BlackJack's Lab
"No Pinoco, I want you to stay here. It's too dangerous in the castle. Nancy and Carolyn have to many homicidal maniacs running around, and I don't want to have to worry about whether you are safe or not."
"But Doctor, I'll be fine! I'm not a child!" the little girl with the pigtails snaps at the taller figure who seems to be perusing a clinical chart.
Illuminated by the light of the balcony, the two figures appear as nothing as much as a father and his daughter. A flash of lightening reveals tossing waves outside the balcony, and you briefly wonder how there could be any body of water at the top of the sinister castle. Shaking your head, you try not to think about it. Things are strange enough as they are. The less you ponder all the impossibilities of the place, the more likely you are to keep your sanity.
The little girls turns, as if she heard your thoughts. "Oh hi! You must be some of Nancy and Carolyn's unfortunate guests. Come on in. I'm Pinoco, and this is the greatest doctor and physician in all the universe, BlackJack!" she exclaims, proudly throwing an arm out in the doctor's direction, hitting him in the leg in the process.
"Tell them I'm not in, Pinoco," comes the voice that seems to be a baritone, but slips into the tenor range on certain words. The rustle of paper can be heard over the sudden crash of thunder. The doctor continues to pay no attention to you.
The girl, Pinoco, frowns and sticks out her tongue at the doctor and runs out of the room. "Deal with them yourself!" she screeches as she slams the door on her way out.
The doctor sighs in irritation and turns to look at you. His face is framed by a shock of half black, half white hair. The face itself appears to be a patchwork of dark and light skin. The brown eyes seem to glare at you in mild exasperation.
"Are you still here? Well, what do you want? You obviously aren't in need of medical treatment, unlike the rest of the homicidal creatures running around."
Shaking his head, BlackJack reaches out and takes his overcoat from a hanger on the wall. "Well, if you are here, I might as well make sure you can find your way around. The last thing I need is to patch up those foolish enough to wander around this castle of insanity."
Almost on cue, the short-haired Carolyn comes rushing in, a look of full-blown panic on her face. "Doctor, come quick! There's been an accident in the arena! Heero started shooting at the Goblin King, who promptly directed the bullets at Dark Schneider, who then started indiscriminately blasting the other victims! It's absolute chaos!"
Swearing under his breath, the doctor grabs his leather medical kit/briefcase and dashes for the door. "Stay here!" he orders you as he rushes out. Carolyn grins maniacally at you as Bj rushes past and waves.
"It really might be better if you stay here until things get calmed down."
With that, the archive-keeper dashes after the disappearing form, leaving you alone in BlackJack's room. Outside, the storm still rages. In boredom, you start looking around, and actually start looking through the file folders on the large desk by the window. It is then that a particular file catches your eye. Picking it up, you notice the title:
Subject: BlackJack
Or:The Reason Why you have to accept Nancy's invitation!
Name: Kuro Hazama
Alias: BlackJack
Nationality: Japanese
Known Location: Somewhere
Profession: Rogue Medical Doctor
Skill Level: Off the scale
Early History: The child of a wealthy family, the subject that prefers to be called Blackjack lost his mother at an early age, the circumstances being quite suspicious. The father remarried and sent the son off to schools. Angry, the subject never forgave his father for betraying his mother, and cut off all contact.
The subject later on attended an unknown medical school, and excelled far and above anything ever seen. Under even more suspicious circumstances, subject chose not to join the medical community and went rogue, charging outrageous sums for his miraculous medical abilities.
Professional History: Subject known as BlackJack is considered a legend by the medical community. Sometime during childhood, he was critically injured, and was saved by an operation performed by a friend. This operation resulted in the patchwork appearance of subject's skin and hair.
A few years after going rogue, subject was approached by a woman in need of desperate medical attention. There was a growth in her body that needed to be removed. Subject found that the growth was actually the patient's sister, who because of a birth defect, had never separated in utero and thus continued to occupy her sister's body.
Unwilling to sacrifice one life for the beauty of another, BlackJack managed to remove the sister and later created a prosthetic body for the sister to use. The patient disappeared, and the sister, who was named Pinoco, stayed with subject. (See footnote on subject Pinoco)
Sometime later in his history, subject was contacted by his father to perform emergency cosmetic surgery on the father's 2nd wife. The father was ignorant of his relationship to the subject. Subject then proceeded to do as instructed, and give the father's wife "the most beautiful face in the world". The work was completed, and subject's father was horrified. The subject had given the patient the face of his mother. When an explanation was demanded, the subject is reported to have replied that to him, his mother had been the most beautiful woman in the world.
(Note: Subject has a spiteful sense of irony and justice.--N)
Recent History: Subject has recently taken on a more active role in the developments in the medical community. On a small island, subject is reputed to have performed a miraculous operation that revealed the existence and effects of a virus called Kimera. A few months later, subject helped bring to the light corruption at a private hospital and managed to destroy a South American drug ring operating in the vicinity, putting a hold on the creation of the drug Peluto.
Most recently, with the surgence of "Supermankind" and the Moira Syndrome, subject was thrown into temporary alliance with the Medical Soldiers for Justice (MSJ). Subject revealed the truth about supermankind and located a means to a vaccine for it. In the process, Brayne Pharmeceuticals was shut out of business, and charged with crimes against humanity and patients' rights.
Personality: Subject known as Blackjack appears to be a greedy, self-interested doctor of the worst sort. He is known for his scorn and condescending manner to other medical doctors and his patients.
However, reports show this to be a mere mask. Subject is extremely caring and sensitive, often foregoing his fees if he feels the patient is worthy. No matter the situation, subject will not hesitate to help those in need, including animals. Research has shown that the majority of the fees subject collects go towards the purchace of pristine islands and conservation measures.
(Note: Who would have thought Bj was a closet tree-hugger?--C)
Subject displays a finely honed sense of right and wrong, and refuses to let a patient die, even for revenge or justice. The subject sees to it that certain facts come to the attention of the law enforcement agencies, and lets the system take it from there. However, subject will not always do this if the welfare of other patients is involved.
(Note: Oooh, a moralist as well as cute!--N)
Nancy's Footnotes:
BJ's adopted daughter, 'Pinoco', is a being of indeterminate age, though it is believed that her true age is between 18 and 21. Her body is unaging, thus leaving her trapped in the body of a child. Pinoco frequently gripes about how she's treated like a kid, and does her best to see that Bj gets good food to eat. She also takes care of the house, and takes over minor secretarial work. Pinoco is also deviously intelligent, and has memorized her "father's" credit card number. This makes it impossible to get her to stay put.
Pinoco has also demonstrated rudimentary medical skills, and when present, acts at the attending nurse and assistant whe BJ operates or see patients.
Now, Doctor, let us discuss the date of your arrival, ne? If this is not enough to convince you to visit, perhaps these images will do it.
----Nancy "Northstar" Wagner
After all, if we have this much on you that we have shown you, what else might we have? We'll see you in one month, Blackjack.
Love,
------------Nancy and Carolyn
Shaking your head in admiration at the blackmail that had gotten the doctor to the castle, you close the folder and set it down. The noises had stopped, and so it should be safe to go take a look at the arena. But then again....
To the ballroom?
Or Rather Nancy's Room?
Perhaps even the castle entrance...
