Part 24: Episode 5-1: Face-Off

It wasn't really obvious since I only posted stills, but when Bello uses his, he operates extremely quickly, which suggests he has the same vanilla time-slowing HT as Markus and Derek(and probably Dr. Hoffman). Moving along, though:



Episode 5-1: Face-Off

Sit tight. This one gets real awesome real quick.



Markus: Nice to meet you.



Nilsen: I saw you on Miracle Surgery. The two of you are quite talented. As a leader in the field of medicine, I was deeply moved by your speech.

Valerie: You're giving us more credit than we deserve. We couldn't have done it without Cynthia and Isabella's help.

Nilsen: Don't be silly. It is we who are indebted to you. Because of your television appearance, our products have gained greater exposure.

Markus: So, are you here to show us your latest product?

Nilsen: No, no. Nothing of the sort. I stopped by simply to express my gratitude. Are there any hockey fans in the room? How do box seats sound?



As a citizen of Canada, it is my duty to get very excited about this hockey-themed operation, just like my hero, Don Cherry(Voted one of the top ten greatest Canadians of all time in 2004(That seriously happened)).



Nilsen: But we have to get back on the offensive. We can't let them dominate the puck! Being from Alaska, you must be a Pukaks fan, eh, Dr. Vaughn?

Markus: Uh, actually I was only there for a brief stint, so…



Just reminding what she looks like.

Nilsen: I heard you all worked for Concordia in L.A. before you came here. You must be worried about Professor Wilkins.

Markus: We were transferred to Caduceus because of that incident. Unfortunately, he's still missing.

Nilsen: Has there been any progress in the investigation?

Markus: They believe his disappearance has something to do with Stigma.

That's a "no," then.

Valerie: That letter WAS pretty creepy.

Cynthia: Who was it from?

Valerie: The FBI is trying to find out, but so far no clues.

Markus: He taunted us with his pathetic drivel. A chimpanzee could write a better letter.

Nilsen: That's pretty harsh. …Ouch! That was brutal! Did you see that? He hit him so hard his stick broke! Who was that? That wasn't "The Hammer," was it?

Elena: Sounds like he's groaning.

Those are some ears, shit.

Markus: Looks like he hurt his elbow.

Nilsen: I can't just sit here. I have to do something. Dr. Vaughn, Dr. Blaylock, would you two come with me, please? The promoter is a friend of mine. He'll be thrilled to meet two of America's finest doctors!



That was… abrupt. Anyway, today's operation will have us fixing the ligaments, parts of your joints. They are fibrous tissues that connect the bones and limit movement. As for our patient, I can't imagine typing his name without using all caps. THOR GUNDERSON.

Elena: Our patient, Mr. Gunderson, seems quite agitated. He said he'd let us decide whether we use a general or local anesthetic.

Neither. Sounds like he can handle it.

Markus: I wonder if our anesthetic will even effect him if he's that worked up.

Nilsen: Perhaps you could try this. It's a powerful new anesthetic our company developed. It has a much smaller risk of side effects and allergic reactions than others currently on the market.

Markus: Is this anesthesia still being tested?

Nilsen: Good heavens, no! It's already been approved. It just hasn't been used much, yet, so it's not very well known. I'd be thankful if it attracted some attention after being used on a sports celebrity like this.

Elena: Well then, we'll try the anesthetic from your company. About the patient: his ligaments are torn, and a fragment of a hockey stick is lodged in his biceps brachii.



Valerie: It's a wonder he doesn't seem to be in much pain with a wound like that.

Elena: The objectives in this operation are to reconnect the ligaments and remove the fragment.

Nilsen: I'm counting on you all!

This operation is much easier to do properly with Markus…



So… yeah!



OPERATION VIDEO

Viddler Backup

A short one this time, but it's cool. You start with those wounds you can see on the outside, but all the good stuff is behind the counter(skin).



The first step is removing that huge stick fragment. Technically, you can start with the ligaments, but it's better to do the stick first. Ignore the fact that it's blue; I don't know why either. Watch out, though, because all is not as it seems…



The patient starts going into convulsions regularly, and nobody knows why, except that it might be the anesthetic. You need to finish with fewer than three instances of convulsion to get the relevant bonus, keeping in mind that doing anything during the convulsing is a Miss. Markus' Healing Touch makes this pretty easy. I usually suture the stick-wound and wait until the second convulsion stops, then activate the Touch.



First, use the forceps to reconnect all four segments…



Then suture along the seam. You need to make sure you make small, closely-spaced stitches. Just do that three times before the convulsing starts again. If you can do it, you win. Valerie has a harder time, but I understand it's still possible.



Thirty-two seconds for the whole procedure.



OPERATION END





Not much I can add to that.



Valerie: I'm sure you'll heal quickly, though, Mr. Thor "The Hammer" Gunderson.



Didn't I see this guy in a bunch of SNES beat'em'ups?

Thor: I'll miss the rest of the season!

Markus: Are you experiencing any discomfort? Any numbness from the anesthesia?

Thor: Well, my elbow's all jacked up, but other's that, I feel great!

Valerie: You feel great?

Thor: Haha, yeah! I beat the snot outta Woodman in my dreams. Wait'll I get my hands on 'im for real. He's gonna be DOA! Hahaha!

Markus: We should report this to President Nilsen. He should know there's a high probability the anesthesia may not work if that patient is excited.

Charming. Next time: The beginning of a short arc that is vaguely about the movie biz. Not to be confused with the just-finished long arc that was completely about the TV biz.