I'm really happy to find a new outlet to post this fanfic I've been working on! I've finished a few chapters already, so it'll be a fast "release" of the ones I've already finished, and then a sort of "cooldown" after everything else.
For reference, the story is based on the story after the Putrid Power "movie", and also takes the names of the characters from that.
The Gross is Strong in You - Chapter 1 - Clean is Mean
---
He retreated. It was really the only thing he and the others could do. Even if they had the numbers, both their best weapons and their boss were out of commission. Not to mention, those freaks still had their powers and their machinery, leaving any attack at a lost cause. No doubt about it, it was a clean sweep of a match.
The only downside being that the ones cleaned up were the Clean Team themselves. The gross prevailed, and anything bright and shiny was backed up into that pathetic factory on the outskirts of Cheap Town.
---
“Ugh, that was PATHETIC!”
The stragglers of the Clean Team, the ones that were wise enough to retreat, were now forced to lick their wounds back at base. With an unknown window on how long their boss would take to be brought back up, these clean cyborg-esque creations were forced to wait.
A team of many clones, now dwindled down to few. The sea of blue and silver was now just a puddle of teal and gray. Sure, they shined like they used to, but they were dropped down heavily.
“I mean, what was that?!” The voice continued, as the remainder of the Clean Team huddled in one of the bunkers of the factory. The one that spoke was Bleacher, a malevolent jug of bleach. Which Bleacher was this one? Not that it mattered; he has plenty of identical lookalikes. Or, at least he did.
“We were the ones that got trashed!” Buckethead, another once-plentiful clone base added. “It’ll probably take forever to get another stronghold and this’ll just happen again!”
“And what happens when the boss is back up and running?” Spray Bottle asked. “He’s not going to be happy, that I can tell you!”
“I bet he’ll take it out on you, Wet Wipes!” Buckethead added, almost sounding like he was taunting him.
“Huh?” Wet Wipes suddenly snapped into the conversation that he really wasn’t listening to, still shook from what happen somewhat. “Why me? I’m the one that got Vac Attack’s attention to where the Grosseries have their headquarters!”
“Exactly the point.” Feather Duster wheezed out, still coughing from dust that would never shake him. “You might have led us to them, but that led them to taking on us.”
“Therefore, it’s your fault!” Buckethead concluded, as the others nodded in agreement.
“You better hope the boss takes forever to recover!” Bleacher added, sounding like he was guffawing while he said it. “Because I’m sure he’ll do way worse than just vacuum you up again the next time!”
“Why did he vacuum you up the first time, let me see…” Spray Bottle pretended to ponder, as if he was lost in thought. “Oh yeah, you’ve got the sense of humor that’s the opposite of everyone else in the squadron!”
“It’s not even that funny a word!” Feather Duster hacked, while at the same time sounding like he was prepping to taunt. “I mean, what’s so funny about the word ‘duty’?”
“N-nothing!” Wet Wipes said, stumbling on his words, as the others shared knowing smirks with each other.
“Well, gee!” Buckethead said, sounding falsely chipper. “It’s sure a tragedy that Vac Attack isn’t here to give out some work DUTIES!”
A sputter.
“I mean, it IS our civil DUTY to clean up Cheap Town from those Grosseries!” Spray Bottle added, grinning.
That sounded like a snicker.
“It’s not our fault our DUTY had to be put on hold!” Feather Duster continued.
By now, Wet Wipes’ face was bright red, with his cheeks puffed out as he tried to hide a grin in, all while the remainder of the Clean Team surrounded him, they too grinning, but a much more malevolent one.
“…Duty.” Bleacher simply said, as everything exploded and Wet Wipes started to cackle. Tears streamed out of his shut eyes as he held his chest to try and gain his composure, all while the others stared at him, now with false pity over malevolence.
“Pathetic.” Spray Bottle and Feather Duster said in unison, shaking their lack of heads and crossing their arms in disappointment, as the remainder wheeled away from the now-recovering Wet Wipes, who started to lose his good mood.
“You’re no better than those Grosseries!” Bleacher flung towards him, his voice growing faint.
---
Later that night, as the (perfectly laundered) bunks were filled by the few Clean Team members, thus leaving many empty beds, only one set of red pupils glowed in the darkness. Wet Wipes sat on his bunk, as everything echoed through his head.
The sounds of Vac Attack’s nozzle sucking him up after the smallest laugh. The sound of the robotic Roomba vehicle that was supposed to bring their victory. The recent sounds of taunting.
“You’re no better than those Grosseries!”
This was the sound that resonated the most. As if it wasn’t the solo Bleacher saying it, but the entire clone army of them. From being in unison as a chant to multiple voices drowning him out, it almost made him attempt to clamp at his lack of ears to drown it out.
And then…thumping?
A small shadowy orb suddenly seemed to roll towards the edge of the bed, hitting the leg of it. As quietly as he could, Wet Wipes grabbed onto it. Thanks to the darkness, he couldn’t see it perfectly. But he felt it. The fuzzy texture. The give that felt like squeezing a cardboard toilet paper tube. The slight…grime on his fingers?
It was a tennis ball. But not just any standard throwaway tennis ball. It was that one that donut dude had.
Suddenly, another voice filled his head. The soft and plain bed suddenly felt like a metallic floor, as the accent of a surfer rung through his ears.
“…Don’t worry, we’ll filth you up! I can see the gross is strong in you…”
---
It almost felt like a prison break. With a backpack (a clean one, of course), Wet Wipes found himself sneaking out of the factory. He passed every bunk with the quietest whir that his wheels could give him, packing only what he needed. Maybe that offer would still stand?
Immediately after leaving the perimeter of the factory, Wet Wipes felt like a stranger in a strange land. As soon as he left the proximity, the difference was clear. And disgusting! Spilled trash cans, alleys filled with trash bags and dumpsters, and mounds of rotten food everywhere. It was amazing that the citizens of Cheap Town could even sleep with this kind of stench!
Trucking on the sidewalk, Wet Wipes kept going. The streetlights cast a glow on his already-shiny coating, practically turning him into a walking disco ball. He tried to be as gentle and as stealthy as possible, with every sound that came out of nowhere nearly giving him a heart attack. But, he continued. He had to get there. He just had to.
---
Eventually, tired from lack of sleep and going all the way to the center of town, there it was. In buzzing neon lights was the slushy logo that said what he wanted. Yucky Mart.
Of course, his confidence was immediately dashed when he tried to pull on the door that was right under the sign. Locked. Wet Wipes scrambled his tired eyes around to try and find anything. The windows were as big as the doors, so those wouldn’t work. The roof was way too high to get to. And then…hope.
Right next to a graffiti-stained wall was a dumpster. Crowded with trash, of course, but right above the dumpster was his ticket: an air vent.
Sure, it was tricky to scramble onto the dumpster when he felt wobbly already from a lack of sleep. Sure, it was a bit tricky to pry off that vent. And, sure, it was tricky to scramble into the vent, but he did it. The vent was slimy and filled with dead bugs, spider webs, and a weird glowing ooze that seemed to leak from the crevices. Avoiding that, Wet Wipes simply shimmied through, until he found the literal light at the end of the tunnel. In this case, it seemed to be the light of a slushy machine, since all the other lights in the store were shut off for the night.
---
Praying that everyone was in too deep a sleep to hear what sounded like a pan banging onto the ground as the second vent fell off, Wet Wipes slid down the wall from the other side of the vent, landing in a crouch to cushion his blow. When no one seemed to stir, he grinned to himself. He made it to the Yucky Mart!
Pulling out a pillow and blanket that he had stuffed into the backpack, Wet Wipes eased onto the floor. Sure, it was clammy, with grime that he couldn’t shake, but he was tired. And a place to sleep was a place to sleep. Besides, he knew that he’d have to get used to it if he wanted to embrace the grossness that he apparently had in him!
---
The next morning, even though the sun was out and the fluorescent lights were turned on in the Yucky Mart, darkness still surrounded Wet Wipes. As he groggily woke up, he realized the darkness were actually shadows…of some very angry Grosseries.
“…Hi, neighbors!” Wet Wipes grinned, trying to mask the nervousness that filled his body now.
---
The Gross is Strong in You - Chapter 2 - Home Squish Home
---
“So, let’s get down to business, shall we? I mean, I certainly don’t know the first thing to being gross, but maybe you guys could help gussy me up? Show me the ropes?”
As Wet Wipes tried to make small talk around the still scowling Grosseries surrounding him, the tension was so thick; it could be cut with a knife. Finally, one of the Grosseries spoke.
“Grossery huddle.” Pizza Face, the leader of the Grosseries said. “NOW.”
---
As Wet Wipes continued sitting down, looking around at the Yucky Mart, spiraling his wheels, and doing anything to distract himself, the Grosseries that had been surrounding him were now huddled together in a discussion.
“Why’s there a Clean Team member in the store?!” Doc Broc whispered in both anger and confusion.
“I thought they got demolished!” Pizza Face added, also whispering.
“Rocky, he keeps staring at you.” Sparkles whispered, side-eyeing the container of wipes.
Breaking away from the huddle, the disgusting donut turned toward Wet Wipes, who eagerly grinned and waved frantically at him. In shock, Rocky quickly turned back into the huddle.
“He…must think I’m someone else!” Rocky said, hesitating a little bit.
“Oh…kay…?” Sparkles commented, raising a suspicious eyebrow.
“So, what do we do?” Egghead asked, slightly louder than the others, since he didn’t get why they were whispering.
“I vote we send him back!” Rocky rapidly said. “I mean, it’s just a fluke, right? Just a fluke!”
“Slow your roll, Rocky.” Pizza Face said, cutting into Rocky’s suddenly shocked nerves. “He knows where the location is now; it’s obvious he’d bring forces back.”
“I mainly question how he knows it.” Doc Broc added, while Rocky continued to stay shut, while at the same time looking like he was trying to hold his breath.
“So…do we keep him here?” Sparkles asked.
“Seems like we have no choice.” Pizza Face concluded. “We just keep all eyes on him. And if he truly becomes one of us, that’ll just be a bonus.”
“So…who wants to watch over him first?” Doc Broc questioned, grabbing onto Rocky’s arm as he tried to slowly walk away.
“He seems to like you, Rocky.” Sparkled snarked, slightly grinning. “All in favor for Rocky?”
“I!” Pizza Face, Doc Broc, Egghead, and Sparkles said at once, raising their hands.
“And all opposed?” Sparkles finished.
“N-nay?” Rocky feebly responded, weakly raising the hand that wasn’t being grabbed onto.
“Welp, the I’s have it!” Pizza Face said, as Doc Broc let go of Rocky’s arm. “Have fun with our new buddy!”
Before Rocky could even react, the other four scampered off, while Wet Wipes rolled over to Rocky, grinning.
“So, do I really have the grossness in me? Is it really that strong?” He asked, overly eager, while it looked like Rocky was going to sweat bullets.
“Oh, s-sure!” Rocky said, hesitating. “We…just neat to unlock it, is all! We could just throw you in the sewer, that would get you filthed up enough!”
“I don’t think I can do that.” Wet Wipes said, wringing his hands. “I’m so mechanical, I’d probably just sink. Never attempted to swim and never was taught.”
“Well, that strikes that idea out.” Rocky dryly said, cursing himself out in his head.
Once again, the awkwardness spread thick. It was quiet for a long while, with Wet Wipes rocking back and forth on his wheels.
“So…” Rocky started, attempting to break the unease that he was feeling. “You got a name?”
“The others call me Wet Wipes.” The Clean Team member said. “You’re…”
“Rocky.” Rocky flatly said. “And your name is so…”
“Boring?” Wet Wipes sighed. “We were given lame classifications, I know.”
“Wasn’t going to say that, but okay.” Rocky snarked. “Let’s go with that.”
“…So.” Wet Wipes said, yet again attempting to break the awkwardness between the two. “What do you do for fun around here? And will it turn me into a Grossery?”
“The only thing that can “turn” you into a Grossery is that.” Rocky said, pointing upwards.
Wet Wipes turned around to view just exactly where the stale baked good was pointing to. It was one of the air conditioning vents. It was dripping the same odd slime that was found in the vent entering the Yucky Mart, only much thinner, a touch more neon in tint, and every drop that landed on the floor seemed to slightly sizzle as it hit. If a robot could turn pale from shock, Wet Wipes certainly would at this point.
“That’s really only for things that are expired to the point of not even existing, though.” Rocky added. “Would probably do something worse to you, since you look pretty healthy right now.”
“I’ll…keep that in mind.” Wet Wipes said, trying to breathe relief back into his body.
“…But if you’re looking for what we do for fun, we got loads!” Rocky finished, getting a bit too excited for a moment, but quickly composed himself. “I’m…sure something will fit you?”
---
“Is it working?”
“Shut up, I’m figuring out!”
As Rocky and Wet Wipes moved out of focus, the whisper of hidden voices could be heard. On top of one of the highest shelves in the Yucky Mart sat Pizza Face, Doc Broc, Sparkles, and Egghead. Pizza Face was holding onto a pair of binoculars, watching the movements of the two.
“So far…nothing’s happening.” Pizza Face said, as the others sighed in relief.
“From this data at the moment, I can extrapolate two things.” Doc Broc said, flipping through his notebook and writing down a couple points. “Either he has changed for the better and truly wishes to be a Grossery…”
“Unlikely.” Pizza Face scoffed.
“Or…” Doc Broc continued. “He’s the driving force between everything and he’s using us to lead the Clean Team back here again.”
“Yeah, probably.” Pizza Face continued, nodding.
“So, we just gotta keep all eyes and ears on this guy. And spread the word to the others to make sure they do the same.” Doc Brock finished, as the others nodded, though Egghead slowly stopped.
“But I don’t have ears!” Egghead protested in confusion. “And you guys don’t either!”
“Just…play along!” Sparkles suggested, trying to piece it into a way that Egghead would understand. “Pretend he’s your best friend, but be careful around him!”
“Okay!” Egghead happily said, nodding, as the others grinned.
“…He really has no clue what I’m saying, does he?” Sparkles hissed out from her grin, as the other two shook their heads, still grinning.
---
“…And then I was made! But only me. I was the prototype of this model, and I think I pretty much singlehandedly screwed up ideas of making my design a permanent clone type in the army.”
“Oh yeah…that’s…great.”
While Rocky was walking Wet Wipes through the store, the robot was chatting Rocky’s lack-of-an-ear off with his origins. He brought up everything, from the older clone bases that he saw as bullies of older brothers, to what he had to do every single day as part of his routine, to finally his creation. Rocky was trying to keep an interest to the conversation, but it grew old fast.
“I mean, just because I find one word funny, they decide ‘hey, you’re a stupid robot and we don’t want you as part of our team anymore’!” He continued.
“Heh, what word was that?” Rocky asked, still not paying close attention.
“No, it’s stupid, you won’t think it’s funny.” Wet Wipes said, sighing a little.
“Naw, go on!” Rocky said, still trying to sound fake-interested. “I wanna hear it!”
“This is going to be the dumbest thing ever.” Rocky thought to himself. “Knowing him, he probably has no funny bone in his body!”
“…Duty.”
Well, that certainly caught Rocky off guard. Being a Grossery, crude humor was in the lifeblood of this dodgey donut’s personality. Suddenly, Rocky was spluttering with laughter, just about as much as Wet Wipes was when he was interrogated with the word! The sudden burst of laughter coming from Rocky was enough to cause Wet Wipes to chuckle a bit as well. Eventually, Rocky was able to catch his breath.
“You’re not half-bad, dude.” Rocky said, slapping Wet Wipes on the back with a clanging sound. “Maybe, just maybe, you can become a Grossery. I bet the Clean Team is jealous that they got rid of someone like you!”
---
“…Well there’s the problem. No wonder why he was so…off.”
Mophead, having finally licked his own wounds from the battle and returned to the base, had heard the whole story. Sure, he heard that Wet Wipes was apparently MIA now, but he didn’t really care about that. Since Vac Attack was taking a while to return back, he and Spray Bottle got to work on prepping the army back up.
“Look at those readings.” Moptop continued, tapping at a meter that was very high in the red on the mold console of Wet Wipes’ prototype. “His empathy levels were fiddled with before he was created for his test run.”
“Not a problem now!” Spray Bottle happily said, cranking it to the lowest level possible, even lower than what the others were listed with. “We’ll just call this one the prototype and he’ll be force to stop the Grossery Gang once and for all!”
“Hopefully better than the last one.” Moptop added, pressing a button, as the mold shut tight and tubes started pumping metallic goop into it. “I don’t care what happened to the previous one now; he’s better off dead than back here.”
---
The Gross is Strong in You - Chapter 3 - Friendship to the Extreme
---
“…Okay, so the plan is, I shove you into the hot bar, and we just go from there!”
“That…doesn’t even sound like a plan. That sounds like it’s a step. A step of a plan.”
Back at the Yucky Mart, Rocky was desperate to simply turn Wet Wipes into a Grossery. Having a Clean Team member, even one that knew him personally, around the Yucky Mart was starting to seem more and more like a liability to the donut.
“Welp, then I’ve got nothing.” Rocky sighed, shrugging. “To be honest, the sewer was the best idea I had.”
“Hmm…” Wet Wipes pondered, stroking where his chin would be. He then got an idea, his eyes brightening. “Hey, maybe one of your friends could help? I never got to actually meet any of them yet, too!”
“Uh, I don’t know on that.” Rocky said, suddenly sounding slightly nervous. “Maybe we should wait on friend-meeting? Until you turn into a Grossery?”
“Aw, come on!” Wet Wipes happily said, suddenly grabbing onto one of Rocky’s hands with both of his, dragging him along the way. “If I’m going to be a Grossery, I might as well meet another Grossery, right?
“I guess…” Rocky sighed, dreading the inevitable.
---
“Hi, there!”
The first Grossery that Wet Wipes had found, much to Rocky’s chagrin, was Pizza Face.
“Hey…Pizza Face!” Rocky said, trying to falsify a calm demeanor, despite the fact he could feel Pizza Face looking through his whole body as if he was insane for bringing him there. “This is Wet Wipes, and he…wanted to meet you?”
“Really glad to meet you!” Wet Wipes happily said, shaking Pizza Face’s hand with both of his very rapidly.
“The…pleasure’s mine?” Pizza Face questioned, still shooting daggers of confused anger towards Rocky, who simply shrugged in nervous embarrassment.
“Welp, now you’ve met him!” Rocky suddenly blurted, pulling Wet Wipes away from the leader. “Let’s head far away from here and turn you into a Grossery before we let you talk with anyone else now!”
“Hang on, Rocky.” Pizza Face said, his scornful glares suddenly turning into a malicious grin, quickly turning to Wet Wipes. “You want to become a Grossery that badly, do ya?”
“More than anything!” Wet Wipes said, scrambling away from Rocky’s push. “I was told the grossness inside of me was strong!”
“You were, were you?” The four-cheesed leader grinned, sliding an arm around the Clean Teamer’s shoulder, while subtly side-eyeing Rocky. “Well, how about we test your skills a bit, shall we?”
“Okay!” Wet Wipes happily said, walking where Pizza Face led him, as Rocky nervously followed.
---
“You remember this, don’t you Rocky?” Pizza Face grinned, as he and the donut tipped over a container’s contents off of the counter and onto a slope.
“I remember Egghead nearly shutting down the Yucky Mart during the last time we did this.” Rocky dryly said. “We didn’t actually use this thing in good spirits the last time.”
Soon, just like old times, a water slide made out of the contents of a spoiled salsa jar was being created in the Yucky Mart, via the top of a shelf. The only difference being, unlike old times, Wet Wipes was there. His enthusiasm was still there, but he kept peering back and forth at the salsa, as if on impulse.
“What’s the matter, Wet Wipes?” Pizza Face said, pulling the container back to an upwards position once it was emptied. “Too dirty for ya?”
“It’s…chunkier than I expected.” Wet Wipes said, sounding like he had nerves he was trying to mask through jest.
“The chunkier the better for this!” Pizza Face happily said, slapping Wet Wipes on the back. “But, I mean, if you’re not UP for it…”
“NO!” Wet Wipes said, suddenly taken aback, shoving Pizza Face away in shock, before quickly composing himself. “No. I got this…”
Slowly wheeling himself inch-by-inch to the slide, a noticeable shudder filled Wet Wipes’ body. If he could be panting, he would be panting. If he could be sweating, he would be sweating. But, since those functions were not built into his coding, all he could do was tremble, as he peered down towards the bottom of the slide. Sure, the shelving that the slide was propped up on was enough for a person on tiptoes to grab the bag of chips from the top of it, but for someone as small as Wet Wipes, it was looking gigantic, even more gigantic than it was supposed to thanks to nerves. The seconds he stood there seemed like hours ticking away, as his vision shifted up and down, back and forth, towards the floor that was right there, waiting for—
“JUST GO WITH IT ALREADY!” Pizza Face impatiently yelled, breaking the silence.
While this did break the silence, this also broke Wet Wipes’ concentration. With a yelp, the Clean Teamer backed up, right into a small splatter of salsa that rested on the counter, rather than on the slide. Automatically losing traction on his wheels, he slipped into the air…and right onto the slide.
With a scream echoing through the entire Yucky Mart, Wet Wipes slid down the salsa slide. In entire misfortune, instead of riding the slide normally, he was now slipping down it, with his wheels on the slide itself, still scrambling to steady himself. However, the combination of wheels, angling, and salsa proved to be too much. Reaching the end of the slide, instead of sliding onto the floor, he found himself sliding upwards, flung through the air thanks to the lack of traction, causing him to land smack dab into one of the convenience store’s walls.
Back on the top of the shelf, Pizza Face and Rock could only wince as Wet Wipes peeled off of the wall and plopped onto the floor on his back.
“That was sick!” Pizza Face called out, as Rocky simply slid down the slide first to meet up with Wet Wipes.
“Dude, you still ticking?” Rocky asked, pulling Wet Wipes into a sitting position, as Pizza Face slid down the slide to meet up with them.
“I think so?” Wet Wipes warily said, checking himself over, as salsa dripped from his wheels, while Pizza Face walked up to him.
“You were on fire!” Pizza Face said, happily slapping the Clean Teamer on his back as he started to wobbily stand up.
“Uh, I think you ARE on fire.” Rocky said, pointing out a small stream of smoke coming out of Wet Wipe’s forehead.
“Huh?” Wet Wipes pondered, reaching at the spot that Rocky pointed as, as small zapping noises erupted from the robot as he touched it.
As Wet Wipes pulled his hand away, a small denting gash was revealed on his forehead, with small and sparking wires inside the cut.
“Um, I think you should get that looked into.” Pizza Face said, as smoke and sparks continued to pour out of the Clean Teamer.
“It’s nothing! It’s nothing.” Wet Wipes insisted, although he was still looking upwards, as if he could see his own forehead by doing so. “I mean, I’m not leaking any oil, so it’s nothing. Sure, if I was leaking oil, I’d run the risk of starting a fire and burning this whole place down. But like, that’s totally not going to happen.”
As if it was fate, while smoke still streamed and sparks still sputtered, a dark liquid started to trickle down from the gash on his head. While it was on the edge of the cut, and not directly near the wires, it was still close. Slowly shifting his eyes towards the two Grosseries, a small, yet stressed, grin formed on the robot’s face.
“Get help.” He squeaked, his voice somewhat cracking. “Now.”
---
Dragging the robot by his arms, Pizza Face and Rocky rushed through the Yucky Mart, pushing away anything and anyone in their path, as they made a beeline to their needed location.
“Out of the way!” Rocky called out, shoving spilled food containers away.
“We’ve got a fire hazard on our hands!” Pizza Face added, accidentally elbowing someone in the face in a desperate attempt to shove them out of the way.
“You don’t have to call me that.” Wet Wipes protested, slightly sighing, as he let his wheels go slack to ease being dragged around.
“No time to question it!” Pizza Face quickly retorted back, barely looking over his shoulder. “It’s kinda true right now, and we need to make it that it’s not!”
“DOC, WHERE ARE YOU?!” Rocky suddenly yelled out, still rushing in the direction Pizza Face was going. “WE NEED YOUR EXPER…exper…WE NEED YOUR HELP!”
“Jeez, you don’t have to yell, I’m right here!” Doc Broc’s voice said, as the broccoli spear himself walked into view, picking his index finger where an ear should be to clear it out. “What’s even going on?”
“Oil! Smoke! Bad times!” Rocky sputtered out, shoving Wet Wipes towards the medical expert. Oil was still leaking out of the crack in his forehead, as he gave a feeble wave and nervous grin towards Doc Broc, who was scanning him over.
“Hi.” He sheepishly said, still waving. “I’d like to not die, please.”
---
“Welp, you’ve come to the right food piece on this matter. Any time later, and you would have blown yourself and this place to kingdom come.”
Doc Broc, adjusting the pair of goggles he was now wearing over his eyes and giving the rubber gloves on his hands a quick snap, now had Wet Wipes sitting on his makeshift doctor’s table.
“Tweezers.” Doc Broc said, not looking behind him, as he gave a “give it here” gesture with his hand.
Without hesitation, Rocky handed him a pair of tweezers from the tool table that was standing close to him and Pizza Face. Very gently, Doc Broc started to peel at the wires with the tweezers, pushing them further from the oil leak.
“Towel.” He added, making the same gesture again with his other hand, as he held onto the tweezers.
Before he could even finish the gesture, a ratty towel was in his other hand, courtesy of Pizza Face. Hocking a loogie onto the towel and rubbing it against itself to moisten it, the doctor then started to wipe the spitty cloth onto the oily parts of Wet Wipe’s forehead with a fair amount of pressure, making him cringe a little.
“You know, I actually HAVE the supplies to remove that from me…” Wet Wipes protested. “I don’t see why the spit was needed.”
“No time for trivialities.” Doc Broc said, dropping now-oily rag onto the ground, revealing less oil on his face than before, albeit with a streak remaining. The oil flow had also stopped as well. Without missing a beat, Doc Broc started the motion again with his now-free hand. “Electrical tape.”
Soon, a roll of black electrical tape was in his hands, still stuck to itself with no opening prepped.
“…Electrical tape that I don’t have to attempt to open.” He dryly said, shoving the tape back in the direction of the other two.
“Could have us that sooner…” Pizza Face grumbled to himself, as he unfurled and ripped off a piece of the tape, handing the piece back. “Here you are, Oh Specific One!”
Ignoring Pizza Face’s sarcasm, Doc Broc used the strip of electric tape to cover the frayed wires, blocking them off from other areas. Shoving the now-coated wires back into the gash with the tweezers, Doc Broc yet again pulled a hand motion behind him.
“Bandage.” He said, only sounding more assured and relieved this time.
With much more relief in the handling, a neon green bandage, courtesy of Rocky, was placed in Doc Brock’s hand, out of the package, but unpeeled. What made it even more surprising that it was a fresh one, an oddity in the Yucky Mart. Ripping the lining off of the back of the bandage, Doc Broc dropped the tweezers and tacked the bandage over the gash, capping off the issue entirely.
“And there you are!” Doc Broc said, sounding slightly chipper, smoothing out the bandage onto the wound. “Crisis averted, no one’s going to explode or catch fire now. At least, not from you.”
“Cool!” Wet Wipes happily said, looking upwards at his forehead as if he could see the results, as he hopped off the table. “Thanks a million, Doc!”
“Okay, that was a fun misadventure.” Rocky suddenly said, walking towards Wet Wipes and starting to push him away. “Let’s continue with trying to turn you into a Grossery, and hopefully that’ll cause something like this to never happen again!”
“Sounds cool.” Wet Wipes said, slightly dry, but with enough of a tone to tell Rocky wasn’t fully serious. “Catch you guys later!”
“See ya, you…weird robot.” Doc Broc said, faltering as soon as the two of them were out of earshot. Sighing, he turned to Pizza Face, who had walked towards him.
“So, how’s that data going?” Pizza Face asked, giving a slight sigh as well.
“Hate to admit it, but it’s leaning closer to the side we thought was unlikely.” Doc Broc said, sounding like he was admitting defeat. “Gotta admit, it was kinda fun.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Pizza Face agreed. “Don’t know what those Clean Teamers cooked up back there, but I think they just made a great Grossery by mistake.”
---
“How’s the fix to that little mistake going, Mophead?”
As the base Clean Team that had perfected molds was cranked out into more and more clones, and as Vac Attack was slowly repaired, Mophead and Spray Bottle were still on alert for the newest project. Being entirely from scratch as a prototype meant he was taking much longer than the others, who were quickly multiplying to the point it was impossible to judge who were the originals in the previous battle.
“Slowly but surely getting there!” Mophead replied. “Unfortunately, seems like we’ve hit a little snag. Seems like all the others used up the blue paint.”
“I mean, we have tons of red paint left over.” Spray Bottle suggested. “We could always use that.”
“Tap into the supply of Vac Attack?” Mophead nervously asked. “I mean, I know the boss isn’t running right now, but that sounds like a HUGE Clean Team faux pas.”
“It’s either that, or we leave him purely silver.” Spray Bottle pointed out. “And I’d rather not think of the connotations of what the latter entails.”
“…Good point.” Mophead responded, shuddering a little. “I guess…red it is?”
“Red it is.” Spray Bottle nodded.
The two of them left to acquire the new paint color, as the grey metals continued to pump into the new prototype. The lights automatically shut off, leaving the lab in pitch black. That is, pitch black, save for two sudden light sources: two cherry red pinpricks coming from the prototype in the console.
Edited by ZootyCutie, 01 March 2020 - 11:10 AM.
