trans_9 | "OW! That so totally hurts!" -- Charles Xavier

Entry tags:

"OW! That so totally hurts!" -- Charles Xavier

The battle against the Ohm raged on, and the casualties on the ground were mounting. Injured crew members got emergency treatment in the field, which largely amounted to patching them up so they wouldn't die sometime within the next fifteen minutes. After that, they were quickly picked up by shuttle and brought back to the ship, where they were sent to a medbay that was getting progressively more crowded.

The situation was growing increasingly dire, to the point that Stacy activated one of the AI's to help out.

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I'm sure they will," Katara said, completely understanding his concern, having many of her own. "I was combing through the battles to see if anyone needed to be brought here, and I'm sure anyone you were helping will be brought here soon. I've already seen a few of the people I was helping earlier here, and the EMH guy looks like he's pretty efficient..."

She made a face. "...Though his manners leave something to be desired."

She sat down, shaking her head. "Saying that this day was pretty intense is an understatement. I never expected to have to fight the Ohm this early. I guess this is a pretty clear wake up call for all of us, huh?"

"I've noticed a pattern with doctors and their manners," Billy smiled tiredly, not willing to say more in the event that the EMH was listening. "But I'm grateful for their services."

He frowned and looked down at his hands. "When I saw them, I remembered what had happened to my world. I feared that I would be mowed down just as easily as I was back then. I became stronger, but still not strong enough."

Clenching his fists, he pictured everyone still struggling down there. He wished he could teleport back down there and fight, but even if he could his leg would need time to be able to fully support him again. "I'll increase my training time as soon as I'm able. I've been told that my leg won't be fully restored for a day or two."

"Well I wouldn't be doing that," Katara sniffed, looking a little vexed. "I know I'm not as good as a medical doctor, but I can heal and I still won't be so standoffish to a person in need of medical attention. What kind of way is that to help someone who's frightened and trying to recover?"

Katara took his arm here again, but while earlier it was for comfort, it was for a different reason here. "If it ever hurt you that badly Billy, I'd make sure I would deal with those things personally. There's no way I'm going to allow a friend to fall victim to those things. Besides, I know you Billy: you wouldn't say die until you figured out a way to defeat them. I can't see them mowing you down without a fight."

Here though, she showed some concern. "Go easy: there's no point in increasing your training if it winds up, say, healing wrong. You want to start slow and work your way to a place where you can start advancing. I'll be doing the same actually, once I have time to recover. But if you need help with the leg...I might be able to at least speed it up a bit."

Katara was insistent about healing, wasn't she? He nodded. "I suppose treating people who get themselves severely injured over and over again must be frustrating, but I appreciate the kindness."

Her promise was received with his other hand reaching up to squeeze hers. "Thanks."

A pause while he listened to her advice. "I know I need to be patient, but it's frustrating. The Ohm are out there destroying worlds right now, and I need to be strong enough to fight them as soon as I can."

Katara shook her head. "Getting injured is all a part of fighting. If you get injured a lot you can make up for it by not getting injured later. Besides, the Ohm popped up before anyone knew it. There were bound to be injuries. I'll be overjoyed if we get out of here with only injuries and no deaths."

She smiled. "Hey, we're friends right? I'm sure you'd do the same for me."

But here she exchanged a serious face. "I share your frustration, believe me. There's nothing I'd like more than making sure those things don't hurt anyone ever again. But rushing is just a bad idea. Anything worth learning is dne the right way. This was our first lesson: the only reason I didn't get so banged up is because I'm a master waterbender and I'd been training in other disciplines for months."

"That would be wonderful." But he definitely wasn't feeling that optimistic. It was hard to be confident when he'd seen the level of destruction down there.

"I'd never have the chance," he said wistfully. "You'd save yourself and then more than likely rescue me before I could lift a finger. But if I could, you know that I would. Not that I want to."

Well, that came out oddly. He must have been more tired than he first thought. "I'll trust you on this, teacher. But I'll always wonder if there's more that I can do."

"Yeah," Katara said, "It would. Brainy shouldn't have had to die, and I'm hoping to make sure that nothing like that will ever happen again. Remember this for the next time Billy: we got to see them fight, we got to see them in their element. Next time, we'll be ready."

Katara shook her finger at him. "Billy, you're a power ranger, something I can never be, AND you're really smart! There are some people here that don't thing they have anything to contribute, and you have two different ways. Don't be so quick to lose sight of your talents: they're very helpful."

Here, she grinned. "If that is what's bothering you, then come see me when we get on the ship after this. We won't have training at Kang's for a bit, so I can give you some help."

"I'll do my best to be ready," Billy vowed. He didn't need to be any more useless than he already was.

That thought dissipated with her next words. "You're more powerful than any individual Ranger, even the ones with far more experience than me. And you have the heart to be one of us as well. I'm positive that you would have been chosen if you'd lived on my world."

Honestly, that was one of the highest compliments he could possibly give her. He hoped that was apparent.

He nodded. "I'll bring my leg back to full strength as quickly as I can, and in the meantime I'll try to keep my arms in shape."

"I know you will," Katara said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You try and you try, and that's what makes a tough fighter. Never lose that."

Katara gave Billy a compassionate look. "I wasn't always, Billy. Until recently, I was a novice in the Southern Water Tribe, the last waterbender thanks to the firenation. I had no teacher, no discipline and I was as scared as anyone here when we were invaded. But I was able to hold into hope, and when I became a master bender, I had my strength and my friends to thank. I'm sure you do too. But...thank you for saying that to me. We're both dedicated people, and that's what will make you stronger."

Her cheeks actually were glowing from the compliment. It had made her happy.

She nodded. "I've actually written up some martial arts scrolls for you. You might want to give them a look."

Billy absorbed the words with his full attention. "I'll study them, thank you."

Anything to get better. Become more than he was. He couldn't let his learning fall to the wayside either, but if he was going to fight the Ohm to his full capacity he needed to bring his skillset into balance.

"Are you all right?" He'd worried about her for a while, despite how much stronger she was than him. All that healing had to take a toll.

"I'm glad," Katara said, grinning. "You are on the path of becoming someone that will be a strong warrior. That takes hard work, and I'm sure you're ready to do it. Prove me right."

She smiled, taking his hand. Billy may have been critical about his abilities, but she had faith in him. What he thought about, what he said, they reminded her of Sokka and his sword master.

She snapped back to what he was saying. "Oh...I'm all right. Kang made me eat and drink. I'm just doing what I can to help others, its why I'm not fighting now. I'm needed here."

"I'll do my best." He wasn't feeling particularly confident at the moment, but there was no other option. Squeezing her hand gently, he tried to look at least a little hopeful.

"Sounds like Kang all right. Well...if you're not needed here, I'd better let you get back to work."

"I know you will," Katara said, grinning. "Try to feel better, will you? I'll come to see you a little later, okay?"

She shook her head. "Yeah, but he knows best. See you soon!"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"OW! That so totally hurts!" -- Charles Xavier

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject