Bab 123: Chapter 123: Really Really Bad
[Third Person's PoV]
A While Later….
Tony woke up with a groan, feeling like his body hurt all over. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked down at his body, which was covered in bandages. Despite the wrappings around his torso, arms, and legs, his muscular figure was still visible.
He shifted to the side and sat on the edge of the bed with another groan. As he went to massage his forehead, trying to ease the headache, he realized that bandages were also wrapped around his forehead, mostly hidden by his hair.
His movements and noise woke Melissa, who groaned as well and sat up on the opposite side of the bed.
"What happened?" Melissa asked, resting a hand on her forehead.
"We were too badass, and this is the price for it," Tony smirked, which made Melissa scoff and roll her eyes.
"That's right, the villains..." Melissa said, remembering how they ended up in this condition. "Are you okay, Tony?"
Tony stood up and began stretching, but quickly held his side in pain. "A little sore and in pain, but nothing a few hardcore drugs won't fix... You?"
"Apart from looking like a mummy, I'd say I could be better," Melissa replied, tying her loose hair into a ponytail.
They soon heard a knock on the door, causing them both to turn toward it. "Come in," they said in unison.
As the door opened, the first thing they saw was a trolley of food. "I knew you two would wake up soon, so I ordered room service," Star and Stripes said, pushing the trolley toward them.
"Oh my god, you are simply the best!" Tony exclaimed, immediately grabbing food and starting to eat. Melissa wasn't far behind, as they had spent the entire night fighting without eating anything.
Star watched them with a smile. "I can't tell you how proud I am of both of you."
"You just did..." Tony said, his mouth full.
Star smiled and shook her head. "You fought just like I taught you. Even while battling villains, you focused on the safety of the civilians around you."
She chuckled. "Some were so grateful that they offered to help you in return."
Tony paused, tilting his head in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"
"Like the old doctor you saved. He wanted to repay you two by providing first aid," Star explained, motioning up and down at their bandaged bodies.
Tony slowly chewed as he turned to look at Melissa, who also looked back at him. She slowly pulled the spoon from her mouth, her brows furrowed in confusion.
Tony set his plate down and, after a moment, looked back at Star. Holding up a finger to signal her to wait, while his other finger hooked by his lips as he finished chewing. Then, with a baffled expression, he said, "Star, I mean this in the nicest way possible, but what the fuck are you talking about?"
"First of all, language," Star said, shaking her head. "And second, you remember the old man you saved? He mentioned that during the villains' attack, you led him back to the hotel for safety. He was so moved by your actions that he wanted to repay you by healing both of you."
Tony pinched his fingers together and closed one eye, swaying his head playfully. "There's just a tiny, little, small problem with what you just said, though."
Star tilted her head in confusion, wondering what Tony was referring to. Tony's joking expression faded as his face turned serious. "We've never saved any old man..."
"Huh? What?" Star blinked in surprise.
Melissa stopped mid-bite and nodded in agreement, setting her plate down. "Yeah, I remember helping a mother and her children, along with a man protecting his daughter. We led them to the hotel to keep them safe, but there was never any old man."
"So then... who–" Star began, but Tony interrupted her.
"Star," Tony said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "What did you just do?"
Melissa turned to Star, tilting her head. "Did you even bother to check if his story was real?"
"He seemed genuine..." Star replied hesitantly.
"You believed him without even checking if his story was legit!?" Tony exclaimed. "What's the matter with you!?"
Star remained calm, her expression unreadable. "Both of you were injured and needed immediate care. As my interns, you're my responsibility, so your safety was my top priority. I watched him closely while the doctor treated your wounds. If he had any bad intentions, I would've intervened. But that wasn't the case. He simply cleaned and treated your wounds, then left."
Tony clicked his tongue, frustrated, and held out his fist. "Playback."
A holographic video appeared from his ring, replaying the scene. It showed the doctor calmly treating their wounds, with Star standing behind him, her eyes narrowed as she observed his every move.
The three of them watched closely, seeing nothing suspicious. The doctor cleaned and bandaged Tony's wounds, packed away the used cotton, and left.
"What? He just treated our wounds. Why would he lie about us saving him?" Melissa asked, frowning.
"Friday, run a facial recognition scan on him and pull up everything you can find," Tony instructed, his eyes narrowing.
'That doctor... he's working for AFO,' Tony thought as he rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
Within moments, the image on the hologram changed as Friday began scanning the doctor's face. "Based on what I've gathered, he's known as Dr. Tsubasa in Japan. However, it appears that this name is an alias."
Friday's voice echoed through the room. "That's not all, boss. Please take a look at this." The image split into two, showing an old security footage photo of the doctor and his current face. "Notice anything different?"
Both Melissa and Star squinted at the images, then shook their heads. "No... they look exactly the same," Melissa said.
"Exactly. These photos are a decade apart."
Their eyes widened. "What? How? He hasn't aged a day! Could it be a quirk?" Melissa asked, rubbing her chin as thoughts raced through her mind.
"That's the most likely explanation," Friday confirmed.
"All For One..." Melissa muttered, causing Tony and Star to turn toward her.
"That doctor isn't the only one who hasn't aged. AFO hasn't either. He's been a thorn in Uncle Might's side since before he even became All Might. He's been alive for a very long time. It's likely that this doctor is working for All For One," Melissa said, her face serious.
"Are you sure?" Star asked, still confused.
Melissa's expression grew more intense. "At first, it was just a gut feeling. But the Nomu... AFO needed someone with advanced medical expertise to create those things. The Nomu are biological weapons. AFO doesn't seem like the type to sit down and study biology, which means someone else is helping him. I'm almost certain that doctor is working for All For One."
"So what could the doctor want with the both of you? That still doesn't explain why he would lie and treat you," Star asked, still puzzled.
"Friday, rewind the clip," Tony instructed, his eyes narrowing as the footage played again. This time, they watched more closely. "Look, he was checking to see if we had a quirk."
Melissa snapped her fingers in sudden realization. "That's it! They didn't believe you were that smart without some kind of quirk. They set all this up to test you, to see if there was something special they could take. Maybe AFO planned to steal it for himself. But it still doesn't add up—AFO is in jail."
"They're probably planning his escape," Tony said grimly, zooming in on the bag with the bloody cotton. His expression darkened. "And that's not all..."
"Shit." Even Melissa cursed as the full weight of the situation hit her. "He has our blood! This is bad. Really, really bad…"
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