Mystery Machine!!
Summary: High schooler Luffy, Nami & Usopp got dragged into a science-y mystery by their eccentric and also weird, science teacher. What would happen next?
“Yes!! School’s out! Woohoo!!” A raven-haired teenager named Luffy cheered as his two friends trailed behind him while shaking their heads. “Must you always say that every time?” Usopp, a long-nosed male, drawled out, tired of his friend’s shenanigans. Nami, an orange-haired girl, nodded with a tired sigh, agreeing with the long-nosed teen.
“Shishishi! Sorry!” Luffy laughed out with a smile, not looking apologetic at all. This irked the two. “Well, at least look like it!!!”
As the three walked towards the school gates, a voice stopped them. Curiously, they looked back just to see their science teacher, Mr. Ceasar calling out to them.
“You three! Come and follow me to the Science lab!” The odd request peaked the teens’ interests, prompting them to follow their teacher back to the school building.
As they walked after Ceasar, Nami whispered quietly to her friends. “What do you think he’ll make us do?” They thought about it before Luffy snapped his fingers, mouth grinning.
“He’ll give us food!!” The raven haired said, making the other two sigh, having expected this from the food-loving boy.
“Maybe we’re getting detention?” Usopp’s suggestion made Nami and Luffy shudder in fear. Having seen their fearful reactions, the long-nosed smiled sheepishly at them as he scratched his cheek. “Or maybe not…”
As the three continued to mull over their thoughts, they didn’t noticed that they have arrived at their destination. Ceasar opened the lab’s door before speaking. “Follow me.” The students gulped nervously as they followed after their teacher into the room.
Stopping in front of the wall, the adult placed his hand on it, as if searching for something. This intrigued the trio as they witnessed Ceasar pushed open a secret door leading to another room.
“Welcome to my super secret lab!!” Ceasar cackled, as the group went in the chamber.
“Whoa…” Nami gaped at the dim room, examining every detail of it. “I didn’t know there’s a secret room here?”
“Me neither.” Usopp agreed, gaping beside the orange haired girl.
While as Luffy ran around excitedly, shouting “Awesome!” and “Cool!” at the things that amazed him, which were everything. Ceasar grew annoyed at the boy’s antics, yelling at him to calm down. Pouting, the raven-haired teen obeyed, albeit reluctantly after the teacher threatened to put him in a detention.
“Now, I called you three here to witness my invention!” The science teacher announced happily before pulling off the cloth from the giant object in the middle of the room.
Lo and behold, there stood a giant machinery with a very complicated look. Awed, the three friends inspected it, pointing out the parts that stood out to them.
“It’s a Mystery Machine!!!” Luffy yelled out, waving his hands excitedly with sparkling eyes.
Nami and Usopp looked at each other with a raised eyebrow. ‘Scooby Doo?’ They both thought, watching as their overly-excited friend keeps on jumping around. Ceasar, once again, annoyed, shouted at Luffy and the others to stand by the sidelines.
“Now, where was I? Yes, of course! Now witness the greatest invention of all time-by yours truly- the Smile Cloning Machine!!” The teacher cackled, making the teens to sweatdropped at the odd name. ‘Smile?’
“Uhm, Mr. Ceasar? What’s a ‘Smile’?” Nami asked, interested at the cloning machine. Having expected the question, the eccentric teacher chuckled darkly. Like an evil scientist does. I mean, he is one.
“What’s a Smile, you say? Well, my dear students, Smile or as I called Smiley, is my beloved creature, of course!” While explaining, Ceasar took the said creature from a glass container and presented it to the three.
It had a pink jelly-like body and two glowing yellow eyes. It basically looked like what a slime does. This, of course, spooked out Nami and Usopp, while as it thrilled Luffy.
The teacher then put the Smiley (cell) on the conveyor belt of the machine. “Now, watched as the magic begins! Not that magic exists anyway…” Ceasar pushed a button on his remote control and the Smile Cloning Machine started working. The conveyor belt moved the creature into the machine.
The scientist then waved his students over to watched how the machine works.
“The machine (Cell Cycle) have two main parts (Interphase and Mitosis) and both have sub-stages.” The scientist explained, gesturing to the machine before them. “The first main part (Interphase) of the machine have 3 stages while the second main part (Mitosis) have four.” The Smiley then entered a section called G1.
“The Smiley (cell) first goes to the G1 (G1 phase), the cloning machine’s first part (Interphase), where it increases in size and also it’s nutrients (cytosol) because of the activation of the machine’s laser ray (Proteinsynthesis). G1 also checked the Smiley’s (cell’s) DNA and made sure they’re okay (DNA Integrity).” Ceasar stated, before continuing. “Also if the Smiley’s (cell) G1 phase failed, it’ll go through a small compartment, G0, (G0 phase) to improve and to be able to proceed to the next stage.”
Luffy, Nami and Usopp nodded in understanding, walking after their science teacher as they stood next to another section of the cloning machine.
“Next, the now bigger Smiley (cell) goes through S-Phase, where it’s genetic materials, DNA, gets duplicated/copied.” Ceasar explained, also stating that S-Phase is the longest process of the Smiley’s (cell) cloning (cell cycle). The three students watched in awe as the creature got zapped by different rays, closely paying attention to every detail of it.
The teacher then waved the three over to watch the next section. “G2 (G2 phase) is the final stage of the first main part (Interphase) of the Smile Cloning Machine (Cell Cycle). This is where the Smiley’s (cell’s) DNA replication and DNA integrity were inspected to make sure they’re complete.”
“Ohhh~!” Luffy leaned forward to see the Smiley, that was being scanned, more clearly but got pulled back by Usopp, who’s shaking his head disapprovingly at his antics.
The raven haired teen’s carelessness, of course, irked Ceasar, again. “Don’t suddenly just go closer to the machine! It might break!” He scolded.
This dumbfounded Nami and Usopp, as their eccentric science teacher cared for the machine more than their safety. ‘Typical…’
“Sorry!” Luffy just laughed while smiling sheepishly. His actions made Ceasar clicked his tongue in annoyance, dismissing his student’s reckless behavior before starting to walk again.
“This way, please.” The three friends, having no choice, followed him.
Nami groaned in exhaustion, “I wanna go home already!” Usopp and Luffy agreed with her but got silenced by their short-tempered teacher.
Ceasar once again continued explaining. “Now after being scanned, the Smiley (Cell) was then moved to the second main part (Mitosis) where the machine’s (cell cycle’s) 4 subdivision’s PMAT, begins. The Smiley (cell) was then moved to P1 (Prophase) where the jelly creature’s (cell’s) chromosome’s pair up.” Ceasar smirked as he eyed his 3 students gaping at the x-ray window where it showed how the Smiley’s (cell’s) chromosome being paired up. He snorted, “Kids.”
After P1 (Prophase), the group watched as the Smiley (cell) moved to M2 (Metaphase) section. “The Smiley’s (cell’s) paired up chromosomes then line up at it’s equator.” The students nodded at the scientist’s words, eyes still glued to the machine.
“Hey, those looked like the candy I ate the other day!” Luffy commented, referring to the chromosomes. The said boy then turned to their teacher and asked, “Can I eat those worm like-thingies? I’m starving!”
Usopp and Nami laughed when Ceasar hit their food-obsessed friend on the head. The long-nosed boy and orange head girl, still chuckling, moved after their irked science teacher. Luffy, getting left behind, pouted as he went after them, grumbling to himself. “I just wanted to eat…!”
“On the next stage, A3 (Anaphase),” Ceasar said while gesturing excitedly. “The little claws (mitotic spindles) separate the Smiley’s (cell’s) chromosomes and pull each strand apart!” He huffed, proudly boasting that it took him 3 months just to perfect A3. But the students paid more attention to the slime than to their prideful teacher.
After A3 (Anaphase), they moved onto the final phase: T4 (Telophase). In this, the Smiley (cell) got pinched into half by another claw (chromosomes reach to the poles).
“The original Smiley (cell) was now split into two (two new daughter cells)!” Finally, the conveyor moved them towards the end of the machine before stopping altogether.
Ceasar squealed happily, grasping the 2 Smilies in his hands, presenting them to the students. “The experiment has been a success!!” He laughed. Luffy, Nami and Usopp leaned forward, aweing at the jelly creatures. “Whoa!”
After that, the science teacher ushered the teenagers out of his secret lab. Nami, who had been curious from the start, asked, “Mr. Ceasar? Why did you wanted us to witness your Smile Cloning Machine (Cell cycle)?”
Said teacher just smirked at them, “Well, you were the first people I saw after the school bell dismissed all the students today.”
The trio sweatdropped as they were once again pushed out of the room and Ceasar slammed the door on their faces, leaving them dumbfounded.
“I’m hungry!” Luffy stated and started walking away. Nami and Usopp just shrugged before walking after their friend.
“Luffy!!” A voice called to the raven haired male once the trio walked out of the school gates. The friends looked to the side, seeing Ace (Luffy’s big brother) and Iza, a blonde girl and the freckled male’s (Ace) girlfriend, together walking towards them. “Oh, Ace! Shishishi!” Luffy laughed.
“Where have you guys been? School’s out, ya know?” The freckled male asked. His younger brother started telling the events occured back at Ceasar’s “super secret lab.”
The group then started walking home, Nami and Usopp occasionally correcting Luffy’s exaggerations to Ace and Iza.
“Wow…” Iza laughed, slapping Luffy’s back in amusement. “So Sissy (Ceasar) showed his machine to you too, eh?” Ace chuckled, nodding as he agreed with his girlfriend.
“Too?” Luffy, Nami and Usopp asked, all confused.
The couple, amused, told the three that Ceasar also showed them the machine before but it was still unfinished back then.
Ace decided to share his and his lover’s experience when Ceasar dragged them to his secret lab to witness his self-proclaimed greatest invention. Iza added that instead of working, the cloning machine exploded. The trio laughed at the couple’s story.
From the lab’s window, Ceasar gazed at the departing students, sipping on a glass of wine.
“Congratulations to me for creating the Cloning machine I always desired since I was a child!” He chuckled, reminiscing all the times he stayed late all night just to tend to the machine.
Suddenly a shrill scream broke out, making the teacher flinched in surprise. “What the?!”
“Go away!!” Teach, the school’s janitor, keep yelling at the weird slime creatures crawling on the floor. Ceasar gasped before going to fetch his dear creatures, cursing at his forgetfulness. “Oh no, my dear Smilies!!”
Sorry for the shitty plot, my younger high schooler self wrote it 🥲
