Debts To Be Settled

31

Tommy sits in a room inside Las Nevadas casino. Although the path to this room didn't have any windows, Tommy is certain they went underground. It doesn't feel like a bunker, though, with velvet carpet and fancy paintings lining the walls between each successive door. Tommy was brought to a door at the very end of the hallway. It was a simple room with bare walls and a twin bed shoved in the corner. There was a large cabinet designed like a 'U' to give space in the middle for a desk-like area. Papers are piled on in the middle, multi-colored pens scattered across the lacquered wood. There are pictures hanging on the wood, but the angle Tommy is sitting at doesn't allow him to really look at any of them. He thinks they're pictures of kids and an older man, though.

Supreme stands in front of Tommy. He wears a black doctor's coat buttoned up over his gray shirt. His pants are snowy white with a dark red belt and black boots. He has a red, orange, and black hoodie pulled over his head with the edges folded around the lower half of his face, creating a mask that only reveals his eyes and a sliver of skin around them. Those brown-black eyes are staring down at the clipboard resting in the cruck of Supreme's elbow. He hums quietly to himself as he writes down information on the white paper.

Supreme twirls his pen around his fingers. He presses the button of the pen against the clipboard, and the pen clicks closed. Supreme sets the clipboard and the pen down on the cabinet-desk on the other side of the room. Supreme shifts to stand in front of the cabinet's door. He uses a key to open the wooden door, pulling it back. There is a light attached to the top of the wooden door, hanging over the side. Supreme flicks a switch, turning the light on. By the fixture's light, Supreme brings a mortar and pestle to the forefront of the shelf. He reaches further back for ingredients. Supreme measures out the ingredients, putting some of them in the mortar to flatten them out. When he's done, he pours water from a bottle into the bowl. He mixes it with a wooden stick. He throws the stick away as he comes toward Tommy with the bowl. Supreme grabs a paper cup from the nightstand, pouring the bowl's concoction into the cup. He presses the cup into Tommy's hand. He turns away for a split second to close the cabinet and get his clipboard.

Tommy lifts the cup to his lips. He tilts his head back, letting the liquid pour into his mouth. Tommy expects a nasty taste to fill his mouth, but he's pleasantly surprised. The liquid actually tastes really good, and it fills him with a sudden warmth. He no longer feels like puking his guts out or hacking up a lung. Tommy quickly finishes the drink off. He exhales happily as he sets the cup down on his knee. He smiles at Supreme as the rogue walks back over. "It tastes like... like, lemonade but a little fruitier."

Supreme nods, saying nothing. He clicks his pen, writing down something on the clipboard. He doesn't have to write much because he puts the clipboard down on the nightstand. He takes the cup from Tommy, throwing it in the trash. He returns to Tommy's side with a stethoscope in hand. He presses the stethoscope against Tommy's chest, moving it minutely every few seconds. He pulls away. He replaces the resonator with his hand. A pale green light shines around Supreme's hand, manifesting as thin lines that hang across his fingers like vines with yellow-and-white flowers blooming along the sparkly viridian lines. Supreme's dark eyes begin to brighten with the pupil and iris become the center of the same yellow-and-white flower that surrounds his hands. Supreme blinks, and the light disappears completely, withdrawing back into his body. Supreme nods in satisfaction to himself, taking a step back. "You are officially healthy."

"The fuck? What happened? What did you do?" Tommy asks curiously, leaning forward. Everyone on the island knows that Supreme has healing powers. Tommy knows from excessive research that Supreme was one of the few healers the Federation rejected. With nowhere else to go, Jester offered Supreme a spot in Las Nevadas. Supreme took the position, obviously, which led Tommy to coming here today. Tommy has never met another healer before, let alone one who was strange enough for the Federation to reject him instead of enslaving him.