"You know, when we established a relationship and set out to form a proper partnership, I never expected that a common interaction between us would be you bringing non-humans in critical condition to me for treatment." Dr. Genus admitted, speaking to Saitama.
At this point, Doctor Genus considered changing his organization's name. Instead of the House of Evolution, how about "Non-Human Medicare"? "Non-Human Hospice"? "Non-Human Medical Aid and Health-Related Services"? The name could be workshopped.
Focusing back on the scene, Saitama and Genus were inside the geneticist's office. Out of nowhere, One Punch Man, accompanied by several heroes and most of the House of Evolution's members, rushed into the facility. In the arms of Beast King (since it would be easier for him) was an unconscious non-human entity. However, it was a unique organism. As Doctor Genus's clones took the creature away for treatment, they also began studying it much like they did with Kombu Infinity, as it was obvious it would need specialized care.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about this, man." Saitama sighed. He didn't want Genus to feel as though his resources and skills were being taken advantage of.
"Ha-ha, it's alright." Dr. Genus assured with a small smile. "I didn't intend to make you feel regretful. I'm just amazed by how frequently this seems to be happening." He clarified before adorning a serious expression. "Anyway, shall we discuss the non-human?" He suggested.
"Yes, please. There's a LOT of questions that need answers." Saitama replied.
Following that, Saitama and Doctor Genus sat down at his desk.
"Most important news first. The non-human is alive." Dr. Genus started, causing Saitama to sigh again. Only this time, it was of relief. "Next, the type of entity the non-human is. To be honest, my people and I have never seen anything like it. The fluid that could be considered the creature's blood is nothing like anything we're familiar with. It's more accurate to call it a form of energy. The glowing of its body, which you likely saw as you brought it here, is partly caused by this substance. As for the other source, it's the creature's innate energy. Similarly to the blood, it's entirely new to us." He stated.
"It didn't seem organic. Its body was covered in stones or rocks. We didn't spend much time examining it since it was injured. Could you share details about that?" Saitama requested.
"Certainly." Dr. Genus agreed. "As you assumed, the creature is non-organic. Again, like with so much else, we don't know how this is possible. The only hypothesis we can form at this time is that its life is possible through the substance in its body." He informed him. "However, by now, you're likely wondering how we're even treating the non-human. It's not organic, so any medicine, presumably, wouldn't have an effect.
Furthermore, without an organic form, how can we truly discern what the injuries are? Even if we did, how would we treat them? If the creature is made of stone, do we use something like cement to fix it?" He listed.
Afterward, Doctor Genus typed on his keyboard. A second later, a holographic display was projected from a device above his desk. It hovered in the space between himself and Saitama.
"Before anything else, my clones hurried the creature into a rejuvenation chamber. We weren't confident it'd have an effect, but we had to try to stabilize its condition quickly. Thankfully, it did. Although not fully healing the entity, it affected the organ inside of its body that seems to produce the unknown substance. Is this its heart? Too early to say. However, I must stress that the creature is NOT back to normal. When I say it's stable, I also mean to imply that, as of now, that is ALL it will be. A good way to simply describe this condition is comatose. Its body is keeping it alive, but nothing else. Without knowing the creature's diet, inner workings, and SO much else, we cannot in good conscience make any attempts to do anything else. One wrong decision, even if we're confident it is correct or will have a minimal negative impact, could send the creature into a downward spiral." Dr. Genus stated.
"I'm guessing your clones are studying it as fast as possible?" Saitama asked.
"Indeed. We're trying our best to learn everything, or as much as we can, about the creature." Dr. Genus answered with a nod. "Our top priority is examining the substance. We're hoping to learn how to produce it or something close enough to help us further improve the entity's condition. Unfortunately, at minimum, that will take several hours." He told him.
"Can you learn anything else? Maybe where it came from?" Saitama inquired.
"We're doing our best. We can already tell that this creature is subterranean. And no, not because of it being made of stone. Before being cleansed within the rejuvenation chamber, we discovered countless types of materials coating its body. Nearly all of them were from the Earth, but some were compounds and combinations that could only exist if made by someone or something. Unfortunately, we cannot determine the origin of the latter. Only the non-human will be able to shed light on that pecularity." Dr. Genus responded.
For a moment, Saitama closed his eyes to think. He reflected on what Fubuki had shared with him about her interaction with the creature in the hope that there was something of use.
"...Something bad happened." Saitama began, opening his eyes. "The creature told Fubuki, albeit not directly, that its people were dead. Or, if not dead, reduced to a state that couldn't be considered living. Again, though, it didn't FLAT-OUT say this. It was a combination of things. The word choice. The tone. The emotion. At least, that's what Fubuki said when describing it. Even without her ESP, she could feel the creature's sadness. Its words sounded so heavy to her. If this is true, which we have no reason to assume it isn't, then this entity may be the last of its kind. Or, if there are other survivors, it doesn't know about them." He revealed.
"Forced to work against its will, perhaps? A slave, maybe?" Dr. Genus muttered, considering the possible answers. "If it were put to work, regardless of consent, that would explain these materials being found on its body. Even without looking into it too much, all of them could be used for construction purposes. Be it the construction of structures or objects, such as machinery and other similar things." He said.
"Would you mind contacting Metal Knight and Child Emperor? I think they could help with this. Especially since Child Emperor is studying its weapons." Saitama requested.
"Of course. I was thinking the same, but I didn't want to overstep possibly." Dr. Genus accepted. "Will you be summoning the S-Class heroes here for a sudden meeting?" He asked.
"Eh, kind of? More so, I'm going to contact the Association and tell them that we could have a VERY big and VERY weird situation on our hands. Inevitably, the others will hear about it and will come on their own." Saitama explained.
"Understood. Then I'll hurry and reach out to Metal Knight and Child Emperor, so we can have something more substantial to bring to the discussions." Dr. Genus replied.
"Sounds good. I'll go check in with the others and see how everyone's doing." Saitama said as he stood from his seat.
Elsewhere, In The Main Area...
For the second time, heroes and non-humans were gathered in the "lobby" of the House of Evolution. Sadly, like the first, there was an uneasy atmosphere. This time, the source of this tension was Fubuki and Mosquito Girl. The Esper was surrounded by her group as she sat in angered silence. Mosquito Girl was surrounded by the other members of the House of Evolution. Zombieman and Flashy Flash stayed outside. For the former, he didn't want to get between Mosquito Girl and Fubuki after the Esper nearly trampled him. For the latter, he simply didn't want to be bothered and knew that being at the undead detective's side was the best way to achieve that.
...Oh! Genos! Right. He was with Saitama. Emphasis on WAS. Long story short, although it may have been a bit mean, Saitama requested that the cyborg comb over all of Ghost Town for anything else. He did this because he didn't want Genos and his naturally chaotic energy to make things worse or weirder somehow.
From Genos's perspective, he didn't question it or think ANYTHING was up since it was abundantly clear this was his first task as One Punch Man's disciple. He would not disappoint his sensei! The cyborg of justice would examine every nook and cranny! Leave no stone unturned! Hopefully, he would still show up when the others did. Otherwise, Saitama would need to fetch him himself.
"Yeesh..." Ground Dragon whispered, not wanting to be heard by the heroes across the room. "You REALLY screwed up..." He said.
"Wow. Such a way with words..." Mosquito Girl replied with a half-lidded gaze and smile.
Upon arriving at the facility, the blood-sucking vixen received treatment for her injuries. However, instead of giving her blood, as it was clear her natural regeneration wouldn't work, the clones administered an in-progress drug that was meant for non-humans. It was "in progress" because it had only recently entered development in preparation for the future.
Yet, to ensure the drug would affect non-humans, especially those with heightened regeneration, it needed to be POTENT. To put it plainly, to render ANY member of the House of Evolution doozy, you'd need something that could knock out a blue whale in seconds. For Mosquito Girl, it made her feel funny. She liked it. This drug was good.
"You okay there, Mosquito Girl?" Beast King asked with a raised brow. "You're uh...wobbly." He added.
"Hehe...yeah..." Mosquito Girl answered. It was not convincing.
For a few seconds, the others just watched Mosquito Girl. This scene was undeniably amusing, but they did feel a little bad finding so much enjoyment from her current condition.
"...So..." Kamakyuri spoke, wanting to start a new conversation and spare Mosquito Girl from their ogling. "How's everyone's training going? I know it's the first day, but still, how was it? Ignoring the obvious complication, of course." He inquired.
"Great." Armored Gorilla replied, electing to go first. "Child Emperor and I hit it off. We have a lot of common ground and know what areas I need to focus on to improve myself." He said.
"That...sounds so nice..." Frog Man spoke. For some reason, his eyes were tearful.
"You okay there, bud?" Armored Gorilla asked.
"We're a sham!" Frog Man suddenly exclaimed before slamming his head onto the table they sat at. "We failed the FIRST challenge Flashy Flash gave us!" He carried on.
"Aww, there, there..." Mosquito Girl said, patting him on the back of his head. "...Ooo...squishy..." She commented, referring to how his flesh felt.
"Was it really that bad?" Kombu Infinity questioned, speaking to the mole.
"Yeah." Ground Dragon sighed with slumped shoulders. "All we had to do was hide from him for as long as possible. We were given a minute. He found us in ten seconds; five for each." He explained. "But how has your training been? Again, ignoring the obvious." He inquired, wanting to change the topic immediately.
"It's been good. I don't know if it's as nice as Armored Gorilla's, but it's still been okay." Kombu Infinity replied. "I think Zombieman's still tense around Mosquito Girl and me. It's going to be a while before we're all comfortable around each other." They said.
"I don't blame the guy. The doc's always been good to us, but he wasn't like that until One Punch Man happened. But it's not our business to pry. If the doc ever wants to share it with us, he'll sit us down and lay it on the table. Same goes for Zombieman." Beast King stated.
"Hehe...table..." Mosquito Girl chuckled.
"...Our first day was also good." Beast King continued speaking. Mosquito Girl was making it SO hard NOT to watch her as a form of entertainment. "Master Bang is evil when it comes to his teaching methods, but he's a kind person. I'm equally eager and concerned about what he has planned for us." He said.
"Putting the obvious aside, I can't say much differently about my first day." Slugerous confessed. "The only thing I can think to mention is that Miss Blizzard suggested I should speak to the doctor again about another revision of myself." He shared.
"No! You're SUPER squishy!" Mosquito Girl whined, placing her other hand on his head.
"...Um...thank you..." Slugerous responded.
"I agree with Mosquito Girl, but the decision is ultimately yours to make.' Armored Gorilla chimed in. "There are points to make for both sides of the argument." He added.
"I say stay the same. I think you look awesome. Plus, you look like a Seafolk. It's nice not to be the only one around here, even if it's only in appearance." Kombu Infinity told him.
"On that note..." Slugerous began, moving everyone's attention to them. "Why are you a bush?" He asked.
"I was helping look for Sonic, who we thought was in Ghost Town. To do so, I asked if Zombieman could get me water to help me grow." Kombu Infinity answered.
"Do you want me to give you a trim?" Kamakyuri offered, raising his arms.
"Nah. I think I look spooky like this. I could use the intimidation factor." Kombu Infinity replied.
"Nooooooooooooo..." Mosquito Girl whined again, now latching onto the Seafolk. "You're not cute anymore...I don't like it..." She muttered.
...
...
...
BOP
Out of nowhere, Beast King bopped Mosquito Girl on the back of her head. It wasn't a forceful blow, just enough to push her into unconsciousness.
"Thanks." Kombu Infinity said as the lion man picked her up.
"No prob. If she went on any longer we'd start messing with her." Beast King responded, laying her down on a nearby couch.
As the black and white lady floated up to the clouds, the others continued conversing. Meanwhile, across the way, the Blizzard Group were busy trying to console their leader.
"Guys, I'm fine." Fubuki calmly told her subordinates. Calmly. Composed. Collected. The three Cs of elegance.
"That's what's so worrying, Miss." Mountain Ape said, folding his arms. "If One Punch Man hadn't shown up when he did, you'd still be trying to rip Mosquito Girl's face off." He reminded her.
"I'll admit, I acted poorly." Fubuki acknowledged.
"You were overflowing with murderous rage, mam." Eyelashes interjected.
"It was...passion." Fubuki argued, being careful with her word choice. "I only want to see her and the others succeed as heroes. I was just...disappointed and desired to ensure she wouldn't make this error again." She explained.
"You called her a bimbo." Lily pointed out.
"...A term of endearment." Fubuki replied.
"Empty-headed fangirl, too?" Lily questioned with an uncertain expression.
"...An observational fact." Fubuki said.
Every member of the Blizzard Group studied their leader. Fubuki did a great job maintaining this facade and pretending that she didn't try to leave finger impressions on Mosquito Girl's neck. But before the Blizzard Group could press her more on the matter, a certain shiny head entered the room.
"One Punch Man!" A member of the group was quick to notice the hero's arrival. With their shout, every pair of eyes in the room were directed to one location.
"Easy, guys. No need to salute. Please." Saitama quickly said, not wanting to go through the usual song and dance.
"How's the non-human? Are they going to be okay?" Fubuki was the first to ask the question on everyone's mind, which made perfect sense.
"They're stable in the most literal sense," Saitama answered as everyone gathered around. "From how Genus made it sound, they can't make them better because they're so unique. Like, as a lifeform. Right now, he and his clones are studying them to learn more." He explained.
"So long as they're not in danger of dying, that's all that matters." Fubuki responded with a sigh of relief and a happy smile. "However, with this taken care of, we need to talk about what they told me. You agree that it's something serious, right?" She inquired.
"I think it needs to be investigated, absolutely." Saitama agreed. "But, and I'm not excusing the actions of the guilty party, this could be a more simple situation than we're thinking. Monsters, non-humans, etc are always having disputes. Again, I am NOT saying what may have happened is justified, but we could be looking at the monster equivalent of a gang war." He said.
"One Punch man's correct. We've had a few monsters, more akin to animals, out here in the wilderness who fight over territory. I'm not trying to say all monsters and non-humans are so simple-minded, but regardless of species, power is universal." Beast King mentioned.
"Yeah. That's how it was for the Seafolk. We followed the Deep Sea King since the beginning because of his strength. We assumed that was all that mattered. But then Saitama happened and we realized he was just an ass." Kombu Infinity chimed in.
"Exactly. So, we're going to wait for the others to get here, we'll talk about it, hope Genus and his closes have more information by then, and maybe, by then, we'll be able to figure something out." Saitama told them.
In response, everyone nodded and then returned to their seats. As for Saitama, he'd head outside to speak to Zombieman and Flashy Flash. Partly because he wanted to get their input and partly because he needed to catch them up to speed.