Saitama was impressed with the old warehouse. It was completely reconstructed and made to house rooms for sensitive equipment, chemicals and other things that wouldn't work in a normal building. Child Emperor was already building a new laboratory room for himself. Genos was going to create a place for his own needs, too. Saitama was definitely curious on how things worked, but his main priority was the experiment that was going to happen. Mitsumi cuddled into him while he carried her in, and he saw Metal Knight's robot settle on a ceiling banister to zoom in and take in the sights.
"What do you hope to discover?" Siren asked Bofoi in his base.
"Honestly not sure," he muttered while swiftly accessing various cameras and systems to set up on another display that was strictly for the scientific warehouse. "I hope to find ways to deter these fleas. I will refer a flea to a transmitter only when we know the one wanting to be cured is true. It's a flea for all others. A parasite as discussed. It…truly baffles me…"
"Well, I was thinking of a few different things to test," she said.
"Do tell!"
"First, we see what two fleas can do to one body. We initially wanted to see if the same flea makes the same type of monster. We should see if a body can be cured without their skin. We can also see if a flea can be cured by itself. I say without their skin mainly because…think about it. They remove the flea from the skin to make a new flea. What happens to the skin after that?" she frowned.
"You bring up a rather solid set of experimental needs!" Bofoi mused and brought up a digital notepad to keep track of what to try.
"Was a room made? Like the one in the other home for such things?" she asked. "Or still being made?"
"It was under construction. I sent a few of my builder robots to help. It shall be constructed within a few minutes. It was how I rebuilt many damaged cities," he explained. "I even built the Hero Association's primary building."
"How awesome!" she grinned. "Hmm…"
"What?" he had to ask.
"I really…want to do something for Lady Mitsumi and Saitama. They freed me. Let me meet you, too, in a sense. They want their own home in City Z. A private retreat. Everyone can use the apartment as a meeting place, but they need their own private home away from there. Can you…help me make something for them?" she asked and worried her lower lip slightly.
"Oh, I definitely can…" he mused at the idea. "We'll need to get the elevator made first. Then I can see what designs they would like. It would take me only a day for a six story building. A few days if they wanted more floors. Let's get through this next experiment. Ah! I forgot!"
"What?" she blinked at him.
"Inichi. I can ask him…" he chuckled and let her cuddle into him now. He rested a reassuring hand on her arm, and she blushed softly when he left it there. With him mentally conversing with the floating blue monster, Saitama was being seated in a viewing chair in a room with cameras. Lightning Max was already set up in the security room in the home again, and he was ensuring that everything was working. Now that he knew what to do, such a thing was getting easier for him. He even set up the cameras to hook in from the City X mansion with Metal Knight's help.
"We don't want to witness first-hand?" Mitsumi asked Saitama.
"Eh. They say this is safer. Personally, I'd rather be in the way to punch out the problem," Saitama shrugged. "I'd feel better, too."
"How?" she smiled and got cradled in his lap.
"No matter what, I'd be protecting you," he muttered and rested his hand on her belly. "And hopefully our child."
"I…am starting to think that it may be possible," she said softly. "That I'm pregnant. I mean, I don't know for sure…"
"Oh?!" he blinked at her.
"Well…you keep doing that. Putting your hand on my belly. You didn't do that before. Not all the time like now. Unless it's something else, but…" she shrugged. "you're giving that vibe to me."
"Hmm. So…you don't know?" he frowned.
"I don't. I think it's too soon for the fans to know, too. Things may be set in motion, but nothing is really 'there' for them to sense yet. Don't worry! You'll definitely be the first to know if anything else happens."
"You keep talking about the spa thing coming up. I don't want you away from me. At all. Especially with the recent crap with me," he said with his blank gaze at her. "I just don't like the thought of it."
"Twenty minutes should be fine," Mitsumi soothed. "I'm also sure that Tacki, Kianna and Kamiko will be there, too. Even Fubuki and Tatsumaki. We may even get Lily there, too, so Garou will even be on patrol. I know Rendor will likely be there. Inichi will also ensure that I'm protected. Even Zenchu! You don't have to worry."
"But I will. As much as I know they can protect you, all they can do is stall to help me get to you. I don't want to have them stall at all. I want to be right there to stop things before they try."
"Saitama…" she sighed and snuggled into him.
"I'm serious, Mitsumi," he said and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I love you too much to let anything happen to you. I mean…I know what you're saying. I get it. I know you'd probably be right down a hall from me, too. So, I'll compromise with you on this."
"I love you, too. I know what you mean," she nodded. "And…a compromise? What do you have in mind?"
"If we find out you're pregnant before the spa thing, you stay with me. No arguments. If we don't know you're pregnant, then fine. Twenty minutes. I'll have Genos keep a damned counter. However! If one thing goes wrong…"
"We get you to me. I know," she smiled and nuzzled him. "I'm proud of you. I know that everything will be fine."
"We'll see…" he muttered. "I'll probably be a raging lunatic until I'm holding you again. That's likely how it'll be."
"Darling…I'll be fine," she smiled and kissed him softly. "And I'm sure my fans will be with me, too."
"I know. Anyways…what's going on?" he muttered again and looked at the viewing screens. He saw how various robots were swiftly piecing together a small interrogation room. "Oh! Wow! That's…like…fast!"
"Thank you!" Metal Knight chuckled from the security system they were watching through. "We'll be ready to start within five minutes. I had Inichi kindly send out the word."
"Thank you for that," Mitsumi said softly. "And…you're in this system, too? I mean…won't it get to be too much?"
"You'd be surprised how many systems I help monitor at all times. Yours is a priority. Just above the Hero Association, actually," Metal Knight assured her.
"And you're fine with all of this from the experimenting going on? How lives can be lost this way?" she frowned. "I mean…I know evil is evil. But innocents? I don't understand."
"The loss of a few to save the many. Sometimes it must be done," Metal Knight said with a sigh. "I know. I wish all could be saved, but sometimes it cannot be so. Such is the way things are."
"Such a sad way of thinking! I mean…I know where you're coming from. But it seems like such a waste of life, too," Mitsumi admitted.
"Lady Mitsumi?" Siren asked. "Is everything okay?"
"It's just disheartening to see all this. I know that we need to know these things…but…" she sighed.
"If it helps create a cure for the masses, then it should be done," Metal Knight said gently. "It was stated that many that were tricked would willingly help with this. We cannot let such an opportunity go by."
"I am aware. As much as I'm all for destroying those that willingly do such destruction, I am against doing it against those that didn't want it. Like Iwasaki. She wanted to be hero! They trapped her. Tricked her. My brother was also tricked, but he also attacked me. I don't know how else to explain it. If we knew then what we know now…well…" Mitsumi swallowed.
"Hey. He tried to hurt you. He wanted to stab you! With your father's knife! I'm sorry, Mitsumi, but you know where I stand on that. He even ate your organs, for crying out loud! He didn't get sick like Iwasaki did! He liked it! He wasn't a human anymore. He had to die. I know he was your brother, but even you know that his actions spoke out on what he really became," Saitama said and squeezed her to him. "I'm sorry that you lost him. I'm sorry that you lost your mother, too. Even your father. But you do have Daiki. And we rescued Himiko. As for the other one, I still don't know. We can have Sugar Face look into her."
"Sugar Face?" Mitsumi looked at him and coughed out a laugh.
"Ah…you mean Sweet Mask?" Metal Knight asked now.
"Yeah. That guy. He can look into your other sister for us," Saitama said with dismissal that he got the name wrong. Siren was in tears of laughter now, and Metal Knight had to inform Inichi of the name blunder.
:Oh, dear. You just gave me some intense ammunition for his next faulty scripting. Thank you for that…: Inichi chuckled intensely at the thought. He was busy supervising the construction of the miniature isolation chamber with shatter-proof glass. Of course, he knew that Saitama would smash it all in easily. He recalled that the initial training chamber under the Hero Association had the same exact glass. Even that imploded from what was done…
"Inichi? Are we almost ready?" Fubuki asked. Chairs were set up in a circular way for the heroes there to study. The room was designed to fall away to reveal the monster for quick killing. Shenjou and Masaki were present to ensure it would be swift with clean up.
"I think I'm going to stay as a monster," Masaki chuckled.
"Are you now?" Shenjou asked him.
"If it wasn't for my venom, I'd see about getting cured. But…I really like how potent it is. And it doesn't hurt you, either. So, I don't mind using it to help with killing other monsters that won't revert like us. I think we can even hold mine in jars. I'd like to test that. It could be useful," Masaki nodded.
"Hmm. You know…I did try something when I was clearing out rubble. I can spray my venom," Shenjou chuckled wickedly.
"Really?! That's like…wow. You can do massive damage with that. How far does it go?" Masaki asked.
"It can go up to twenty feet away from me. A rather significant distance. I'm going to test it on the next monster we kill to get it right in the eyes. The warning with a tail shake shall be given in advance for others to clear away," Shenjou said. Now that other heroes and monster family were filtering in to sit down, Genos and Child Emperor were setting the slumbering false man on a steel table in the middle of the isolation chamber. The other flea in the glass jar would be opened by a robotic arm the moment everything was ready. Kamiko was swift to set in various medical tools such as syringes, a scalpel and other tools next to the robotic arm in case it was needed.
"Can we put in something for storage?" Child Emperor asked. "Like, if we need samples on short notice?"
"I have just the thing," Metal Knight said from a nearby camera and had a robot deliver a refrigerated storage box that could safely hold syringes and small bags for samples including slides. Child Emperor gave a thumbs up to the camera.
"You're interested in what happens?" Zenchu asked Wind Crane when she settled down by the main entrance. She clucked softly and fixed her brilliant blue gaze on the trapped Secret Skins.
"I hope we find a cure. But I've never heard of two transmitters taking over a body before," Iwasaki said from where she sat with Flashy Flash. "I don't think it's possible. Or if it was ever tried."
"We'll soon find out," Flashy Flash muttered softly and kept an arm around her shoulders to let her lean into him. "Do tell me, though. I was…rather curious on going fishing. I've never really done such a thing before."
"I've gone fishing a few times. It's actually a bit relaxing. Even if you don't catch anything, it's nice," she chuckled. "I did hear that we'll have a nice cookout if we do catch things."
"That would be marvelous!" Flashy Flash grinned softly.
"And if Orotsu cooks it, then it's even better!" Tacki beamed from where she was sitting with Kamikaze. "Inichi said he'd help get us what we don't get. I'm sure we'll all get something, though."
"Just make sure our lines don't get tangled, eh?" Kamikaze said and kept Tacki in his lap. "Not sure what you want to do, Tacki. Unless you make some lures? Only other thing I can think of. I know how you don't like sitting still."
"I can do that!" she nodded. "Oh! I should start on that now!"
"Not yet," he grinned and squeezed her to him gently. "I want you here with me, okay? Just relax for a bit."
"But…!" she pouted and blinked at the backrub he started to give her. "Cheating. Totally cheating!"
"Yep," he chuckled and managed to get her yawning. "And I was right. You need to nap a bit. Lay back on me."
"Not fair…" she mumbled and sighed when she got comfortable. "I'll get even! I vow! I'll drink coffee!"
"No," Kamikaze said flatly and glanced down at her. Zenchu glanced over to snicker softly at the whole thing. At her small pout, Kamikaze sighed and gazed at her in a way that made her blink. "What do you really want to do, eh?"
"Something, really. You know how I am," she shrugged.
"Ah. You said you wanted to make me a new set of pants. Did you want to do that? This way you can still sit with me," he said. She nodded with a small grin and was able to sit up in his lap. Inichi was notified and was able to retrieve her crafting basket for her. Kamikaze nodded and said, "Good. Make me a few sets of pants. As for colors…eh…dark red, black, dark blue and dark brown."
"Okay!" she said happily and got to work.
"You remember his measurements?" Bane asked.
"Yeah. It's like…I have a photographic memory. It's crazy," she shrugged. "It's how I can clean and do things so well."
"You should learn how to fan dance," Zenchu said to her. "This is in case something happens to Lady Mitsumi."
"Ah! Hmm. I could! Okay, when her dojo is ready. The one we found here was good, but it needs a bit of a platform. It was mainly a fancy restaurant. We'll check it out later," Tacki nodded to him.
"Everything is complete and ready," Genos said. Kamiko was now pulled away from the isolation chamber to sit next to him and lean into him to observe. Fubuki ensured that those that wanted to witness the event were seated and quieted down to watch. Mitsumi and Saitama were in a protected viewing chamber to only watch through cameras. He kept a hand on her belly and comforted her silently.
"Here we go…" Metal Knight muttered. Child Emperor gave the signal to remove the sleeping gas mask. The flea was now released from the jar. Sweet Mask was paying close attention, and various cameras were now recording the event with Genos to send to the Hero Association for intense study.
"Eh?!" the flea glanced around and saw the man sleeping.
"Can it see us?" Mitsumi asked.
"No. The glass is coated with a mirror-like substance. We can see them. They can't see us," Metal Knight said calmly. They saw the flea jump over to the man and pause at the sensation of the other flea already in it.
"No! Not good!" the flea spat out. "Weak! I make better!"
"Huh! This is why we were put in separate rooms when given the transmitters!" Iwasaki blinked. Flashy Flash looked at her with surprise.
"Out! Get out!" the flea snapped at the lump in the skin. It burrowed down on top of the other flea to attack it. Now the resident flea screeched and attacked back to keep its host. When the flea pulled the current one out, an abrupt change happened to the skin.
"Oh! When the flea willingly leaves…look at the skin change!" Child Emperor said. "It looks normal again!"
"I don't think it would leave on its own, though. Not unless in this situation," Iwasaki mused. "So…we could try with me, but I don't want the transmitter in me to get hurt, either. I would want to try and cure it, too. We also don't know if the monster in the skin is still there unless the flea must be in the skin to keep the change there. I mean…there's so much to figure out!"
"And we will," Sweet Mask nodded to her.
"If the cure is that simple to get a flea to remove another, well…hmm…" Child Emperor pondered. "So, if we remove the flea, the body becomes another flea under the skin. But, if a flea removes a flea…the skin returns to normal. We'd need to try this again and see if a Secret Skins can still remove their skin. Or run blood tests. Ah! If the fleas are still fighting outside the body, can the robot arm get a blood sample?!"
"Working on that…" Metal Knight said and moved his fingers over the controlling keys quickly. Siren kept a close watch on the cameras for him while he worked the commands. "Luckily we kept some medical equipment in there just in case. And…there we go…"
They watched the robotic arm stealthily take up a clean syringe and collect the blood from the still slumbering man. The syringe was placed in a refrigerated storage box for collection after it was done. Kamiko nodded to show she was glad she left such items in there for them. It was when the man groaned to wake up that all attention was caught again.
"What…happened…?" the man grimaced and now stared in shock at the two fleas fighting it out. "What?! No! Stop! I mean…can I…wait…no! I can't! My power is gone!"
"Ah! So when the flea leaves like that, the person is cured!" Child Emperor gasped and was quick to jot down the discovery. "It's all from the flea willingly leaving the body! It takes the venom with it! Or something! I mean…I don't know! But…amazing!"
"Oh!" Iwasaki's jaw dropped at this.
"You would think the flea has to keep the skin the way it is for the monster inside to come out. We still don't know if the skin stays that way with the monster inside, but there may be no way for the inner monster to fully come out without the flea. We'd need more testing," Metal Knight muttered out.
"We got the blood sample with the flea out of the body, but we'd need to really check if the monster within is still there," Child Emperor sighed.
"Even if the monster in me doesn't have to come out…I'd be fine with that," Iwasaki admitted. "It does make me wonder if I'd keep my ESP powers, too."
"When I got cured of being a monster, I got to keep all of my benefits," Kamiko chuckled at her. "We all did."
"Huh. Well, if we know for sure about the transmitter leaving willingly, then that's fine. But I'd still like to see if one of them can be cured," Iwasaki nodded. "That would be the next step."
"We have a number of them to test with that belonged to faulty men. That will not be an issue," Genos agreed. "If they revert back to their monster body, though, that could be an issue."
"Eh, nope," Saitama said from a microphone in the shielded room. "If they are bad monsters, I will kill them. If they are good monsters, then they will get fully woken up and join the family."
"As he said," Mitsumi chuckled.
"You can hear us?" Kamikaze grinned.
"Yep. We have microphones everywhere. We have sound and screens," Saitama said calmly. He returned his attention to the bewildered man in the isolation chamber trying to frantically get the attention of the fleas.
"Stop! You can both share me!" the man finally said.
"Eh?! What?!" a flea spat out.
"No! No good!" the other flea growled.
"But…has it been tried?" the man asked. Now both fleas looked at each other. Neither of them liked the idea.
"It bad. Cause bad. You die," a flea said.
"How do we know?" the man countered.
"Eh…" the other flea paused. Now Inichi found himself highly amused. They don't know the outcome. It's instinctive to not do such a thing. Perhaps I can overrule the instinct…
"Hmm…" the first flea thought hard and looked at the human. "Fine. We try. But…if die…"
"I know. But if you both make me stronger…?" the man asked. Both fleas looked at each other and back at the man.
"Wait," the first flea said. "You skin. Peel."
"I can't," the man said. "When you left, my skin stayed on."
"Hmm. Still smell…huh. No smell!" the initial flea said with a bit of surprise. "Not strong!"
"Because you left me! Return to me! Both of you!" the man said and revealed his arms.
"Looks like that question was answered. The flea leaves willingly, and the body reforms in full under the skin. We have our cure!" Child Emperor grinned. Iwasaki was shivering with joy, but she still felt bad for the transmitter under her skin. Flashy Flash chuckled and squeezed her gently.
"In truth, I do like your monster form," Flashy Flash said gently to her.
"Oh?" she blinked at him.
"I do. So, if there is no cure for your transmitter, I don't mind you staying as you are," he chuckled softly. She found herself leaning into him now to get a rewarding hug back.
"Thank you," she said. "We'll see if a cure can be done for the transmitter. If not…well…if you like me as I am now…"
"I do," he nodded. "Your monster self is just as beautiful as you are now."
They returned their attention to the isolation chamber just as both fleas hissed at each other and jumped onto the man. Now with two forms of venom injecting into him, he let out a blood-curdling scream of pain. His body was contorting in full under his skin now. Even worse was how his skin was withering away as though rotting from the extra jolts of venom.
"The skin appears to be fusing to the body now…" Metal Knight mused.
"Agreed. The extra venom output is too much," Genos said. "The outer skin cannot handle such a thing. If I recall, even Miss Mitsumi was always given a small, minuscule amount. The only time she needed more was for an antidote. But a full venom outbreak? This is like trying to consume Shenjou's venom and regenerating from it. Much like that one Secret Skins that was trying to do until Shenjou gave out even more. This is forcing his skin to melt away."
"Do I have to punch it?" Saitama asked through the microphone.
"I don't think so," Garou said from how Wind Crane started to hiss. Lily was cringing at the whole thing and leaned into Garou's protective form.
"That looks so gross," Tacki said.
"I don't think he even has any looks. Is he melting?" Kamikaze frowned.
"Can we get a blood sample?" Child Emperor asked. Metal Knight was quick to work on the keys at the request to have the mechanical hand grab another syringe. When it moved to jab at the changing man, a bladed arm came out and sliced away the robotic arm.
"Damn it!" Metal Knight spat out and started to tap on more keys. Now several mechanical arms came out from the flooring to thwart and distract to get the needed syringe of blood sampling.
"I knew you had more in there," Siren grinned and got a rewarding chuckle from him back. She pressed into him and blinked her glowing green eyes at the sight of the monster that took form.
"Let me get it outside!" Inichi said quickly. On this being said, Metal Knight was quick to collapse the isolation chamber into the floor. The ceiling folded in on itself when the walls parted away.
"Okay. That's cool," Saitama said. He pulled Mitsumi into his arms to lift her up when he stood up and carried her out to where the monster was. "You all have five minutes to kill it. Go."
"Let's go!" Zenchu snickered, and Garou was quick to leap onto the monster now. The monster that formed easily towered over three stories, had two heads and seemed to be a combination of two different monsters by the two fleas. One head appeared to be cat-like. The other almost resembled a giant beetle. The rest of the body was mottled fur, shell and various leg parts from both sides.
"So, different fleas can do different things. But not the same monster," Genos mused while he attacked. "The original flea had made something like a mythical bird. A chicken-horse type, if I recall."
"I still punched it. I killed it. And you all are too damned slow!" Saitama said and had Mitsumi stand behind him in case he had to help.
"It's regenerating very fast!" Tacki said when she saw a spiked bug leg grow back after getting sliced off by Kamikaze. Shenjou was quick to rattle his tail to show he was ready to attack.
"Back away! Shenjou is going to spray venom!" Masaki warned.
"What?!" Zip said with shock and was swift to send word with Inichi giving the mental call. Once Shenjou knew the area was clear, he pulled his head back before opening his jaws wide to spray the volatile venom. The monster screamed as it dissolved flesh and bone quickly in its purest form.
"Shenjou could easily be dragon ranking!" Lily gasped.
"Yep," Garou nodded and kept her behind him. Then Wind Crane ran over with her wings outstretched to squawk out a sonic attack. She paused when she saw it was still there and barely alive. It wasn't at full blast to keep from damaging the buildings around them, but she was very surprised that it was still standing.
"Hold on!" Saitama said to have Mitsumi cling to him in a piggyback way. He was able to run with her in full and punch the monster out of existence. When there was nothing left, he found himself tilting his head at her. "Huh. You were able to run with me. Nice!"
"This is good to do," she beamed at him and kissed his cheek. He liked her on his back like that, and he pulled her legs up into his arms to help her get settled better. "What do we do now? Any ideas?"
"I should go over the samples we have now and start formulating what I can. I'll be in the laboratory here," Child Emperor said. "I'm sure Metal Knight would help out when he can. I don't know what happened with those two fleas, though."
"I can tell you," Inichi said. "When the skin dissolved, they killed each other. Their venoms canceled the other out, but left the monster in place. I heard their screams of pain and swearing that what they did should not have been done. So, now we know what two fleas can do to a host. They kill each other, dissolve the skin from their venom and create a monster of two different bodies. Interesting! I'm not sure if we should do such a thing again."
"We'll see if it comes to that," Metal Knight said from his hovering robot.
"Yeah. Okay. I wanna go fishing. Who else wants to?" Saitama asked.
"I need to make fishing lures!" Tacki beamed. "Who needs one?"
"You gonna call your folks?" Zenchu asked Saitama.
"Ah…craaaap…!" Saitama pouted to get the others laughing at it. Back in Metal Knight's base, though, Siren was musing over everything with him.
"What do you think, Bofoi?" she asked.
"It was a very fruitful study," he admitted.
"You think so?"
"I do. We have learned much. There is still much to learn."
"I did have something I wanted to learn," she said.
"Oh? And that is?" he asked. Then he paused when she jumped out of his lap and moved to stand in front of him. She folded her wings around herself and gained a foot in height. When she parted them, he could just stare in shock at the body she exposed to him now.
"How quickly will you take me to your bed?" she asked in her sultry tone. Her eyes were a touch more slanted when she blinked them over her high cheekbones. Her chest was far more developed to show she would need clothing if she chose to wear any. Even the horns on her head were spiraled in a way that they made her look elegant and beautiful with her darkened red-black skin. Her pointed ears gave her face a rather elfish look to her, too.
"I am surprised you lack a tail…" he muttered and found himself rising from his chair. She chuckled softly and turned her back to reveal the most perfect rump he had ever seen.
"I don't want one," she chuckled and winked over her shoulder at him to get his mind spinning with desire now. "No one else will ever see this body of mine. Only you, Bofoi. This is my promise. My trust."
"Never share this secret with anyone," he growled and managed to move up to her to hold her close. "It's true. I've had a few women here and there. But none of them have ever compared to you. The moment I saw you…I felt an attraction I couldn't deny. Something pulled me to you. And now I am blissfully chained. I'll want to know all I can about you…but for now…"
"Hmm?" she chuckled again.
"I need to see how fast this floor panel can get us to my bed," he muttered and pulled her close to kiss her in a branding way. "I still can't believe…that a monster…the most beautiful creature I have ever seen…was the one to steal my heart. No other shall have it."
"I won't let anyone steal it from me. Or me from you," she vowed and kissed him back when the floor panel lifted them both up and away.