I wash my hands, getting some of the blood off of them that got under my gloves during the surgery. A minor complication had come up, but I managed to fix it before anything got too bad. Good job me.

Once feeling sufficiently cleaned, I exit the scrub room and move towards the elevator, glad to have 20 minutes to relax before I need to check on my next patient. The ride down to the surgical floor is quick, and I practically rush to the on-call room to lie down.

Inside is Doctor Michael Mallard, a friend and fellow surgeon, though we have different specialties. His green eyes look over at me, his somewhat curly brown hair framing his lightly tanned face nicely.

"How’s my favorite Head of Neurosurgery?" He asks, smiling as he sits up on the bed he’s lying on, giving me room to lie down.

"Tried, dead tired." I almost stumble over before getting into the bed, rubbing my face as I sigh, sinking into the cushioning of the crappy mattress below me.

"Jake?"

"Yeah, we fought last night and he wasn’t even awake for breakfast this morning."

"You should really leave him, Kate. It’s not good for you to stay in that marriage."

"I know, I just don’t think I can do that to the girls, split the family like that."

"And what about Jason? Don’t you worry about him?"

"Of course, but he hates me. I’ve tried everything I can think of to bond with him, but nothing works. He might just be a lost cause."

"I still think you should keep trying; the kid's still probably going through a lot after Cassidy; he needs all the support he can get."

"I know, can we change the subject?"

"Sure. I heard you have a special patient up next. Is that right?"

"Yep, Blink. Our very own superpowered thug." I chuckle slightly, having had him as a patient a couple of times before after he was apprehended by The Enclave, but this time The Enclave weren't the ones to take him down; I wonder who was.

"Correct, I hope that goes well for you. The Ramirez twins are your interns for the case, right?"

Javier and Oscar Ramirez, twin sons of our Chief of Surgery Mateo Ramirez and Head of General Surgery Maria Ramirez. So far, two good interns. Surgical skills must be genetic.

"Yeah, we should be able to handle it just fine."

"Well I’ll leave you to get your little nap. I wish I could be in two places at once, but I need to go scrub in for an appendectomy."

He gently pats my arm before standing up and exiting the on-call room, giving a quick wave as he closes the door.

🜂🜂🜂

The remaining minutes of my break pass quickly, but not before some of my daily vomiting, before I’m up and moving towards Blink’s room, my interns meeting me along the way. The twins are almost identical, as quite a few twins are. Both are pretty tall and athletic, with dark brown eyes and a lighter brown skin tone. The main difference is their hairstyles; Javier’s is rather long but usually put up into a man-bun, while Oscar’s is short and styled nicely.

"Hello, Dr. Jolly-Scott. We’ve read up on the patient’s history and what his current condition is." Oscar speaks up, almost always the one to do so between himself and his brother.

"Go ahead." I reply, simple and direct orders usually do well with the interns given their often anxious disposition.

"He has multiple burns on his body, ranging from second to third degree. He also has severe blunt trauma to the head, consistent with punching, but his CT scan showed minimal injury to his brain, very lucky."

"That is quite lucky. Do you have any theory as to why that may be the case?"

"My best assumption would be a healing factor, from whatever powers he possesses."

"Good, I’m sure whoever they send from The Enclave to question him can shed some light on that."

As we reach the room, I hear a familiar voice speak up. "Well, mighty convenient, I’m already here."

Following the sound, I see Static Glitch, a newer member of the Enclave that I’ve met with numerous times when he’s had to bring people to the hospital after messy fights. His big smile was visible under his blue domino mask, brushing a bit of his brown hair out of his face. My eyes trail down slightly to his white suit, likely made of some spandex and lightly reinforced with some armor. Some blue accents lighten the appearance, with a red cross on his right shoulder to show he has some medical knowledge in case of emergencies.

"Glad to see you, Mr. Glitch. Do you mind if we had a moment alone to check on the patient before you question him?"

"That is perfectly fine. Dr. Jolly-Scott, let me know when I can come in."

I give a gentle nod in his direction before entering the room. Inside, I immediately see Blink, his face swollen pretty badly from whatever impacts he took, alongside the cleaned burns on his body, limbs, and face as well.

I approach him and begin to examine him like usual, checking his pupils for their reaction to light, among other simple tests. And while it’s not my specialty, I do take a glance at his facial wounds up close. The burns on his face are almost fist-shaped, like a few from those three patients we got a few days ago from the bar on the docks.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Rickman?"

"Fine, just sore and achy, doc." He replied, slurring his words just barely, but that’s likely due to injuries to his jaw.

I give a brief nod before looking back at Static Glitch outside, gesturing for him to enter.

"Oh, not this prick." Blink, or Douglas Rickman, groans out, obviously not wanting to be questioned.

"Mr. Rickman, would you like to tell me what happened?" Static speaks, his voice firm as he stares down at my patient.

"Oh, I can tell you what happened. I was sticking up some punk bitch when a big ol’ asshole came outta nowhere and beat the shit outta me and Nate!" He yells out, obviously aggravated at whoever this guy that interrupted them was.

"Do you know who attacked you?"

"No, he was wearing a hoodie and had a bandana on, but he had some fire powers. Could light himself up and turn into it."

"I see. I’ll be back for more questions, but for now I think that’s enough." He turned to look at me. "Doctor, a word in private?"

"Of course."

He guided me out of the room and into the nearest on-call room for privacy. He locks the door before gently cupping my face and pulling me into a kiss, which I eagerly return. I don’t let it last long though, pulling away after a moment.

"We don’t have long, can’t stay away from our jobs." I say breathlessly, staring into his wonderful eyes.

"You’re right, I did want some input on something though, Kate." He replies, giving me another quick kiss before taking a step back.

"You think whoever beat up those guys at the bar also did Blink, right?"

"Yeah, injuries are similar. Likely a new Vigilante Suit."

"Hopefully you can get more leads from Blink, and based on the brutality he’s shown, he could turn into a threat, right?"

"Yes, hopefully he’ll calm down or we might have to apprehend him."

He turned and exited the room, returning to question Blink further as I watched him walk away. My heart flutters slightly as I wonder how to break things off with my husband so I can be with the man I love.