April 2007
It was Friday afternoon and Theo was walking down the street with Milly, Isaac, Peter, Teresa, MJ and Jean. School just ended and after meeting their younger siblings. The two groups joined together as they headed towards the shop to do homework. It was something they did almost every Friday unless MJ or Jean's parents had other plans. And unlike his sister, Theo didn't have to convince them that doing their weekend home on Friday was a smart idea.
As they came into sight of the shop, Theo's senses went into overdrive as he sensed danger. His eyes quickly scanned the area but he couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary. But he still raised his hands in the air like he was stretching and flashed two hand signs to the ninjas close by. About ten seconds later he caught sight of one of the ninjas in the area who signaled all clear.
Theo frowned at that since he still felt like something was about to happen. Instead of lowering his guard, Theo became hyper focused as he carefully studied his surroundings. A few cars were driving down the street but otherwise, Theo couldn't find anything wrong or what was causing his danger sense to flare. As they approached closer to the shop his danger sense was going crazy but he still couldn't see anything wrong. He quickly made another hand signal for everyone to stay on high alert.
Once Theo reached the end of the street, he waited for the others before he planned to cross it. As he waited, Theo noticed a car approaching. It wasn't speeding and Theo recognized the driver as someone who lived in the area, so he changed his focus to other things in the immediate area. As the car approached closer, the rest of the group were farther back as they chatted and walked together.
Only Milly was the closest to the edge of the sidewalk with Theo, because she had her head buried in a recipe book as she walked ahead of the others. But a moment later her right foot that was half on the curb slipped and she started to fall towards the street and the approaching car. A second later Theo's hand snaked out like lightning and grabbed her by the arm before he yanked her back to safety.
It was almost so fast that the others missed it but Milly, who was saved, turned towards Theo and said, "Thanks Te-o."
As Theo was about to respond, a loud snap resounded from the road that caused everyone to turn towards the sound. The car that was only a few feet away lost its front wheel and caused it to swerve towards the sidewalk. The wheel itself shot straight forward as it continued down the street, but the car and the panicked driver headed straight for Theo and Milly.
For Theo, whose three tomoe sharingan were always active, everything happened in slow motion. He could see the fear in the driver's eyes as he slammed the brakes and tried to turn away from the sidewalk. He could see how the momentum and the loss of the front wheel caused the car to head right towards him and his sister. As all of that happened, Theo wrapped his arms around his sister and pulled her off her feet. A moment later he jumped slightly and aimed so that his back would hit the approaching car.
Just before the car reached them, Theo injected chakra into a hidden seal placed on his arm. The seal weakened his body so that he wouldn't total the car and walk away like nothing happened. As for using body flicker or something else to dodge out of the way, Theo didn't want to reveal his powers to his family yet. Sure Theo could probably brute force a save right now with genjutsu, but with the amount of people on the street and in cars it would take time to make sure he got everyone in the area.
Time he didn't have, so instead Theo went with the easiest option, which was getting hit by the car. The car hit his legs first which rotated his body and slammed his back and head into the hood of the car. Theo almost blacked out for a moment as his brain was rattled from the impact. But Theo used a little chakra to help himself stay focused as his body rotated towards the windshield. Theo made sure that he took the blow himself and absorbed most of the impact as both Milly and him were launched into the air.
As he spun in the air with his slowed vision, Theo saw Peter who was closest to the front of the group pull Jean and MJ backwards away from the car. While the car probably wouldn't have hit them, the fact Peter reacted the way he did made Theo smile slightly. As Theo spun around he could see his dad's shop along with his dad, Ben and a few others who were looking towards the sound of commotion outside. It didn't look like they knew exactly what was happening but it didn't stop them from scrambling to come help.
As Theo headed towards the ground he made sure his back was going to hit first and took most of the blow for his sister. They both rolled a few times before coming to a stop and Theo deactivated his eyes just in case his genjutsu over them failed for some reason. The moment his eyes returned to normal the world was no longer in slow motion and he heard people yell out his name, along with his sisters.
Theo didn't pay attention to anyone else besides Milly who was still wrapped in his arms. He slowly relaxed his grip before he croaked out, "You... Okay?"
Milly looked up at him before her eyes widened in fear and she said in a panicked voice, "You're bleeding!"
"Tis… Just... A flesh wound." Theo said with a smile before he coughed up some blood from his broken ribs.
As Jacob and the others rushed over he pulled out his phone to call emergency services. As the others rushed over, Jacob paused for a moment as he said into the phone, "Hello. Yes, there's been an accident and we need an ambulance. Yes, the address is…"
Jacob's voice trailed off as a portal opened next to him and out rushed a handful of people along with Ezekiel. Tsunade along with a couple of other medics quickly separated Theo and Milly before they started working on both of them. Another person went to check on the person in the car who only managed to stop after they slammed into a parked car. Ezekiel glanced towards Jacob as he said, "Mr. Mercer, my medical team will handle everything, you can cancel your call to emergency services."
Jacob froze for a moment as he glanced towards Theo laying in a pool of blood as Tsunade healed him. After a few moments he said, "Oh, sorry… No we won't need an ambulance anymore, help has already arrived… No, it's fine, they're already helping us. Thank you."
After Jacob hung up the call, Ben approached and asked, "How did you get here so quickly?"
Ezekiel pointed at Jacob as he said, "The phones I gave your family and all my other employees have a monitoring function for emergency services. If any call is made to them, it flags an internal system and I send a team to respond."
Ben frowned slightly at that which made Ezekiel smile before he said, "I know it seems Orwellian in nature, but the health and safety of my employees, including their families is my number one concern. It's also clearly stated in the employee handbook which most people don't tend to read…"
Ezekiel glanced towards Jacob as he asked, "Do you wish to contact your wife about the current situation or would you like me to do it Mr. Mercer?"
Jacob's eyes were focused on the large pool of blood around Theo as he asked in a fearful tone, "Will Theo be alright?"
"Of course. The medical staff I employ can save basically anyone as long as they aren't completely dead… They can also bring someone back to life as long as they arrive within a certain amount of time after they are technically considered dead by most modern standards."
Jacob dialed his wife's number and stepped away to talk with her as Ben asked in a concerned voice, "Wait… What do you mean they can bring someone back to life?"
"It means my medical team can perform miracles compared to standard medical science practiced by the rest of the world." Ezekiel said as Tsunade's group worked on stabilizing Theo.
Ben fell into silence over what Ezekiel just said and became lost in thought as he watched Tsunade and the others work on his godson. Ezekiel on the other hand glanced towards Peter and the other kids before he frowned slightly as he noticed Jean on the ground passed out. Peter and the others were trying to help her but after Ezekiel noticed her, he sent one of the medical team to check on her.
Jacob, who was focused on Theo, finally hung up the phone as he said, "My wife asked if you could make a portal for her, she's at home."
Ezekiel nodded and lifted his hand in the air to make a portal. What no one could see was that blocked by Tsunade, Theo spun his finger in a circle. A moment later a portal appeared and Daniel with a fearful face stepped out of it. She glanced around and the moment she saw Theo and Milly on the ground her eyes widened and tears started to run down her cheeks. Jacob quickly pulled her into a hug as he said in a confident tone, "It's fine, everything will be fine."
"But…" Daniel started to say before Ezekiel cut her off as he said, "It only looks bad, they will be completely healed in an hour or two."
Daniel's moist eyes turned towards Ezekiel filled with hope as she asked, "Are you sure?"
Ezekiel nodded as Tsunade glanced over and said, "The boy's been stabilized and the girl only suffered minor injuries."
After she spoke, one of the medical team helped Milly up and sent her towards her parents before they went over to help Tsunade with Theo. Milly was in tears as Jacob and Daniel pulled her into a hug. Isaac quickly joined them as Milly said in a distraught tone of voice, "Te-o's only hurt because he protected me… He grabbed me just before the car hit us."
Jacob hugged Milly a little tighter as he said, "Theo being hurt isn't your fault, the car was too close and would hit both of you no matter what happened…"
"But if." Milly was cut off as Jacob said, "Milly sweetie, Theo was going to be hurt regardless if he protected you or not… The fact he chose to do it just shows how much he cares about you."
Daniel pulled Milly a little closer as she added, "Don't feel bad that he protected you, because I'm sure he would do it again in a heartbeat if given the chance... I know me and your father would do the same thing if we were in his place."
Isaac nodded seriously as he said, "Me too."
Jacob and Daniel pulled their kids a little closer at Isaac's comment before Tsunade stood up and said, "Alright, he's good to be moved."
As a couple medics pulled out a stretcher Daniel asked, "Where are you going to take him?"
Ezekiel spun his hand in a circle as Theo opened a portal for his clone before Ezekiel said, "To our medical facility."
"Can we come?"
Ezekiel shook his head slightly as he said, "It's a top secret facility… You know what it's fine. Come along, but you'll be stuck in the waiting room while they finish healing him."
As they started to move through the portal, the medic who was checking on Jean lifted her up in a princess carry and headed towards the portal with her. Ezekiel glanced at them as he asked, "What's wrong with her?"
"I'm not sure, she seems to be in a coma."
Ezekiel nodded before he said, "Alright, we'll have Tsunade check her out afterwards."
After Theo and his family left, Ben took Peter, his sister and MJ back to the shop as Jon and Sarah talked with the guy who hit Theo. They were a little upset it happened but after checking his car they realized all of the lug nuts snapped off. The only thing that confused them was the fact none of the bolts looked worn. Almost like all of the lug nuts snapped at the same time, but that would be almost impossible to do unless they were defective and none of them looked defective…