Thread: After Hours at the Nerd Lab [BH6: Captain & Blue]

Late Thursday night at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, Tadashi Hamada sank comfortably in an ergonomic computer desk chair in the robotics lab. He kicked his feet up on an empty blue recycling bin turned upside down with his laptop powered on and resting on his thighs. He'd been working diligently on his thesis for the unwritten 5th Law of Robotics under no circumstances should a robot be designed nor be commanded to inflict harm on any human and, through inaction, should it allow any human be harmed. His mentor and brilliant robotics professor, Robert Callaghan, developed the original foundations of robotics known as Callaghan's 'Laws of Robotics'. However, his laws only consisted of four, that he recites in every class session. Pushing boundaries in robotics and preferring the challenge as one of Callaghan's prodigies, Tadashi decided to write his thesis paper on a fifth law he developed from his kind-hearted disposition. His friend, Wasabi, finished and edited his paper long before the due date and Go Go, another friend that also shares the same course chose to work on hers in the privacy of her apartment. For Tadashi, the lab after hours was the most private and quiet he could achieve where he did not have to worry constantly about his younger brother sneaking around to bot fights and his Aunt Cass asking for backup at the caf. Tadashi was not entirely alone here Joy worked on a project of her own in her own corner of the lab but she was quiet when doing so. Every now and again his curious eyes would wander over to her area and peek at her project. She was a wiz in the prosthetics department, he believed everything she built was amazing. Someday, her tech is going to help a lot of people. When he first entered the lab to work and saw she would be working too, he politely waved to her and smiled, his mouth full of an apple he'd been munching on. His hands were dormant on the keyboard when it came time to write the conclusion. It was surprisingly the most troubling part of the essay, leaving him stuck in writer's block for the past twenty minutes. He must have absent-mindedly readjusted his hat a million times in the meanwhile. Just have to look for a new angle on this... Ah! There! Tadashi pondered then exclaimed to himself, as the ideas hit his mind he immediately typed them while they were fresh as to not lose his train of thought. Had it been his younger brother Hiro, he would have said the same to encourage that knucklehead to use his big brain and look for another way out. He couldn't help but smile at the irony. He looked goofy when he did so, his charming and contagious grin always stretching from ear to ear. While reading everything he had so far page by page and the conclusion tied in with it, his large, round eyes shifted line by line, the deep, dark brown color shimmering from the screen brightness. After long hours of effort, he was finished and could submit it and start heading home. He carefully placed his laptop onto the same recycling bin his feet had been just moments before and stood up to stretch. He was 6'0 even, only the third tallest among his friends with Wasabi ahead of them and Honey Lemon in second place when she wore heels and wedges. He glanced at the time on his phone and deemed it too late to video chat anyone. Only Go Go would answer but even then she was probably still working on her paper. He was so busy with his all day he hardly heard from anyone but he'd simply catch up with them tomorrow. Now he could start enjoying his weekend. A loud bang shook Tadashi from his thoughts and his head whipped over to Joy who only just threw something away. She stood in front of the scrap bin awkwardly, he could hardly see with her back turned to him, but he went back to gathering his belongings into his beige colored satchel. She started to cough but thought nothing of it until it turned violent and harsh, Joy reached for the table to hold herself steady and knocked over her mug from what he saw and it was what he interpreted as a cry for help. Without thinking, Tadashi abandoned his things and ran for her, calling her name but she wasn't responsive, still coughing and struggling to breathe. His arm gently but firmly urged her further away from the bin still puffing out a thin cloudy mist of pink. It had to be the culprit, her clothes were covered in it. He had her turned to face him then grabbed a nearby stack of papers with all sorts of sketches and designs, using it to fan air into her lungs while wiping away the chemicals from her outfit. Deep breaths, Joy! Through the nose... and out the mouth... he instructed while demonstrating like he saw his Aunt Cass do to Hiro during one of his allergic reaction fits. Can you talk?? I'm not sure what to... but he kept fanning air her way.