Infinite - Volume 1

Evan wakes slowly, his vision blurry and heart beating shallowly. Coldness grips his chest as he tries to make sense of his surroundings. The room around him reveals itself to be an old, abandoned arcade, a relic of another era. Dim, flickering lights intermittently illuminate rows of dusty, forgotten game machines, their screens long dormant. The faint smell of stale popcorn lingers in the air, mingling with the scent of aged vinyl and metal.

Broken neon signs hang from the walls, casting faded glows that once promised excitement and joy to eager visitors. Cobwebs drape over joysticks and buttons, remnants of a bygone era of childhood laughter and high scores. In the center of the room, a few tables remain, covered with a thin layer of dust, like relics of a forgotten past.

Evan's gaze shifts to a table where Kyra sits, her focus intense. He tries to speak, but his voice emerges as a weak whisper, his mouth dry. "Kyra..." he manages to say.

Kyra's head snaps up, eyes widening in disbelief as she yells, "Evan!" She rushes to his side, relief flooding her features. "Are you okay?" she asks breathlessly.

"I've seen better days," Evan replies, attempting a smile. "Did I die?"

"Almost," Kyra answers, gripping his hand tightly. "But Robot Buddy saved you." She lifts his hand, pressing it to her chest, drawing his attention to a tube filled with blood connected to his arm. His eyes follow the tubes, eventually counting eight in total, all connected to his body. At his feet, Robot Buddy sits, transformed into a complex machine resembling a plasma donation device, his screen blank.

"What's he doing?" Evan asks, perplexed.

"He's helping your blood flow, keeping your heart pumping. Your heart stopped for 30 seconds," Kyra explains. "He transformed and connected himself to you, then told me to wait. Said you'd be awake in about an hour." Her voice softens. "He's been silent since."

Evan is awash with shock and gratitude, struggling to grasp the full weight of the situation. Suddenly, Kyra urges him, "Hurry up and heal yourself."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Evan agrees, focusing inwardly. He envisions himself healthy and strong, uttering the word, "Heal."

As he speaks, Robot Buddy retracts the tubes from Evan's body, and he feels his strength returning, the warmth spreading through his limbs. The blood in the tubes disappears as Evan's vitality surges back.

Robot Buddy's screen flickers back to life, his original form restored, and he cheerfully quips, "Turns out, I'm not just a pretty face! Keeping you alive was all in a day's work, though I gotta say, I hope my heartfelt performance gets me bonus points for creativity!"

Evan stared at Robot Buddy in disbelief. "Thank you for saving me, but what the actual fuck, dude?"

In response, Robot Buddy displayed an emoji across his screen: two pointer fingers touching each other, looking downward. "I'm sorry, Evan. I had to."

Kyra placed a comforting hand on Evan's back. "It's not his fault, Evan. He was only trying to help."

Evan's frustration surged. "No, we almost died! So what did you have to do, get us shot? What were you even thinking?" he shouted.

"I'm sorry! ... I'm really sorry, Evan. I had to help," Robot Buddy replied, his tone earnest.

"Help with what? Help Clark? Because he sure came close to killing us!"

"I had to help Donovan... heal," Robot Buddy clarified.

Evan paused, shock washing over him. "Heal Donovan? How?"

"Well, Donovan had quadriplegia," Robot Buddy explained, his voice steady and knowledgeable. "This condition was caused by damage to the cervical spinal cord, which disrupted the neural communication between the brain and the rest of the body. I enhanced the neural pathways, facilitating the nerve signals to reach below the injury site, essentially restoring the connection."