didn't encounter either the villain, OR the dark clone. They must've been busy somewhere else, I figured.
As I was making my way through the hospital, Whissp was hiding in my jacket, giving me a really nasty sting with his spines in my chest anytime I wasn't careful. But, given that I didn't know if I would meet anyone else, I couldn't let him be in plain view.
Anyway, my sixth sense, of course, led me right into the room that had a blocked door. A boatload of thrown over shelves, desks and other shit they probably gathered in the hospital.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, I just said to myself, "Okay then… Let's get this done, I guess…"
Unfortunately, with my right arm still in shards, I really couldn't do much about that. The left arm is good and all, but I couldn't lift any of these things in my weakened state. "Not making much progress like this. Gotta think of something else."
But alas, this was still a hospital, and there really wasn't a lot I could build with the tools I had here. "Master Fu's gonna give me an earful for this…", I just accepted, but I didn't exactly see any other options here, "Whissp, you brought your armband with you, didn't you?"
"Yeah, why?", the kwarmi answered me, as he handed me the armband, "'Cause I'm gonna need some more power to get in there. Whissp, Spines up!"
"Aww yeah! Here we go!", I heard him call out, before he got absorbed into my armband.
A flash of white, and a great surge of energy going through my body, and there I was. The not-so-civilian-hero Manuel.
Clearing the path into the room was infinitely more manageable as a superhero, but that didn't mean it was easy. Because injuries of the human-form get carried over into the super-form, I was still weighed down by my broken arm. But at the very least, I now could throw the desks and shit away with only one arm, so I could rest my broken arm.
Anyway, a few minutes not so hard work later, and I could finally get through that damn door.
And the very second, I opened the door, I heard a rope snap, and saw a bunch of needles flying my way. "HOLY SHIT!", I called out, and tried to shield my face from the stings with my good arm.
But, to my surprise, the stings never came. When I dared to look, I saw all those needles just floating there, engulfed in a faint turquoise glow. "What, NOW you're deciding to work?", I asked my armband, and therefore the colourful glow vanished, and the needles dropped to the ground.
Now however, my mind was set on something else, "That's the first time, the area with the stone was actually boobytrapped. Has something changed with the repertoire?"
For the time being, I had nothing more to work with, so I just put that out of my mind for now. Instead of following that thought, I just looked through the drawers of this mini-office and smashed the stone I found under a few papers.
"Thank god that's dealt with.", I sighed in relief, and then made my way to hunt the villain herself.
But, just as I was trying to head out, I felt an immense shock go through my whole body once again. And this time, the shock was so intense, that it forced me on the ground. A bunch of blue lightnings flew out of my armband, dancing around my whole body. Between intense straining and screaming, I must've managed to eventually pull the armband off, causing the shock to stop and allowing me to breathe easier now.
"Kid, what happened!", I heard Whissp call out to me, to which I answered between heavy breaths, "I… don't know… That never happened before…"
I looked down on the hedgehog-band, "What was that?" However, I didn't have any time to think about it. There was still a super-villain on the loose.
Shaking my head awake again, I put my mind back on track, "Well, no time to stop and wonder. There is a villain to fight. And after this one, I'd better get a goddamn break! Come on, Whissp!"
Yeah, by now I was getting really freaking pissed. I had been fighting a supervillain every single day for almost a week now. It started to wear me out, and I was getting sick and tired of not getting a single day to chill out.
-o-o-o- (10 minutes later) -w-w-w- (Narration)
Ladybug was currently hiding in a broom-chamber from Tyranurse, trying to come up with a plan. The boost of the nurse-villain had dropped by now, but her stunning long-range attacks, which had already put Chat Noir to sleep, and her powerful melee-combat were still a force to be reckoned with. Not to mention, Ladybugs Lucky Charm was an umbrella which she had no use for currently.
"Ugh, how I hate fighting long-ranged villains.", Ladybug sighed, looking around for anything she could use.
Outside in the reception-hall, where the battle had taken place minutes before, Tyranurse was busy trying to take Chat Noirs ring, when suddenly…
"Gotcha this time, you bastard!", Manuels enraged voice screamed, and the supervillain was hit straight in the head by an elbow. She fell to the ground, landing on her front, and before she could even do anything, she was pinned down by the boys entire weight.
Manuel made the villain look right at him, and growled in his face, "I know you can hear me, Hawkmoth! So listen the hell up!"
The purple butterfly-shape on the villains face glowed up, signalising him he was listening right now. "I have had to fight your pawns for FIVE DAYS STRAIGHT now! I lost the use of my right arm in the process, I'm tired as hell, and I'm pissed beyond compare right now!"
Shoving his face even further into the villains view, he added, "So you better take a chill-pill for a few days now! Otherwise, believe me, I WILL find you! And when I do, I will SNAP! YOUR! NECK! GOT IT?!"
He made his point clear, by ripping off the bloodred ribbon and stomping it into the ground. "Good riddance.", he growled under his breath, and seconds later, a shining yoyo caught the fleeing akuma.
"Manuel!", he heard Ladybugs concerned voice, as she ran towards him, "Are you okay?! How's your arm?!"
"Feels fan-freaking-tastic, except that it's broken.", he snorted, before walking right past her, "Now if that's dealt with, I'm going back to bed…"
Leaving Ladybug kind of confused behind, Manuel made his way back to his room.
"Wow, he's really not a morning-person, huh?", Chat Noir stated as he stepped next to his lady after getting back up. She replied slightly worried, "I hope he's alright. We're used to these things by now, but he is fighting supervillains without any superpowers. You should have seen his outburst right there."
"What happened? Anything specifically concerning?", the feline hero tried to be useful, so Ladybug explained still slightly confused, "He was screaming, straight up mad this time. And he was threatening Hawkmoth directly."
"Hawkmoth? What could he do to threaten that guy?", Chat wondered aloud.
So, Ladybug provided, "That's the really concerning part. He was threatening to hunt him down and snap his neck if he didn't lower his akuma-rate anytime soon."
Really taken aback, Chat responded slightly startled, "Whoa, that's dark! I sure hope he was exaggerating!"
"That makes two of us, Chat…", Ladybug sighed, as she turned to leave the hospital, "I really hope he doesn't go too far in all this fighting."
-e-e-e-
Whelp, that one took a while, didn't it? Still not the longest wait I've ever had though, I think.
Anyway, now we've seen what happens when Manuel nears his breaking-point, and it's starting to get scary. I also apologize for any medical misconceptions I may have portrayed in this chapter. I got no damn clue about any of that, and looking it up online only brought the FBI to my doorstep. xD
Anyway, the next few chapters are gonna be a bit calmer, and I hope I can improve my upload-rate as well. Until then, have a great time!
Next time on A tale of superheroes and animations: With the akuma-rate slowing down at long last, Manuel can finally leave the hospital and go back to school whilst healing his broken arm and studying the mysteries of the Miraculous. If only people weren't so all over him.
