#episode 5 dispatch

Flambert

The Serum at Vandlabs isn’t quite what Robert and Flambae expected. Unfortunately for them, some flighty grad students exposed Flambae and Robert to an experimental treatment. Now, they must handle their mandatory quarantine together. (Takes place during episode 5 but Robert pursues neither romance route).

Part 1

…..

“Tell me you did not send anyone to Vandlabs for the robbery.” The voice comes clear over the phone, a stark contrast to the panicking or monotone reports he was used to.

“I did, why?” Robert replies slowly, eyes flickering to the Vandlabs on the map where Flambae’s mission review was waiting to be viewed.

“Great, so super heroes in a chemical bath.” The woman on the other end groaned. “Do you know if they followed biosafety procedures?” Robert could hear her foot tapping on the other end.

“What are the biosafety procedures?” Robert questioned apprehensively.

“Well, that answers my fucking question.” Another grumble. “You need to call them and get them isolated. They need a quarantine and for the love of god DO NOT LET THEM COME IN CONTACT WITH ANY OTHER SUPER HEROS!”

Robert quickly swapped lines, immediately relaying what he had learned to Flambae..

“Flambae, don’t come inside the building. Land in the grass patch and avoid all other heroes.”

Instead of a response, all he got was white noise.

“FLAMBAE” Robert seethed into the microphone. The white noise continued to crackle in his ear as he frantically tried to think about his next steps.

Prism should be back.

He jumped from his seat, running the few paces it took to get to the break room.

“Prism?” Robert called from the doorway.

“The fuck you-“ Her head whipped around, bicolored hair swaying slightly as she fixed Robert with a glare.

“When Flambae flies back, where does he come in?!” Robert questions frantically.

“The fuckin back entrance, it’s drafty as fuck back there, and it’s good to cool off in.” Prism scoffs, rolling her eyes before immediately returning to her phone.

Robert was gone before she finished.

When Robert finally burst through the back entrance, he found Flambae staring into the wind.

“Flambae, why the fuck didn’t you answer?” Robert stressed, moving towards the fire hero quickly.

“I was over the ocean? Does your little bitch brain not understand what happens to electrical equipment when it gets wet? I tucked it away.” Flambae sassed in response, leaning against the wall.

“Well, apparently you’re a walking biohazard, so let’s get you away from the building full of superheroes.” Robert grabbed Flambae’s bicep and dragged him away from the building and into the small patch of grass that ringed the building.

Robert swapped the channel back, “Hello? Are you still there?”

“Yes.” The response mildly shocked Robert, half not expecting her to be on the phone.

“I’ve got Flambae, he’s away from SDN Headquarters.” Robert relayed, smushing his heel into the damp dirt below him.

“You sent a Flame hero?” A strained sort of humor was present in her voice.

“Yes?” Flambae took more interest in the conversation, leaning closer. His breath ghosted against Robert’s clipped ear.

“Poor bastard… Look, the drug is meant to stimulate the immune system to help fight cancer. But, Supers tend to not have the proper response to it. Since Flam-bae has come in contact with it, he absolutely can not interact with other superheroes. Normies that have been contaminated also can’t come in contact with Supers either as they could have a reaction.” She stated, flipping easily from sympathetic to professional.

“So what do we do?” Robert sighed.

“Don’t go near anyone. I’ll be back soon and get you guys some immunosuppressants to prevent your NK cells from doing too much damage.”

“What does N.K. mean?” Robert asked, his eyebrows furrowing slightly at the unfamiliar term.

“Natural Killer.” Robert tensed.

“Excuse me, what? Why does the Red Ring want this stuff?” He implored frantically.

“My guess, they probably read the report on the effects. They probably figured it would start pandemonium? We didn’t know someone in our testing group was a super, his acid sweat mixed with panic shut down an entire hospital wing. Effects vary based on the power.” Robert could nearly hear the shrug in her voice.

“This natural killer stuff won’t hurt us right?” Robert fretted, another humorless laugh bubbling in his throat.

“…”

Flambae grabbed the mic, knuckles pressing into the side of Robert’s mouth. The sides of their heads pressed together. Flambae’s cheek touched Robert’s and radiating unnatural heat.

“Excuse me, CAN YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION?” Flambae yelled. Robert winced at the small flecks of spit landing on his face.

“Look, it’s a simple question with a deceivingly worrying answer. The immunosuppressants will stop damage by NK cells, so don’t worry about it.” She huffed a little. “Our biosafety officer is headed your way for decontamination.”

Thankfully the summer air plus Flambae meant standing outside was actually quite nice. Robert regained his presence of mind as the adrenaline faded. He quickly got on the phone with Blonde Blazer and relayed what little he knew about the situation to her.

“Your poor girlfriend.” Flambae sighed. “Tiny and dysfunctional dick, and now bio-hazard.” He provided the visual aid of his pointer and thumb pressing closer to each other until only a millimeter was left between the pads of his fingers.

“She is not my girlfriend.” Robert asserted, glaring at Flambae for his invasiveness.

Flambae laughed dismissively, it cut off suddenly, prompting Robert to turn and look up at Flambae’s face.

“Fuck, I had a date.” A slight scowl slipped onto Flambae’s face as he pulled out his phone and seemingly began to text.

“Well, more time for you to get your tooth fixed at least.” Robert chuckled quietly, half nervously and half guiltily scratching the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Well at least I have dates. What do you do, sit alone at home, alone and you cry about being a fucking Normie?” Steam curled off Flambae’s lips as his snarl deepened slightly.

“Okay, okay. No need to get hot about it.” Robert chortled slightly at his own pun. “You’re under the influence of strange drugs, so you deserve some slack.” He waves dismissively in Flambae’s direction.

Flambae rolls his eyes.

Robert looked up at the surprisingly clear sky, which usually had heroes fluttering to and from SDN headquarters.

A few white trucks pulled into the lot. Instead of the hazmat suits Robert would expect, they were clothed semi-professionally with masks.

A man approached, beckoning Flambae and Robert closer. They both moved somewhat apprehensively towards him, taking in the man’s grey, thinning hair and medium stature.

“Hello, you both need to go through some decontamination procedures. Thankfully we just need to clean you both off, the contaminant was mild but we’re mostly worried about making sure Flambae doesn’t absorb any more of the drug.” The older man gestured between the two of them and landed in Flambae’s direction.

The man then led them back to the side of a truck where a tent had been propped against the side. They stepped on the thin plastic sheet on the floor and entered the tent.

“Please remove all clothing.” A firm voice demanded.

Robert quickly whipped off his shirt and pants. He hooked his thumbs in his underwear before pausing, remembering Flambae’s presence next to him. He glanced slightly at Flambae, quickly noticing that he was entirely naked already with his black hair cascading down his back, falling smoothly over his muscles. Robert hurriedly averted his eyes and pulled off his underwear.

The men, now in hazmat suits, held shower heads. Flambae was ushered ahead. Robert gave up on averting his vision, looking at the man ahead of him to get a read on what he would also have to go through.

Flambae flinched at the cold water, which Robert guessed felt even cooler given the fact he had been on fire for 20 minutes a short while ago. Steam curled from his skin and Flambae was then being scrubbed with a brush, covering his skin in frothy soap. Surprisingly, he looked somewhat unbothered by this. Robert watched as the crew treated Flambae indelicately, but efficiently. They shouted occasional orders at him, making him lift his arms and spread his feet apart. Flambae’s face tensed when they passed the brush over his dick, but they quickly moved on to his thighs.

“Turn”

He quickly complied and then his back was being scrubbed down. Once they were finished, he was drenched in more water to wash off the soap.

Then Flambae was ushered forwards and Robert took a few steps before being similarly drenched in water. The brush surprised Robert, despite expecting it. He jumped, panic slightly flashing in his brain whenever it rubbed a sensitive spot or touched his dick.

“Turn” Robert quickly complied.

In no time and also an eternity, he was being rinsed off and stepped through to the next section of the tent where towels were being shoved into his hands and he quickly wiped himself off. When he attempted to cover himself with one he was promptly reprimanded.

“Drop the towel once you are done with it.”

Robert was mildly horrified to drop his towels with Flambae’s, but luckily he didn’t stay naked for long. He was dressed in an oversized gown and pushed into the warm summer air outside the tent.

He was guided to a gurney next to another where Flambae sat. He took his place on the other gurney as a paramedic fluttered between the two of them, taking vitals and asking a battery of basic health questions.

Her lips pursed when she looked at Flambae’s temperature readings.

“What’s your resting body temp?” She questioned professionally.

“100” Flambae replied curtly, he only received a nod from her in response.

“Okay, we’re bringing you two to the hospital for a few more tests.” She signaled someone else and then they loaded the men into an ambulance. “My partner will be in the back with you.”

Another paramedic jumped in the back with them. He quickly secured them before closing the doors.

Robert sighed, letting his eyes and shoulders droop.

“Don’t close your eyes Bob bob, I might decide to strangle you for sending me on that motherfucking mission.” Flambae threatened, his voice getting lower the more he spoke.

Robert fixed him with a glare.

“If you weren’t a Normie, you might actually look like anything other than a small posturing wet weasel. Unfortunately, you look like a pathetic little weasel.” Flambae unnecessarily commented.

“You’re off the usual topic of my dick. What, your curiosity satisfied? Was it everything you’ve been dreaming of?” Robert snarked in return.

“Well- uh.” Flambae became progressively more red as he tried to come up with a rebuttal. He huffed out a breath of steam and his face grew progressively more flushed.

“That’s what I thought.” Robert remarked in the wake of Flambae’s silence.

The paramedic’s eyes, on the other hand, were jumping between the two, despite his stony expression.

When they got to the hospital they were immediately separated. Robert zoned out as he was treated, being poked, prodded, and squeezed in ways he had learned to tune out. Eventually, once they finished, Flambae and Robert were moved back into the same room.

…

“Sorry it took so long to get here, I was in a conference out of town.” A woman walked into their room, she looked more like a warehouse worker than a doctor. “I’m the one you talked to over the phone, I apologize for the actions of my staff. Some of the new grad students freaked out and contacted SDN instead of following proper biosafety and radioactivity protocols.”

“Radioactivity?”

“The dosage was minor, but as a precaution you’ll both need to isolate for a week. You’ll be put on a course of immunosuppressants to control any adverse effects of the treatment. Any side effects will likely be minor. Chad, you should avoid using your powers as you may lack your previous control until the treatment has run its course.” She took a breath, refocusing on them expectantly. “Any questions?”

“Yea, what are those Natural Killer” He paused and waved his hand randomly. “whateverthefucks you were talking about before?” Flambae asked in a slightly more strained tone than usual.

“Oh, they’re a type of immune cell that kills tumor cells. Overactivity leads to inflammation, tissue death, and swelling. But the Tacrolimus should prevent any further damage, my one note is to avoid grapefruit and other medications while taking it.” She paused, taking a breath. “Your charts both came back good, so nothing majorly wrong. I’d recommend someone to monitor Chad at home and care for him as he may experience some minor adverse effects.”

“Any other questions?” She prompted, but neither man responded.

“Okay, well you’ll be monitored tonight and discharged tomorrow morning.” She smiled, but the smile quickly slipped off her face. “I’d like to again apologize for this oversight, our lawyers will be in contact with SDN’s to negotiate your compensation and the student employee will be punished accordingly.” She nodded and then left.

Robert broke the silence in the room.

“Well, that went well.” He deadpanned.

Flambae opened his mouth to respond, but then a woman walked in. She was dressed in business casual attire, she had midlength hair and blue eyes.

“On behalf of SDN, I’m here to let you know you will both be off work for 7 days starting tomorrow. Since your personal belongings were damaged doing your job, you will be compensated for their loss and your phones will be replaced.” She smiled pleasantly. “We’ll provide you both with a car to drive home.”

“Who are you?” Robert asks dryly.

“Mandy, I work in management. It’s nice to meet you both.” She smiled and Robert could help but find her incredibly familiar. But, she was already leaving before Robert could get a better look.

“We totally know her, don’t we?” Flambae remarked half hypothetically.

“I think so.”

——-

Apparently Flambert is what it takes to get me back into the game. Not enough content so I have to make my own.

Anyone who wants to be tagged, let me know. It’s on AO3 too, here

I saw the Vandlabs mission and thought ‘does nobody care about biosafety?’ Anyway, I made it radioactive too because it justifies a quarantine so I can make them be gay. It’s not overly accurate on the actual procedure but the science is very grounded in reality.