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There was something so obscene about a row of stools having been dragged straight from their little kitchen and plopped right in the middle of this massive slab of concrete that was The Guardians HQ but Rudy was often fumbling to bring the official-ness to their team efforts that Immortal’s guidance often lacked. Apparently it still stung a little having the role taken away and he wasn’t quite ready to give it up.
Either way, the fill in Guardians did their job in filling in the seating for their sixth meeting this week. Needless to say, no one was particularly happy about it. Cecil had them working to the bone trying to get back on their feet. After half the people in that room skipped by death’s door, it didn’t take long for the criminals of their city to realise how little hero’s were on retainer for those following weeks and they had a lot of maintenance to do.
It definitely didn’t help that many of them had just returned from the streets, still gritty and in need of a shower. Only ten minutes in and everyone was over it, though some people did a better job at keeping that under wraps then others, mainly Kate, who could behave herself and Ray, who was fooling no one with her zoning out. Rudy felt the same about this meeting’s significance as immortal did so he were practically co leading it. Arguably those two were the only people actually attending said meeting.
It was Mark and Rex that were acting like middle schoolers in the back, stuck in their own little snicking conversation and having absolutely nothing soak in. Perhaps Mark’s dismissal of the meeting was because he technically didn’t even need to be there, acting more like backup then a part of the team.
No one was shocked Rex was entertaining himself over immortal’s intentions of this gathering. Every couple minutes Rex would slap Mark’s arm and egg him into pressing his shoe against Ray’s chair, scooting it across the row with a errrr that everyone was actively ignoring and Ray was far too uninterested to do more then find it mildly funny.
Rudy turned in his seat slightly, unpleased to find two members creating noise in the back row. Though at this point, he’d known Rex long enough to know to simply work around him. Mark was a bit of a let down.
He was just Turing back to the subject at hand when there was another, louder eerrr and a chair clattered to the ground, bouncing against the hard concrete twice before settling. A firmer thump followed suit.
Everyone turned to the sound, varying levels of irritation on their faces. Mark’s hollering laughter filled the sudden silence when he realised what had happened. Rex had tumbled out of his stool and it now laid beside the tipped legs.
“Of course you’d would swing on a stool, Rex.” Came Amanda’s voice, slightly ticked off to have the loud noise snap everyone out of the very slowly progressing meeting, though amused nonetheless.
“Rex! We arranged this meeting for a reason. You must take it seriously!” Immortal had crossed his arms, chest puffed up, his patience ran thin by the distracting commentary this subordinate had so rudely encouraged all the way through his speech.
The room fell into silence for a moment, space made for Rex to bite back as he so often did when he stumbled himself into a embarrassing situation. Though he’d been mindful of his comments as of late, they would just slip out in times like these. It was when nothing came and the hero stayed prone on the ground that the room stiffened.
“Rex, are you alright?” Rudy spoke, his voice taking on a hint of worry that was easier distinguishable now without his suit speaking for him.
Mark slipped off his stool, crouching beside the man, hand held out. Rex’s head was turned to the side so it was hard to tell if he’d simply fell on his tail bone and needed a second or if something was terribly wrong. “Rex?”
Suddenly a sharp jolt traveled through the man, his back arched and the arm under his side stiffened like a shot of electricity had got him through the floor. The group flinched with him.
“Uh,” Came Ray’s confused voice, standing up on instinct. Her chair screeching much louder then anything Mark and Rex had managed to accomplish this whole time.
It was hardly a second after that when Rex started convulsing, his trapped arm kicking and knocking him further into a laying position, cheek kissing the cold concrete.
Everyone jumped up, instincts ready for incoming danger but unlike usually, the only danger was the jerking motions their team mate was making.
“Oh god-“ Mark immediately slipped his arm under the twitching legs and tried to fold them up to make him easier to scoop up. Urgency in his eyes as he bent a knee, ready to get Rex to Cecil, his first go to during crisis.
“No-! Don’t move him!” Rudy’s voice shouted out, a gut punch reaction to seeing Invincible, likely fastest man on earth, about to zoom off with a convulsing Rex Splode in his arms. Marks movements jerked, like a engine kicking.
The immortal stood still on his podium. Amanda whipped her head to Rudy, a look of disbelief flashing on her face at the prospect that Rudy would delay treatment. “Rudy! He could be seriously hurt!”
The man ran around the chairs, pushing back stools to make space. They screeched and one tumbled to the ground after Rex’s chair. Mark’s arms acted as punching bags for Rex’s weakly kicking legs as he reluctantly lowered him to the ground again. Noting how cold the concrete was as it brushed against his knuckles.
“He’s having a seizure! Put him down.” Rudy was already pushing Mark’s hands away, who was shuffling out of the way. Mark yanked off his mask as he watched Rudy place a hand on either side of Rex’s head and straighten his posture, his black eyes seemed dull and his eyelids fluttered, spasming alongside the rest of his body.
“A seizure?!” Mark’s back straightened, still sitting on his knees beside the man, though he made space for Rudy, who seemingly knew what was happening. Rudy worked the goggles that were getting knocked about around his neck off, dropping them into Mark’s lap unceremoniously and then unzipped his collar and peeled the fabric open, a black shirt sitting underneath, crinkled and bunching.
“He got shot in the fucking head, are we surprised he’s seizing!” Ray shook her head, eyes wide as she tried to focus on clearing away the stools.
“Get help! Immortal!” Kate snapped around to The Immortal, who flinched at the sudden direct attention but soon shot down the hallway with urgency.
“Is there something soft we can put under his head?” Rudy demanded, his hands sitting under Rex’s head to minimise the to his already battered skull though there was a slight struggle to keep his hands under without restraining his neck.
“Fuck, we’re all in fucking spandex.” Kate cursed, Ray ran past her to tear apart the room for a simple pillow, is the big downfall of this entire place being metal and concrete. Very professional but so uncomfortable.
“Use his jacket?” Ray suggested loudly from the sitting area down the hall. “We can’t jostle him-“ Rudy started but then a gust of wind swept his hair over his face- the second the strands were out his eyes Mark was right back in front of him, his own hair settling and a pillow held out, a whole duvet tucked under his other arm. “Here!” Mark insisted, Rudy movements stuttered for a moment before his brain caught up. “Thank you.”
Rudy swiped it up, slipping it under Rex’s head. “Turn him on his side.”
“Okay.” Mark was much more slow this time, he slipped one hand under Rex’s thigh and the other under his back, rolling him over and folding his leg over the other. Once that was done he got his hands right off him but couldn’t quite bring himself to pull them too far away.
Rudy shuffled around the pillow, leaning down on both hands to study the hero’s face. “Where’s the medics?” Mark questioned, twisting his head around but Kate only shrugged in response, her eyes flickering down the hallway Immortal had disappeared down.
Rudy’s hand pressed down the pillows fabric to check his mouth, pushing his jaw apart carefully, luckily the man hadn’t bitten nor swallowed his tongue during their fumbling. Though his spit had foamed, pooling in his cheeks.
Rudy sat up, Ray returned, expression a mess and a measly three shirts hanging tightly in her fists, she sighed as soon as her eyes landed on the much better job the rest of the team had done.
“He’s- stopping, that’s good right?” Mark perked, leaning over Rex to try capture a glance at his face.
Rex looked a mess, his hair was clinging up against the pillow thanks to all his jerking movements, his arm was laid uncomfortably spread out in front of him and his jacket was crumbled and folded up under his armpits. The little bit of foam collected at the corner of his mouth was unsettling.
Rudy double tapped his palm and a small penlight shone out from his wrist. “Rex splode?” He spoke firmly, though there wasn’t an ounce of force in his voice. The light tracked across Rex’s eyes. “His pupils are dilated.”
“Is that good?” Mark pressed again. The group stood still for a moment, completely lost while Rudy leant over their team mate, concentrated while the rest shuffled about. “Where the hell is immortal? He didn’t fucking ditch did he?” Amanda accused, nervous energy needing somewhere to point.
“He wouldn’t do that!” Kate snapped in defence. Relationship aside, he’s a hero. Rex and immortal often butt heads but Immortal had been on this earth far too long to risk a man’s health over personal feelings. Kate was sure. Or else she wouldn’t be with him.
“Rex? Are you with us?” Rudy was honed in.
“I don’t know- he just watched!” Amanda shot back. “We all watched- in all fairness,” Ray muttered behind her, confidence dwindling.
“Guys.” Mark warned, bickering won’t do anything to help this situation. Rudy was carrying the team, the least they could do was be quiet. Just as he was turning his head back to the body beside him. “Oh shit guys- he’s waking up!” Mark shouted maybe too loudly, his stomach had lurched and so had his adrenaline.
“He was never asleep..” Rudy commented harmlessly.
“Ughh… huh…?” Rex mumbled under his breath, his hand raising to his mouth before immediately giving up and curling to his chest.
“Rex, your in the Guardians head quarters, you had a seizer. Medics are coming.” Rudy stated calmly and with clear preaunacation though it seemed that was lost on the dazed hero. Rex sort of just blinked slowly at the man in a kids body, then blinked again, eyes squinted.
Like he was swimming through mud, Rex turned his head behind, his body following suit and slumping back. Mark’s hands made up for the lack of power behind Rex’s efforts.
Ray’s shoes tapped against the ground as she loitered around the three, not daring to disrupt the peace they had settled into. Well, Rex seemed the only one without rigid shoulders right now but it was debatable if that was something to be celebrated.
Mark was leaning up on his knees again, trying to get a vantage point on the whole scene in front of him. “Where’s the medics? Can we move him now?” Mark insisted, eye contact being locked on but lost on Rex, who still seemed quite, detached? Unaware? Like the world hadn’t settled around him yet or if it had, he couldn’t quite read it.
“Best not to.” Rudy shook his head.
There was a crackle in the air and then GDA’s medics were surrounding the three. Shoulders sagged in relief. The medics ushered them out of the way as per usual.
Mark paced around as Rex mumbled and waved a arm around lazily while being transferred onto a stretcher.
“Where’s Cecil? Or Immortal?” Mark questioned to the room itself, frustration on his face. “How long did that take?” The medics were ignoring him, obviously more focused on their job.
Rex was arranged on the stretcher, Ray took care to lay his stray arm back on said acrylic.
“Approximately fifteen minutes.” Rudy’s robotic voice came through the suit that sat by the entrance. “I could have gotten the whole medical team here in that time.” Mark kicked his heel across the ground, hands on his hips and eyes on Rex.
“Is he okay?” Mark questioned softer, hand raised towards the help they had been waiting on. Then the GDA medics were gone, Rex teleporting with them. Invincible sucked in a sharp breath through his nose.
“What happens after a Seizer?” Ray’s question broke the silence, Kate stepping out for a moment through the same hallway their hero had disappeared down fifteen whole minutes ago.
“Often the person will feel exhausted, feel a sense of confusion or sadness and experience muscle aches. He may not remember it.” Rudy spoke again, standing awkwardly beside Amanda. Amanda gave him a cocked brow. “I wanted to familiarise myself with the symptom’s that can be concerning after a concussion.” He explained, which made sense seeing as at least one of them will hit their head almost every day.
“Perhaps we should all remind ourselves of medical steps.” Rudy suggested, glancing at his suit of armour. “I don’t… like, how long that took. We need a protocol for incase something like this happens again.” Amanda and Ray nodded, Ray slumping back into a abandoned stool.
Mark tore his eyes away from Rudy. “I’m going to go make sure he’s okay.” He stated, the suddenness of Rex being swept away not sitting right with him.
Mark flinched, Immortal had finally found his way back. Walking on the ground like the rest of them weren’t still wrapping their heads around what happened. Kate was a few paces behind him, arms crossed and cheeks flushed like they had just been in an argument.
“What took you so long!” Amanda beat Mark to it.
Immortal straightened his shoulders like he knew he was in deep shit. “There was a robbery.”
The room stood in stunned silence.
“What?” Mark creased his brows, a sight often hid under his mask.
“There was a robbery. Civilian lives were on the line.” Immortal stood strong. Kate tilted her head to the side, it was hard to stand by her partners side for this one.
“Rex had a fucking Seizure!” Mark spat, anger and betrayal lacing his words like poison. He almost sounded like a astounded mother who’d just caught their kid bulling their neighbourhood cat.
“Seizures aren’t fatal.” The hero stated like it was a cold fact and they weren’t in fact talking about their team mate who had just spent at least five of those fifteen minutes convoluting.
“Are you fucking serious.” Amanda spat.
“Jesus Christ.” Ray’s head fell into her hands.
“If the seizure didn’t stop or he had repeated seizures Rex could have died, or had a permanent injury occur.” Rudy corrected, tightening his fists as his heart pounded in his chest, it was much harder seeing something like that happen in front of him in opposed to through a screen. Feeling the nerves in his fingers light up as Rex, the man he’d modelled said hands on, seize in his palms.
“He could have choked on his own spit. He could have thrown up- choked on that or hit his head-“ Ray was shaking her head, the reality that their captain apparently didn’t care crushing down on her shoulders.
“People could have died in the streets, being a Guardian requires us to make difficult decisions to prioritise the safety of the public. Rex Splode could have waited in the face of our job.” Immortal seemed so stead fast in his decision, not a ounce of regret in his words, not for his choice, maybe for the consequences.
“Dude! He was shot in the head- bullet to the brain, that’s like- that’s like, top priority stuff!” Marks hands were shaking, torn between rushing to the GDA and standing up for this injustice to his friend.
“Fuck you Immortal..” Amanda shoved past the hulking figure, though it didn’t do much the point came across nonetheless.
“That was incredibly dangerous.” Rudy seconded, so sure that if he was in Immortals place there would have been a way to alert the GDA to send another hero and get Rex immediate medical attention. They had put their trust in him as the only standing original Guardian, Rudy expected more. This felt callous.
Mark sucked in a deep breath, running his hands down his face to try settle the tight feeling in his stomach. Rex’s goggles still held firmly in his grip.
“Invincible.” Immortal tried but Mark was faster. “No- Fuck you Immortal, I’m- I’m going. You better hope that he’s okay.” Then he was gone, swished out of the room faster then Immortal had ever tried to go.
Rudy’s suit clinked as he summoned it, the armour curled around his body as he walked past Immortal after Amanda and subsequently, Mark.
Immortal flexed his fingers, not daring to look back. Kate looked over at Ray’s crinkled posture and the mess of scattered chairs and abandoned bedding, a sigh sneaks out.