This fic is inspired by a sick prompt, Infection, from mugenthesickfic on Tumblr, for Fever February (yes, it's not February but shh...)!

Originally, I wanted to make this more serious and based on after Just a Fighting Machine, but after chatting with Mama Bunny about the idea, it went in a totally different direction: Mewtwo got an infection, and Lucario and Greninja were running around the Mansion like a Torchic with its head cut off, asking everyone in the Mansion "IS THERE ANY HEALING ITEMS/SPELLS IN YOUR WORLD".

So… there you have it. XD

For more hilarity: have the Yackety Sax Benny Hill theme (original, remixed, could be any version of it!) on full blast while reading this fic. I had it on and I was laughing so hard while writing this. X'D

I don't own anyone in Super Smash Bros.

ENJOY!

Infection

"It is only a small cut; it will heal itself without those odd tape objects humans call 'bandages'."

That was what Mewtwo said when he accidentally cut himself with a knife while on kitchen duty. Lucario and Greninja had advised him—and insisted when he refused—to bandage it up. Mewtwo, as stubborn as he always was, told them both the same thing. He was a powerful Pokemon; he didn't need to dress up such a tiny wound. It wouldn't be necessary, right?

Two days later, he realized why they wanted him to bandage it up. The wound had grew severer—first was that Mewtwo was suddenly exhausted. A day before the infection was at its peak, Mewtwo was fine and active in matches and training. Then, without warning the next morning, he felt like he hadn't slept in three days and didn't want to get out of bed.

Then came the fever. As a Psychic type, fevers were a pain in the tail to him; he received mild headaches from them and he was unable to concentrate on his powers. As the wound got more infected, his headaches were so bothersome he had to stop using his Psychic moves altogether.

Then came the foul-smelling pus from the wound. As soon as that sign showed how far the infection had gone, it was the last straw to Lucario and Greninja. They forced Mewtwo into the Smash Hospital (they both thanked Arceus that Mewtwo had a fever; it would be impossible to even pull him off of the bed if he could still use his Psychic powers), and he was immediately checked in. Dr. Mario then confirmed that Mewtwo will live, but the infection would take a while to heal, and in the meanwhile he would be bedridden and had to stay in the Smash Hospital.

"And I thought Iwas the stubborn one," Greninja remarked, rolling his eyes at Mewtwo. The cat mutant groaned in pain in response before glaring at his hot-headed friend.

"You should have listened to us," Lucario said, "you wouldn't be in the Smash Hospital right now."

"Shut. Up." Was Mewtwo's growl before his face contorted to pain. His arm was currently bandaged up heavily, and one small movement caused pain. Even sneezing flared up the irritation of the infected wound.

"Well, you shouldn't be so damn stubborn," Greninja scoffed, shrugging as if it was a simple solution. Though technically, it was in this situation.

"I am not stubborn!" Mewtwo snapped defensively, his glare intense; Greninja was thankful that the fever was severe enough to disable his Psychic powers. Otherwise, Mewtwo would have thrown him through a nearby wall.

"Says the Pokemon who is here for an infected, 'small' wound," Greninja countered, his victorious smirk hidden behind his scarf tongue. Mewtwo apparently sensed this, as he gritted his teeth and held up his good arm to throw a Shadow Ball at the ninja frog.

Lucario knew what this meant—even though Mewtwo and Greninja were close friends, some things never changed. He was still baffled about how they didn't kill each other already since they butt heads every five minutes.

"That's enough, you two," Lucario piped up, stepping between Greninja and the hospital bed Mewtwo was laying on. "We don't want Dr. Mario banning you both from the Smash Hospital, would you?"

Mewtwo simply huffed as he lowered his arm, his glower still burning into Greninja. Greninja, on the other hand, scoffed and turned his back on Mewtwo before muttering, "He started it..."

"Though as much as I hate to complain..." Mewtwo began, breathing deeply through his nose. The smell of bad hospital food and, well, everything hospital related nearly made him barf. A week in the hospital could do that to someone. "I tire of laying here, unable to battle the other Smashers. All I have been doing all week is eating, sleeping, and watching terrible sitcoms. How long will I be here again?"

"Er..." Lucario hesitated as if the answer wasn't what Mewtwo was hoping for. Ever since the Legendary Pokemon was placed in the Smash Hospital, Lucario and Greninja checked with Dr. Mario about Mewtwo's status and his stay. While they were relieved that he would be well, he was sure Mewtwo would kill Dr. Mario for the answer:

"Another week."

Mewtwo's glare intensified. "You have got to be kidding me," he was close to screaming this out. However, he could only growl, so to not disturb other patients nearby.

"Hey, you should have listened to us!" Greninja pointed out.

"Another word, and I'll pop your sassy head like a grape," Mewtwo threatened. "I need to escape from this now. The other Smashers were from different worlds; why can't they just use their healing powers or items to cure something so small?!"

"Well, they do, but they—" Lucario began, but he didn't get another word in when Mewtwo gave him the most deathly glare that sent shivers down his spine. Lucario may have emerged victorious against frightening Pokemon like Darkrai and even Arceus itself, but if Mewtwo gave him the "you're dead if you piss me off more" look, he suddenly realized what true fear actually felt like. "All right, all right..."

"Oh, come on," Greninja complained, "Are we seriously gonna stage a break out for this stubborn cat?!"

"Not exactly," Lucario sighed. "I've heard of many of our fellow Smashers who have some sort of magical healing powers. Perhaps we could ask them."

"It's not gonna teach Mewtwo a lesson," Greninja argued, "if we do this, he'll keep up with his damn stubborn ways!"

"W-well, uh..." Lucario stuttered. His eyes scanned towards Mewtwo, who was simply listening in on the whole thing. He smirked at Greninja, as if taunting him that two could play at their years-long childish games. The Aura Pokemon gulped, his eyes suddenly switching to look at a nearby wall.

"...He gave you the stare, didn't he?"

"Y-yes?"

"Oh dear Arceus…"

With about 40 or so Smashers in the Smash Mansion, both Lucario and Greninja thought it would be easy. Just ask a few of the Smashers if they have any healing items or powers, and if they do, have them heal Mewtwo.

Easy, right?

"Cloud!" Greninja called. The blond swordsman was sitting in the large couch of the living room, apparently brooding over...whatever he was upset today. Greninja couldn't even tell anymore—the man had always been broody.

"What?" Cloud asked, his expression showing a small hint of annoyance. Well, "small" was an understatement here.

"Do you have any healing powers or healing items in your world?" Greninja asked.

"Yes," Cloud answered. Greninja was about to mentally whoop in victory, that he got the job finished easily, when Cloud continued, "but I need the right Materia to use magic." Right after saying this, Cloud glanced down at his pockets.

"...Arceus dammit!" Greninja cursed before dashing off to another part of the Mansion.

"I do have Esuna, Curaja, and Full-Life on my—" When Cloud looked up again, Greninja was already gone. "...Oh. He already left. Oh well..."

Meanwhile on the other side of the Mansion, Lucario knocked on Marth and Roy's door, and was answered almost immediately. Marth, the moment he saw the Pokemon, greeted him with a smile and a bow. "Hello, Lucario," Marth greeted. "How may I he—"

"No time," Lucario interrupted. Marth was taken aback by Lucario's rudeness, but sensing that something was wrong, he decided to bite his tongue. "Do you have any healing powers or healing items in your world?"

"We do," Marth confirmed. "Although we do not have any healing powers on our person." The Hero King then glanced behind him, as if scanning through his room.

"...Dammit!" Lucario growled under his breath before rushing off without Marth's knowledge.

No sooner than after Lucario ran off, Marth turned back with a smile. "I do have some spare Vulneraries in Roy's—er, Lucario?"

While Lucario searched for someone else, Greninja had already found two other Smashers, Lucas and Ness, in the Smasherteria. The Frog Pokemon was out of breath, sweat beading down his face from running everywhere in the Mansion like a Torchic with its head cut off. Lucas and Ness could only stare at him, as if he did something so bizarre they were trying to calculate what just happened.

"N-Ness! Lucas!" Greninja cried in between breaths. "D-do you have any healing m-magic or items in y-your world?!"

Ness and Lucas glanced at each other for a long moment before Ness answered, "We do."

"But you have to have the right psychic powers to use them!"

"Oh come on!" Greninja screamed in frustration, plus insanity at this point. All that running around looking for someone with anything that could heal even the worse wounds could lead to someone banging their head against a wall. Multiple times. Without even another word, Greninja rushed off.

"Too bad he didn't ask about us having those powers," Ness pointed out.

Lucas simply shrugged while chuckling. Sometimes Pokemon could be weird…

Red may not be a Smasher anymore, but he was still in the Mansion, albeit caring for the Poke Ball Pokemon. He wasn't mad about being demoted—Charizard was still in the roster, and he was proud of his closest Pokemon companion for impressing the Hands enough to stay as a Smasher. His other two Pokemon, Squirtle and Ivysaur, however, didn't think the same, but what could he do?

After feeding the Pokemon, he took a small break to get away from the work, and maybe get some fresh air. While he enjoyed being around other Pokemon and caring for them, sometimes it was a chore. Normal pets were bad enough (just ask the Duck Hunt Dog and his duck buddy), but pets with powers that could electrocute, burn, or drown people by flicking a finger? Nope. The only reason why he did it anyway was because most of them were adorable… well, except for Deoxys and basically all the other Legendaries.

As soon as he left the Pokemon Lab, he saw Lucario and Greninja running back and forth in every part of the Mansion, as if desperately searching for something or someone. Red raised a brow—what in the world were they doing? If there was any sort of threat in the Mansion, they wouldn't just investigate it themselves.

Without either of the Pokemon's knowledge, Red followed them. He overheard their conversations about healing and magic and items in other universes, plus cursing, but other than those, he had no idea what was going on.

When he saw Lucario asking Meta Knight the same question he had asked to others, he put two and two together—they were looking for something with healing capabilities for someone. He wasn't sure who was wounded or how bad they were hurt, but judging from how the two were running around, he figured something serious happened.

As soon as Lucario left Meta Knight, Red took manners into his own hands and headed towards the Smash Hospital. Since Lucario and Greninja were the ones looking for any healing magic/items, he figured that something happened to Mewtwo. Not only that, but Mewtwo wasn't with them all this time.

His suspicions were confirmed the moment he stepped into Mewtwo's hospital room. His eyes widened at Mewtwo's condition—bags under his eyes from not getting enough sleep on the hard hospital bed, one of his arms bandaged up heavily, his moodiness in general. Mewtwo glared at Red before he growled out, "What?"

"I saw Lucario and Greninja asking around about medicine," Red explained. "I figured something happened to you. How did you end up here?"

"...Some asshole got me good," Mewtwo answered, not making any eye contact with the Pokemon Trainer. "Was holed up here for a week and I'm going insane."

"Ouch… it must've been bad if you were here for that long," Red sympathized. He had witnessed Pokemon—both his own and others—hurt badly to the point of staying in the Pokemon Center for long periods of time. Even though Mewtwo was… well, Mewtwo, he couldn't help but feel bad for him.

"I will ask," Mewtwo questioned, "why are you here?"

"Well..." Red smiled his gentle smile, something he used that even Mewtwo himself couldn't help but feel calm. "I have something that could help." He removed his bag from his back before opening it and digging into its contents. "Let me get it..."

When Greninja and Lucario returned, they were both drenched in sweat and panting heavily. It was close to sunset, yet they found no one with anything that could heal even the worse of wounds. Greninja glanced towards Lucario with angry, glowering eyes. All this happened because Lucario was threatened by Mewtwo's infamous death stare. If he would have killed him, he would have a long time ago.

"This is your fault," Greninja accused, wiping off the sweat from his forehead with his webbed hands.

Lucario didn't even object to this—he was exhausted. Shaking his head, he walked towards the room Mewtwo was confined in…

...But all he saw was an empty hospital bed. No grumpy Mewtwo in sight.

"...Greninja?" Lucario asked. "Where did Mewtwo go?"

"What?" Greninja asked, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. When he saw it himself, his blood pressure hit a breaking point as his face turned red with murderous anger. First Mewtwo sent him and Lucario on a mission to find anyone with healing items, and now he had the gall to just get up and waltzed out?

"I'm gonna kill him!" Greninja screamed so loud that everyone from the Smash Hospital and the Smash Mansion heard it. "All this running around for nothing?! I'm gonna kill him and make him stop being a stubborn asshole permanently—"

"What's going on?"

Greninja stopped his raging rant when he heard a voice behind him and Lucario. They turned to see Red and Mewtwo… who was no longer bandaged up and was actually healthy. One wouldn't have known that he was in the Hospital in the first place.

"Red," Lucario greeted. "What brings you here? And… Mewtwo looks… well?" he nearly choked on the last word. He was fuming as much as Greninja, but as the "voice of reason" of the three companions, he couldn't do what he had reprimanded Greninja over for many years.

"Oh, I used a Full Restore," Red said simply, completely oblivious to Greninja's more red face. "Someone hurt Mewtwo so I sprayed some on him."

"You… you mean..." Greninja growled. At this point, he was about to rip the nearest person's heart out of their chest, show it to them, and then hitting it with his water sword like a baseball before the poor victim died. "All this time! All this damned time! You have something that could help him?!"

Red was taken aback by Greninja's anger, to the point he stepped back in case he had to make a break for it. "Sorry… I saw you and Lucario running around asking for medicine, so I thought I could help."

"To be perfectly fair, Greninja," Lucario agreed, "neither of us asked someone from our world with healing items."

"How could you forget that?!" Greninja yelled, and at this point, he was breathing heavily from anger.

Mewtwo smirked at Greninja's furious reaction. Well, this childish game they had played today was a score one for him, and a score zero for Greninja. "Indeed. Especially you, Greninja. You didn't even ask anyone from our world. Sometimes you're stubborn."

"Yeah?! Well… y-you got an infection over a small wound! That's the definition of stubbornness there!"

Red glanced at Greninja, then at Mewtwo, eyebrows raised in confusion. "Wait… Mewtwo said he was attacked. Did he have an infection instead?"

"No, I—" Mewtwo scrambled to debunk Greninja's lie (in his mind—it was the truth), but Greninja interrupted him.

"Yeah. He got a small cut and he was so stubborn he didn't bandage it up! 'It's just a small cut because I'm a strong Legendary'!"

Red could only look at Mewtwo for a long, uncomfortable moment, as if registering what Greninja had said. Finally, he asked, "So that's why you were in the hospital? Over a small wound that became infected?"

Mewtwo stuttered, trying to find proof that Greninja was lying and that he was indeed attacked, but knowing that the gist was up, he let out an exasperated sigh before confessing. "Yes..."

Red shook his head, sighing. "...Stubborn as a Mudbray, as always..."

Constructive criticism is welcomed