-BLAZE-

  The RegenTank fluid tasted like acid.

  It burned Blaze's throat every time he swallowed. You would think that with humanity at the height of innovation, and with the level of healing magic that existed, someone would’ve fixed the taste by now.

  But no. Thick blue, acid-like fluid was the only kind available. And they encouraged you to swallow it. They said it sped up the healing process.

  Blaze floated in his RegenTank, swallowing every now and then. His eyes were open though he could see nothing except a blue haze.

  He felt his chest rise and fall in a normal breathing pattern, though there was no air around him.

  This was all familiar to him. Blaze had lost count of how many times he had been placed in a RegenTank. He was getting better at estimating how many days he had spent in a tank during one session. He made his calculations based on the length of his nails and hair, and the thickness of the fluid.

  30 days was the conclusion he had come to for this particular Regen session. If he was right, this would be tied for his second longest session.

  ‘Mother and Father won’t be happy,’ he thought.

  He knew what his problem was. He was too gung-ho in a fight. Too determined to put his enemy down quickly. That led to him leaving himself open far too often.

  There was a long black cord attached to Blaze’s navel which extended from the bottom of the RegenTank.

  As Blaze understood it, this cord served to keep him anchored. It prevented him from drifting into the walls of the tanks. It also served as a tether for a digital feed.

  The Authority offered all recovering agents the chance to entertain themselves with a variety of media. If Blaze so wished, he could, at a mere thought, summon music or a feed of his favourite movie. He could even make and receive calls.

  However, he generally chose to drift aimlessly.

  Sleep, wake up, drink acidic Regen fluid. and gaze into the deep blue void. He quite liked that. Once he was out of here, everything would start moving fast again. That's just the way things were. That's just the way he was.

  He had received a few calls. Most from his mother, frantic and full of questions as always. Blaze found he liked her calls. It made everything feel…normal

  His father had called too. He was much less frantic, and was full of stories and jokes. Blaze had enjoyed that call too.

  Captain Doe called every now and then to check in.

  And lastly Ben. His partner had called a few days ago to inform him he was taking on a solo mission.

  Blaze appreciated being kept in the loop. He tried to get a few details on the mission, but Ben refused. He probably thought Blaze would intellectualize everything and take the fun out of it.

  ‘Ah well,’ Blaze thought. ‘Maybe after I heal, which should be any minute now.’

  As if on cue, the fluid began to vibrate with a low buzzing sound.

  The session was over.

  Blaze floated in place, watching as the blue fluid was slowly drained. He descended with it, pulled down by gravity until his feet finally touched the cold steel that was the floor.

  They had placed him in a rather large tank this time. It made sense. Larger tanks were used for more serious injuries, and having half your torso blown away definitely counted as a serious injury.

  Blaze flexed his right hand. 30 days ago he hadn't had one. The doctors said he was able to recover that fast because of his memory magic and Lonerian physiology. Other types of humans might have died from some of the injuries he received.

  ‘A small perk for being a genetic chameleon I guess.’

  The tank was ovoid and made of glass, or at least something that looked like glass. With the fluid drained, Blaze was able to see beyond it and recognized he was in the medical wing of the Stellar Authority headquarters.

  Doctors and nurses were scuttling around in their white and green uniforms to attend to other fluid filled spheres.

  They fiddled with control panels attached to the spheres, then inputted some notes in the digital pads they were all carrying.

  One of them was walking towards him.

  She was a small bespectacled young woman with auburn hair, which she wore tied in a single sensible bun. She had on green scrubs and a lab coat.

  Blaze recognized her.

  Dr. Mensa.

  Dr. Mensa had supervised his last three healing sessions. She was nice. As she approached the sphere, the part of it closest to her shimmered then disappeared, leaving a small doorway.

  Dr. Mensa stepped through and came to a stop in front of him. She tapped a finger to her lip and looked him up and down.

  None of the doctors and nurses ever seemed bothered by the fact that their patients were naked.

  It bothered Blaze very much. Even after all these sessions.

  "Hello Dr. Mensa," he said, in an effort to hasten things.

  "Blazecorra," Dr. Mensa responded absentmindedly.

  She walked around him.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "How do I look?" Blaze asked jokingly.

  "Satisfactory," Dr. Mensa said.

  Joy.

  "I would like to leave," Blaze said.

  "Mmm. Yes yes. Very soon. The nursing team will do a full inspection. Then you may leave."

  She began to walk out.

  ‘Must be a busy day,’ Blaze thought. Dr. Mensa was usually more chatty.

  She suddenly spun on her heels and pointed an accusatory finger at him.

  "You need to be more careful Blaze," she said.

  "Yes doctor."

  "I'm serious." Her tone was sharp and it caught Blaze's attention. "You can't keep abusing your physiology. Be. Careful. I'm not sure how many more times we can bring you back from the brink." Her features softened. "I don't want you to die."

  Blaze nodded solemnly.

  Dr. Mensa turned to leave but spun around again.

  "And limit your transformations," she said. "Not more than 5 a week. You need rest. In fact, I'm going to recommend you be placed on leave. Yes. That's what I'll do. Fantastic." She spun around again and left the sphere, looking quite pleased with herself.

  "Leave," Blaze said. He chuckled. A group of nurses was walking towards him. "That is never going to happen."

  -BREAK-

  "You're not going on leave." Captain Doe shook his head and tossed Dr. Mensa's written recommendation on the bench Blaze was sitting on.

  "I already knew that," Blaze responded. He bent over to tie his sneakers. The last part of his physical evaluation was a 30-minute jog. Pass that and he would be cleared to leave.

  It had been Blaze’s intention to go to Captain Doe's office immediately after; but the diminutive gray-haired man had beaten him to it. Blaze finished tying his sneakers and stood up. He towered over the Captain.

  Captain Doe looked up at him. There was something strange in his expression.

  "What is it, Captain?" Blaze asked.

  "Two things," the Captain said. "First. Are you okay?"

  ‘Ah.’ Blaze thought. The Captain was referring to the Silver incident.

  "Yes Captain," Blaze responded. "I am fine. I have had a long time to think about it."

  Captain Doe nodded. "Good." He said.

  Blaze began to stretch, eager to get the physical over with. "What was the second thing, Captain?"

  "Have you called your parents?"

  Blaze grimaced. He had had many conversations with his parents while he was in a tank, but they had dodged around the topic he knew his parents really wanted to talk about. He knew they were waiting for him to be healed. At least his mother was.

  "Not yet," Blaze responded. "But I’ll call them soon."

  "I’m afraid that is not good enough," Doe responded. Blaze had been afraid he would say that.

  Doe continued. "It’s not fun having multiple governors call me demanding to know why I’ve taken the Prince of Lonaria hostage. Talk to your parents and sort it out."

  "Yes please," Blaze said.

  "Now," Doe insisted. He handed Blaze a tablet.

  Blaze sighed. His parents' contact was already loaded up. He just needed to tap the call button. He hesitated for a while, and Doe tapped it for him.

  Blaze’s mother picked up on the first ring.

  "Hello General Do-" She paused when she saw Blaze’s face, and he saw tears form in her eyes. Her reaction surprised him a little. They had spoken while he was in the tank, and she knew he was getting better, yet here she was getting emotional at his recovery.

  "Hi mother," Blaze said softly.

  "Hold on," his mother said. She brushed away her tears. "I’m going to get your father." She vanished and reappeared shortly after, his father in tow.

  Blaze resembled his father greatly. They had the same dark skin, strong jawline and square nose. The only difference nowadays was in the hair. Blaze had a curly black mane, while his father’s had long since turned gray and was beginning to thin.

  "Blaze!" his father cried. "You’re up."

  Blaze smiled.

  "Hello father," he said. "Yes I’m up."

  "How do you feel?" His father asked.

  "I’m honestly quite fine," Blaze responded. And that was the truth. He felt okay, physically and mentally. He felt ready to resume work, and he knew that was what they were about to talk about.

  Blaze’s mother leaned into the camera. "When are you coming home?" she asked.

  Blaze exchanged a look with Captain Doe.

  "Err, not any time soon, mother."

  This was met with a long silence. Blaze studied his parents’ faces through the pad. His father was fine. That was expected. His mother was the problem. She was incensed. Blaze saw it in the way her eyebrows bunched together and her eyes flashed.

  To give her credit, she managed to suppress the anger. She took a deep breath and smiled. Blaze knew that was her attempt at appearing reasonable.

  "Blaze, has this not gone on long enough?"

  "We had a deal, mother."

  "You have been hurt so many times."

  "We shook on it."

  "This time you almost died."

  "Mother-"

  "Blaze!" Her mask was falling. Blaze’s father placed a calming hand on her shoulder, then carefully escorted her off-screen.

  Blaze waited. After some time, his father returned alone. He sat down and smiled at Blaze.

  "She’s upset," he said.

  Captain Doe responded dryly. "I think we all got that."

  Blaze’s father continued. "But she will be fine. She remembers the deal. She will honour it."

  Blaze nodded. "Thank you Father."

  "You are welcome. But you do need to be careful Blaze. The near-death situations are happening too frequently. Remember you have responsibilities waiting here for you."

  "Yes father."

  "Keep in touch," his father said. "And I’m glad to see you fully healthy. Give the tablet to General Doe."

  Doe reached out and received the tablet.

  "Governor," he said. "I hope this suffices as proof of life."

  Blaze’s father laughed. "I’ll try to get some of my friends off your back," he said.

  "I would appreciate that," Captain Doe responded.

  They said their goodbyes, and Blaze’s father cut the call.

  "I am sorry about that," Blaze started but Doe waved him off.

  "I just needed you to take the heat off," Doe said. "Finish your physical."

  "Yes Captain."

  Blaze thought for a bit, then asked "Is Ben back?"

  Captain Doe nodded.

  "He’s been back for a while. He's at Central right now. Giving a testimony."

  Blaze chuckled, imagining the faces Ben would make as he was forced to sit through a hearing and deliver a testimony.

  Doe seemed to read Blaze's thoughts and also laughed.

  Blaze said, "Thanks for coming, Captain. I appreciate it."

  "Don't mention it kid. It's my job."