CHAPTER 009: Nostalgia...

Behind the glass double doors, a forking path could be found. The left passageway had a placard reading "men's," while the right was marked with one reading "women's."

Rock, Paper, and Scissors resumed their formation before taking the women's path. At the end of the passage, they found a well stocked locker room. There was a vending machine, showers, baths, a sauna, one of those water jet massage tubs, closet sized lockers to store things, and a massive flat screen television facing opposite the entrance.

It was on, and the Plague Doctor's face could be seen on it staring back at them. You could not see an inch of her skin, for the costume covered it all. Despite this, the massive bulge in her chest area made the gender of this nemesis clear.

"Welcome, nuisances. Please wash that nasty goop off yourselves before proceeding to the next challenge. I don't want to mop up after you!"

The screen turned off, and three lockers in the room automatically opened. In each was a change of clothes matching their current outfits.

"Be careful, everyone! This might be a trap."

"But Scissors, there's even a bleach bath for me. Please can we just wash up before continuing?" Paper had tears falling from the drawing of her eyes when she asked this, prompting Scissors to think hard.

"Paper will be useless if she isn't cleaned soon. Plus Rock looks more exhausted then she lets on..."

Finally, she nodded.

"Okay, but one at a time! You go first, Paper. Rock, take a seat on one of the benches and recover your energy. I'll stand first guard..."

By this point, Logan had already reached the fork in the passage. He went to the men's section and immediately started stripping.

"Thank god there's a shower. I can't stand being covered in this goop!"

The television in this room was not on, nor were any lockers opened to reveal a new set of threads. Not knowing any better, though, Logan turned the shower head nearest him up to maximum heat.

"Ahhhhhhhh, I feel like a new man!"

Meanwhile, at a section of the condominium the heroes could never reach, Plague Doctor was hard at work. Her hands rapidly caressed a a cloud of tiny robots floating in front of her, while her mental waves issued hundreds of differing commands every minute.

Suddenly, an alarm sounded. She carefully extricated herself from the nanite swarm to inspect a large screen mounted to the wall next to her.

On it, a live feed of the men's shower room was playing. Due to the angle, however, all Plague Doctor could see of the figure was his backside.

"Computer, where did this fellow come from? Did those two-bit heroes bring him along?"

What she didn't dare ask the automaton, however, was a question currently dominating her thoughts.

"Why does that butt feel so nostalgic?"

She searched her memories, completely ignoring the computer's answers. Finally, one memory surged to the forefront of her consciousness...

There was an overpowering smell of disinfectant, a sudden chill of bare feet on stainless steel, the constant beeping of sophisticated medical devices, and a supreme sense of loneliness...

It was from a time before she donned the mask; Her teenage self sat in the esper training room a mile underneath naval base 37. In front of her was a ship in a bottle, which she was attempting to assemble without her hands.

"Didn't the instructor say it was supposed to be easy? Just focus your attention on the piece and will it to assemble... Yup, the notes say the same. Geez, I wish he would just tell me how much will I need to use. 5%? 15%? 30%?"

The sound of double doors and laughing teenage girls could be heard behind her.

"Well, look who it is; our very own team albatross! Please tell me, how are you even still here if you can't swim?"

"Oh, hi Becky," the teenage Plague Doctor said. Her thoughts were more along the lines of

"Oh god, please go away! Why do you have to pick on me all the time," however.

"That's Corporal Smith to you, missy. It disgusts me to hear a name for friends spoken by your dirty mouth."

The white girls following Becky, who might as well be clones, all laughed. Their lips were clearly experienced in the art of anal fellatio, AKA ass kissing.

"Good one, Becky! Show that monkey who's boss," one of them exclaimed.

The piece of ship floating in front of Plague Doctor suddenly crumbled like a beer can against the forehead of a frat boy.

"Dad, I don't think I'll ever find that land of your dreams... Where is my skin not a factor?"

She looked at her chocolate colored skin, a tear rolling down her cheek. Becky, seeing this, gave an ugly sneer.

"Hey girls, have I ever told you the joke about n****r eggs?"

She never got around to the punchline, however, as a punch of a different kind had suddenly lodged itself in her sternum.

ACK!

She fell to the ground, vomiting everywhere.

"Wh...Who dares," she stuttered in a rage.

"Cpl Smith, is that any way to speak with a superior," a familiar voice asked. Becky's face, already pale from the constant gagging, suddenly went three shades blancher.

"Since you love giving tips to your teammates, you must be pretty skilled. Go report to the training grounds and request trails one through twenty."

"But captain!"

"But what? You were just teasing someone for not being able to swim, so I take it you know how much worse it is not to follow orders."

"Yes.. Sir!"

"And you hanger-ons, where are you scuttling off to? Go cheer your idol on! None of you eats until Becky finishes!"

The gaggle of girls retreated, utterly defeated. But despite the danger being gone, Plague Doctor dared not look up. She wanted to, but it felt like an invisible anvil pressed her down whenever an attempt was made.

"Abiona, right?"

"Yes, captain..."

"Follow me, let's have a talk."

She stood up to follow the mysterious captain, only to discover his current outfit consisted of nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Apologies, I just got out of the shower when I heard the commotion... Do you want to talk about it?"

Tears flowed again from her eyes, this time in a much more uncontrolled fashion.

"I just feel like I can't do anything right here! I practice and practice harder than any of those b*tches, and yet I'm still behind... Am I a loser?"

A warm laughter enveloped her in response to that question, making her feel more relaxed.

"Who says you have to be the same as them? Does every team not need a logistics officer? Without one, we'd all die of starvation in the field. Now, does the military expect such an officer to possess the same marksmanship as a sniper?"

"... No."

"Exactly! So what if you can't build a ship in a bottle? So what if you can't swim? Maybe you just weren't meant to do those things."

She brightened up at this statement, but her mood soon turned gloomy again.

"I can't be one of those. Those jobs get filled by some generals' cousins and nephews, not a nobody like me."

"Hey, just because you don't have white people connections doesn't mean you can't succeed. You work harder here than anyone else, and those secret experiments you've been conducting look quite promising. Who says you have to walk the same road as those skanks? Believe in yourself! Believe in your talent, and you will go further than any of them!"

The captain pumped his fists in the air with the last comment. Problem is, in removing his hands, the towel around his waist fell. Plague Doctor, who was following behind him, got a perfect view of his well tanned buns.

She gulped, and then immediately blushed. The captain quickly fixed the towel again, before giving a radiant smile and saying

"Master.... Master... Master!!!"

"Huh, What?!?!"

She glared at the computer screen, her displeasure as plain as day despite being under a full face beak mask.

"Ugh, I was just at the good part too... Wait, what good part?!?"

She found herself blushing yet again, and thus hurriedly gave an order in case the AI started asking uncomfortable questions.

"Redirect them to challenge 37. I'll be overseeing the next trial personally..."

"Yes master," the computer said before opening a passageway to her left.

"It can't be him, it can't be! But what if it is? Ugh, I wish I paid attention to the makeup lessons in disguise class now..."