—N… I don't know… I don't know!
— But I do! — Dereck shouted as he burst through the door. With a smug grin and a swagger full of confidence, he stopped in front of the siblings before explaining.
—You, my little malnourished friend, achieved a perfect symbiosis with the Thanocardia
—¿¡And what the hell is the Thanocardia?!
—O… Oh, didn't I tell you? — He was genuinely nervous. With all the chaos earlier, it hadn't occurred to him that she had zero context about her situation. — Oopsie
The explanation was brief, but with each word, Andy's face grew paler and paler.
—W-Why didn't anyone tell me before?
—We forgot.
The strength in her legs vanished along with all her inexplicable energy. Ripley had to catch her before she hit the ground, shooting Dereck a glare so loaded with rage that, for a moment, it almost made him wet his pants.
—¡But you don't have to worry anymore! — Dereck shouted with all his might. — ¿Remember when I explained the part about 'it's like her entire body is operating at a level even elite athletes can't reach'? It's because you achieved internal flowering! Now it all makes sense.
Andy snapped out of her shock, wiped the drool cascading from her lips, and asked, still gripped by gut-wrenching fear,
—Whoa, whoa, whoa… that sounds awful. ¿Am I going to die now?
—¡On the contrary!
Ripley suddenly stood up, alarmed. On his way to and from work, he had researched the Vatra Thanocardia and everything related to it. Naturally, he knew what those words meant.
—That's complete bullshit, Dereck.
"Oh, what, are you a doctor now?"
Dereck forced himself not to say it out loud. It was almost an impossible task.
— Ahem. As I'm sure you know, the original purpose of the Vatra Florente was always mutual cooperation. ¿So wouldn't it be normal for that purpose to remain, even after the mutation? The problem is that its aggression is too much for humans to handle. But she handled it. In short… ¡Andy's become a little superhuman! "
—A superhuman… — Andy repeated the words, staring at the palms of her trembling hands. She actually liked how that sounded. A new perspective a million times better than "shooting spores from her chest."
—I figured it out, not any of those idiots back there. ¿Did you hear that? ¡All by myself! — Dereck raised his middle finger to his colleagues who were watching everything from the entrance. Some returned the gesture.
— It's not the cure I was looking for, but it's still the discovery of the year… ¡No, of the century!
He pulled out his phone and scrolled through all the important contacts he'd collected over the years, saved for the moment his big break arrived to help spread the word. They would finally be put to good use.
Suddenly, he grabbed Andy by the shoulders and showed her pictures of different people who had also achieved internal flowering. Of course, none of the cases involved the Thanocardia, but rather its original version. Each image showcased stacks of money, luxurious houses, or jobs most people could only dream of.
Drool involuntarily dripped from Andy's lips.
¿Did she care about looking gross? Apparently not.
She was too busy staring at one photo in particular. It showed a man in a sleeveless shirt, revealing the roots of his floral symbiosis across his body. But she wasn't looking at him.
she was eyeing his camper with expanded dimensional space.
¡The dream of every true traveler!
—¡This is going to be huge! First, we'll tell the press, and then when we get invited to talk shows…
—No — Ripley interrupted the doctor. — No one can know about this.
—¿¡Uh?! — Dereck's enthusiasm crashed. — Y-you don't understand, boss. This is unprecedented, and it needs to go public. Imagine the fame, the opportunities. she'd even be eligible to join the Red Guard, and then—
Ripley stepped in front of the doctor. No gesture or word was needed for Dereck to fall silent. Under his boss's intense gaze, he could only lower his head, terrified that any move, no matter how small, might give Ripley an excuse to slit his throat.
—That's exactly why, you idiot. — Ripley backed him into a corner, and Dereck retreated like a skittish bug until his back hit the wall of the private hospital.
— She's not going to be anyone's experiment or entertainment, ¿Got it? — He raised his voice, looking at the other doctors who had gathered at the scene. — If I find out any of you opened your mouths…
The silence was immediate. All the doctors looked away, suddenly finding the floor, walls, or any spot that didn't involve meeting Ripley's eyes fascinating.
—B-but…
Ripley didn't get the chance to yell at him because Andy slipped between them with the clumsiness of an insect crawling out of the dirt. Her shoes squeaked against the floor, and her arm stretched out, wrapping both men in a warm hug.
— Oh, come on, big guy. No need to be so aggressive.
—…¿What?
The oppressive aura dissipated instantly, allowing everyone to let out a huge sigh of relief.
— I'm fine, you're fine… ¡we're all fine!
—¡No, you're not fine!
—Oh, ¿Are you a doctor now?
—Ugh…
Andy fixed the unbuttoned flaps of Dereck's coat, messed up from the earlier scuffle, and helped him straighten up after tidying the chaos that was his hair. The doctor, unable to find the right words, stammered as he hid the blush threatening to appear.
—¡Thanks for the good news! You really made my day.
She grabbed her brother and dragged him to his car, forcing him in with a mix of threats and big-sister delirium.
—¡You guys are the best, never change!
She shouted as she climbed into the passenger seat. After a few jerky movements and muffled screams that barely made it through the reinforced glass —sounds everyone tried hard to ignore— the two siblings drove off into the distance.
Dereck stood still, almost rigid. The unmistakable scent of sweet tangerines lingered, as fresh as if she'd just walked out the door.
¿How did she smell so good after everything that happened?
His throat sounded like old plumbing as he cleared it. His golden opportunity was slipping right through his fingers, as usual.
—We didn't even discharge her.
One of the doctors approached and, in a grave voice, whispered to Dereck — You still have to be the clown at my daughter's party, ¿You know?
"…"
....................
They really made her day.
Andy hummed along to the song playing on the radio, oblivious to her brother's overwhelming concern.
¡A superhuman!
Throughout her life and her many jobs, she'd had the chance to meet a few of these types.
Always so proud, so… free.
For a long time, she'd wished to be one of them.
To not have to bow to capricious bosses, to go anywhere whenever they wanted without anyone stopping them. And most importantly…
¡To not have to answer to a damn annoying landlord!
Her smile widened considerably. Ripley sensed the mischievous vibes beside him and spoke brusquely when the traffic light turned red.
—¿Aren't you supposed to be terrified? ¡I don't see any terror anywhere!
—Of course I was. But in the end, everything turned out fine, ¿Don't you think?
She leaned back in the comfy seat and reclined it. The cool air conditioning created the perfect setting for a restorative nap. Though physically she was at her peak, mental fatigue was becoming an issue to consider. So many emotions and news, both terrifying and mind-blowing, in a single day was too much for one person to handle.
—Nothing turned out fine, Andy… We're flying blind, and that thing isn't dead. What if it's just waiting for some slip-up to come out and—
Countless theories, bad omens, and fears came and went. As her brother went on, Andy didn't bother hiding the smile on her face. A warmth in her heart glowed tenderly, fueled by her brother's sincere words. Of course, part of her was still scared, but that part was overshadowed by the desire for a future without discount frozen meals from the supermarket.
Instead of living in fear in a cold hospital room, ¿Why not take a risk and make the most of her new condition?
Even if it was unique, highly unknown, and probably extremely dangerous, it would be worth the gamble.
¡It was better to live in the moment!
She'd face the consequences as they came. For now, all that was left was to enjoy her good fortune for as long as possible.
—I'm fine, Ripsi.
—You're not — Ripley sighed with all the weight of his body. His mind, bogged down by tons of work and endless stacks of documents, kept him from coming up with a plan to make her realize the tightrope her life was balancing on. — Just… wait. I'll find a way to fix this.
— Okay, Mom — Andy pinched her brother's cheek. Then, her neurons clicked. Something was missing in the car. — Hey… ¿Where's Mom and Dad?
Ripley slammed on the brakes.
—¡Fuck!
....................
Her parents waved goodbye from the back seats of the car. Finally, after many unnecessarily long arguments with her brother, she convinced him to drop her off right in front of her apartment building.
She inhaled, for the last time, the air thick with humility and mold from the walls. Despite all its flaws, annoying neighbors, and pets that kept peeing on her door, this place had been her home.
For longer than she'd like to admit…
Her hand slid along the rusty railings of the main staircase with almost genuine nostalgia. The shouts of mothers and children echoing through the hallways gave her a welcome she might almost miss in the future. They'd always been an emergency alarm clock that saved her from being late to work on more than one occasion.
They were also an infernal nightmare on her days off, but life wasn't all good.
As she entered her apartment, a tear nearly escaped her. She locked the door, checked that the windows were closed, and ensured all appliances were properly unplugged.
She breathed softly and, with a smile of absolute joy… Collapsed onto her bed.
The otherworldly snores became the only proof that someone actually lived there and it wasn't just an abandoned room.
Andy passed out successfully.
After a few hours, the body stirred and got out of bed. Moving like a wind-up doll in the hands of an expert puppeteer, still snoring in the background with an unnaturalness typical of possessed dolls that would chill children to the bone.
—What a dump…
¿Was it too late to try his luck with her rich brother?
—Come on, girl. ¡Have some self-respect!
Truth be told, Jarek was exaggerating. The decor and perfectly proportioned furniture in every corner of the apartment were adorable.
You wouldn't even notice that most of it was, at best, of questionable quality. And after living among literal trash for so long, anything was more than enough to make Jarek feel comfortable.
He didn't see the need to wrap Andy's body in his ultra-fabulous blue super suit. It wasn't exactly because the place was small or he was afraid of breaking something. He was just too lazy to bother.
He examined his host in the mirror of the small vanity table, which no one could explain how it ended up in the hands of someone in these… circumstances.
Wavy, voluminous hair with a tendency to frizz, clearly defined texture that wasn't quite curly, completely red.
Numerous freckles on her body and… pretty scrawny.
But overall, she was quite cute. If she improved her eating habits, she'd definitely be an 8 out of 10.
— Meh, I can get used to this.
Nothing a bit of tough love and a whole lot of patience couldn't fix. He'd make sure to thank Dereck for giving him this "little opportunity." Though the doctor's intentions to exploit Andy were obvious to everyone, his help was appreciated.
¿Superhuman? Sure, let's call it that.
It was a much better excuse than any he'd come up with.
It was time to get to work. In front of him, on a rectangular table in one of the farthest corners, sat a small computer. The keys showed the wear of years of use, and most of the casing was covered in dust. But it would do.
Reviewing Andy's memories wasn't draining his stamina, ¿But why limit himself to a single source of information? He needed more.
This was an unknown world in every sense. If it were part of some movie, ancient book, or existing series from his previous world, he didn't have the slightest clue which one is.
It was a priority to learn everything: geography, history, etc.
—¡Bless technology!
From the depths of his heart, he prayed this thing still worked.
And that she paid for the internet.