As Fleck became reelected, Fendrich was bummed. not only did he lose the election, he also didn't have anyone to work under him now. "Grrr... Stupid society not being like me... Hmm... There has to be a way to get rid of these abominations!" He thought to himself before getting an idea.

Chemical warfare. He was going to dump a liquid helium into the water supplies. Not enough to poison normal people, but enough to make the inflatable people float. "Then I'll catch them all in a net and force them out of town." He thought more as he went to get supplies for this. Later that day, at the water treatment center, the alarm went off, meaning the water isn't up to the standards of the city. "Huh? The level of helium in the water has changed. This isn't good." a worker stated looking at the information.

"Is it enough to cause any damage?" their coworker asked. "Not enough to cause immediate damage, but over time it could cause death. So we need to fix this."

However, the damage was already starting as the helium water entered homes and other buildings in the city.

It started when Duke was using the tainted water to brew himself a cup of coffee, now that the Balloonmen had equal rights to those without the gene he no longer felt afraid of being who he was. "Daisy said she was going with Harl to visit our lead scientists, they would be able to test if she also has the gene before any bloating starts." He thought as he sipped. 

Once his coffee was finished, it was time for the morning patrol of the city streets. So far it seemed like nothing was out of the ordinary, everyone was going about their daily lives. "The mayor said he approved a bill that would allow Balloonmen from out of town to take refuge in here, already there's been people coming in from all over!" 

He would have enjoyed the news if his belly didn't start gurgling loudly. "Huh? I don't recall drinking anything carbonated." Duke would have just continued on like normal, but he found himself inflating unwillingly. "Eep!! What's going on?!" He thought. 

He continued to inflate as he pushed himself out of the car, no matter how much he tried to focus he just couldn't get himself to deflate. Not only that, but he was also feeling a lot lighter. "Wha-but I shouldn't be able to float. Is this something else we can do?" He squeaked, as he floated upwards, he held onto a streetlight as best he could. 

Unfortunately, Duke's arms fully sank into his inflating belly, forcing him to let go. It seemed he wasn't alone, many other citizens found themselves helplessly floating away. The lieutenant tried his best to control where he was floating, only to feel someone bump into him. 

"How about you watch it, lawman." A gruff voice growled. It wasn't anyone Duke heard of before. "S-sorry... Um, are you one of the newcomers?" Duke flapped his arms to turn himself around, just inches away from a Balloonman dressed in black leather and an eyepatch. "Came in last night, took the nearest train cart out to here."

"Ah... So um..." Duke stated, not really knowing what to say. He didn't want to admit it, at least not right now, but this man he just met was kind of attractive. His thoughts were interrupted by his body touching a net. "A net? Where did this come from?" He ask himself. "Somebody must have placed it here, must be the same person who did this." the other man stated. "By the way, the name's Snake, what about you?" 

"Um... It's Duke, Duke DeTain." 

However, the floating men weren't unnoticed, the non-bloated Balloonmen were still able to move. One of those men were Wheeler, since he doesn't drink water, which is a problem, but that can be fixed once there weren't people floating in the sky. "Crap, how did this happen. I need to get someone to h-" 

"Hello, I heard you need help?" Harl stated, as if he appeared whenever people needed help. "Gah! Oh, hey Harl, dude, I don't know why these guys are floatin'. Do you have any idea?" The chief asked. "Hmm... Well, from what I heard from water treatment plant, someone tampered with the water supply, maybe the added helium caused this." Harl explained. "Someone put helium in the water supply?! Bro could have killed the entire populous."

"I didn't think Fendrich would be this desperate to get rid of the Balloonmen, I didn't get the chance to drink tap water yet so I guess that's why I'm not floating away." The handyman explained. "Wexler and Ravenhurst are at the treatment plant, hopefully they've got a cure ready for everyone!" 

"They better, I just saw Duke snatched up in a net! If that rich douchebag put even one finger on him I'm gonna squish him to death under my overinflated body!" Wheeler growled as he followed Harl. He was so mad about what happened to his adopted son, he found himself swelling up on the spot. 

The two scientists had a mini lab set up right at the treatment plant, one of the vials being filled with Harl's blood while the others had different chemicals to mix with the tainted water. "So far nothing, whatever was added in the water supply was sure potent helium. Concentrated enough to turn anyone with the gene into helpless blimps." Ravenhurst muttered. "Oh, hello Harl."

"Everyone who's floated away are all being scooped up into a giant net! Fendrich might be planning to round up the Balloonmen and ship them out of here, including the mayor. Duke got snared too!" Harl squeaked. "Any way to deflate everyone?" 

"Nein, the gene caused the helium to mix with their natural gasses. It all built up inside them, they have to expell it somehow." Wexler added. "But some might not be lucky, anyone old enough to be tested on back in the day." 

"Tested, wait. You mean those who were experimented on forty years ago in an attempt to stop the inflation? It sounds like a messy situation." 

"Jah, many couldn't inflate properly. Others couldn't deflate at all if they risked inflating."

"Dude this is such a baka moment... Wait, I have a question. You said expel the helium, right? So, like, if I were to be tested on right, I drink the water and try to figure it out." Wheeler stated. "Chief Wheeler, are you sure? That seems a bit-" 

"Listen, I need to do this, for my son. For Duke." The chief stated getting a glass of water. He was hesitant at first, since he hadn't drunk water in over a year, so he wasn't used to the taste. However, in spite of this, he drank the tampered water and started bloating with helium. 

It felt so good in a weird way. As he inflated, everyone made sure the windows and doors were shut so Wheeler wouldn't fly out of there. "Okay so, first thing we need to try, burps. I'm actually one of the few people that can burp on command." The silver haired man stated before burping. After a while the burps seemed to be working, but not at a fast enough rate. 

"Hmm... Maybe if I had some carbonation in me, I could burp more." the chief stated. "Hold on I think I have some seltzer water with me." Harl stated as he searched his things.

As soon as Wheeler downed the entire bottle of seltzer, his belly begun gurgling out of control. The gasses from the drink was reacting with the helium, forcing it all upwards. In a flash, the inflated chief let out the biggest burp imaginable. He was zooming all around the lab as he deflated, bouncing along the ground once the last of the helium was expelled from his body. "Whoa, let's do that again!" 

"There ish no time for that now! Carbonation vill deflate the poor people, the only mystery now is vhere Fendrich is taking everyone." Wexler explained. "There should be a couple clues in his skyscraper." 

Back outside, the helpless Balloonmen were held in smaller, individual nets now. Duke was stuck squishing up against Snake, blushing so hard his entire face was a deep shade of red. "What's going to happen now?" He squeaked, it was hard to move in the net. 

 "He's gonna pop us." 

 "P-pop? But he wouldn't! Even someone like him wouldn't stoop so low... Would he?" 

 Snake squirmed his inflated body around to face the flustered lieutenant. "I've seen it happen before in my old hometown. If a man was caught, the sheriff would charge in with a sharp enough weapon. It wasn't pretty." He muttered. "Either that, or he'll try to take the gene out."

"Oh but knowing him he'll probably just pop us..." Duke muttered before trying to figure out the structural integrity of the nets. "What in tarnation are ya doin'?" Snake asked, looking at the man beside him. "Well, I'm seeing if these nets are cheap." The lieutenant stated before trying to naw the net he was in. 

The net was actually pretty dense, so chewing it was out of the question. "God what are these ropes made of?" 

"They are made of the strongest materials, Nylon and polyester." A voice called. It was Fendrich. "Now then. I shall explain my plan to you freaks of nature. At first, I thought about irradiating you, but a got a new plan. I shall just remove you from the city, maybe make you float away into space." The multibillionaire explained as he smirked.   

"So, yer basically gonna to kill us either way. What even is the point of killin' us?" Snake asked, glaring daggers at the man who was holding him captive. "Quiet you, you should be grateful that I don't pop you here and now!" The older man snapped. "But, with you gone, I will be able to run the city, as I deserve! I still need to collect the rest of you freaks, but then it's off to space with you." He continued.

Duke shuddered at the thought, was the helium really strong enough to send entire people out of the atmosphere? He grew stressed at the thought of being stuck as a helpless blimp, never seeing his father figure again, it made his body stretch out to swell further. "You can't do this, you'll get caught!" He growled, his stubby hands flapping. 

"By who? If that chief of yours shows up I'll just send him off alongside you, I'll throw in that annoying arsonist as a bonus." 

"You can't do that, she's got nothing to do with this! You don't even know if Daisy even inherited that gene!" The lieutenant would have swelled further if Snake didn't place a hand on his round back, rubbing him to calm him. 

"As much as I'd love to keep arguing I've got places to be. So get comfortable, this will be your last moment on earth!" Fendrich sneered, strutting away from the two captives. Duke's breathing slowed as he was rubbed, finally regaining composure and deflating back to his previous state. 

"We have to get out.. Somehow, urrgh, maybe if I try going beyond my limit like Wheeler said?" Duke asked himself. "I don't think I can take it, he had years to stretch himself out." 

"Hey, someone's gonna find us. It's clear he didn't get everyone." Snake tried to reassure him. "He won't get away with this."

Speaking of Wheeler, he was just using his sense to locate Duke. "I don't know how I didn't think about this sooner." He stated sensing for the balloonmen. As he, as well as Harl, made there way to where the men were, he could feel the presence of something else. Not based on his gene but based on vibes. 

"Dawg the vibes are suddenly rancid. You don't think that asshole's here do you?" The chief asked the man next to him. "I don't think so, but it's better safe than sorry." Harl stated, handing Wheeler a bottle of seltzer, in case Fendrich was there. 

Shock of the century, he was there, with a gun. "Ayo, he's got a gun!" Wheeler stated before realizing it's a water gun. "Oh? A water gun. I mean, idk how that would help you-" Wheeler stated before the tainted water was shot into his mouth. "Fool, this baby has a range of 12 feet! Not to mention it's got great water pressure." Fendrich smirked, watching as the chief started to bloat with helium. Before his arms sink into his body, Wheeler downed the carbonated water.

His belly was rumbling loudly as the helium mixed with the carbonation, all the gasses fizzing together inflated Wheeler to twice his normal roundness. Of course, all that gas had to go somewhere, and the bloated chief wanted Fendrich to pay. Pay with his life if he had to. 

Once the dastardly billionaire was in sight, Wheeler expelled the gas right from behind. He rocketed forward and headbutted Fendrich right in the balls. "AAAAAAAARRRRRRRGHHHHH!!!" He screamed, holding his groin in pain as he laid on the floor. "You bastard!! Why I'd get you if I had a pin!" 

Then it was Harl's turn to strike. He was normally against violence, but something about Fendrich made him want to hurt. The handyman inflated himself as much as he could, rolling right onto the multibillionaire and sitting on him. "You stay put now, until the police come by to arrest you." He growled. Needless to say everyone was shocked, they had never seen Harl this upset before. 

Wheeler was still fart rocketing around, following his gene sense until he crashed into Fendrich's penthouse. Many nets filled with Balloonmen were held captive, dreading the time they would be released out into space. "Duke? Yo Dukestere, where are ya?" He called.

"Chief? I'm here." Duke exclaimed from the net he was contained in, moving a little bit to make himself noticed. He was found and Wheeler cut the nets with scissors he found on the ground. "Well, might as well free the other balloonmen, while I'm at it." 

Once all the Balloonmen were freed, Duke turned to Wheeler. "Thank you so much, Chief wheeler. Now then... What happened to us?" 

"Oh yeah, Fendrich poisoned the water supply to inflate us lol, he's goin to jail for life." Wheeler started. "Now since I'm assuming you don't want to stay perma-flated so we need to get some carbanation in y'all. Now then, I need to get some seltzer so, uh, stay here while I go get some, since Harl had all the supplies I need to get them from him-" 

"Don't worry, Chief Wheeler! I have brought the seltzer, as well as a few sodas for those who don't like sparkling water." Harl started, wheeling in several bottles of carbonated liquid. "Wait what happened to Fendrich???" Wheeler asked, confused.   

"So, turns out when a human body is put under a lot of pressure it knocks a person out so uh... Fendrich is currently passed out in the middle of the street." Harl explained.

"Eh, I wanted to be the one to squish him but whatever. Time to get the burping on." The chief remarked, it would take a while to help the inflated people chug down all the soft drinks, but with the help of Harl it took a mere ten minutes. 

Duke flapped his hands as the bottle of seltzer hit his lips, he was the last to be deflated. As he let out a huge burps he found himself landing right into Snake's arms. "Ah! Umm... This is kind of embarrassing. Chief? This is Snake, I met him when I was stuck in that net." 

The western looking man just chuckled at how flustered Duke became. "I kept him company, the lawman was willing to stretch past his limit in order to get out. Something he learnt from you?" 

"I guess ya could say that, on his 26th birthday I taught him everything I know! You got a place to stay? All the refugees coming in from out of town are filling in the homeless shelters here." Wheeler stepped up, making sure to ruffle Duke's hair. "The little dude is like my son, I kinda unofficially adopted him." 

"Heh, how sweet." Snake didn't want to admit it out loud, but he was now growing a crush on the lieutenant. He knew they only met today, but already he wanted to know more about him. "I'll see if I can find a place of my own, last night I slept in this old soda factory. I made it my temporary home; Ma would have come too if she didn't... If they..." 

Once Duke got up, he rubbed Snake's back. "We're sorry."

Snake just sighed softly, rubbing his eyes to remove the faint tears that had formed from remembering his ma dying. "I mean it's not yer fault she was murdered." He stated simply. "Ah... Well, I still feel bad." Duke stated before gasping slightly as an idea just popped into his head. "Hey, how about you stay at my place until you can find your own place?" He asked. "I mean, it's a small place but I can sleep on the couch so you can sleep in a bed." 

"Well, you don't have to go that, but that's very kind of you, Duke." The western man stated. Soon enough, they went off to get Snake settled. 

Meanwhile, Fendrich awoke in a jail cell. "WHAT THE-" 

"So, you're finally awake." Bennett stated outside of the cell. "You were passed out in the middle of the road, and we couldn't just let a man like you stay in the world." He continued. "Th-This is outrageous!" Fendrich screeched and laid on the floor throwing a tantrum. 

"You're lucky the judge was lenient on you, since you didn't technically commit any murders. But as you'll be in here for ten years for what you've done you may as well be in here for life." Bennett remarked. "Gah, I really should talk to the chief about if he's a bad influence on the force." 

Bennett simply left as the multibillionaire continued to snarl about how the city should definitely be his. "There's just no getting to him, at least we won't ever have to worry about him again. Although I'm surprised Ms. Sinclair hasn't tried anything herself, I suppose she's the lesser of two evils here." 

Meanwhile in the lieutenant's apartment, Duke got everything set up for Snake to move in for a few days. All he had was a suitcase full of clothes and a couple pictures of his old family. "You can stay for as long as you want. It's not often I have guests over." 

"Mm, that's mighty nice of you, lawman." Snake placed a photo of a pinto horse on the table. 

"Is that yours?" 

"She is, well one of them anyways."

"You own multiple horses?" Duke asked, interested in this. "Yeah. In total I have four horses, Corn, Mamba, King, and copper. Pictured here is Corn." Snake stated in response. "Wait aren't those the name of snakes?" 

"Yeah, my ma like snakes a lot, that's why my name's snake." The leather-clad man commented. "If you want, I could take you to see them someday, I can even teach ya to ride one if that's something you'd be interested in." He continued.  

"Well, it would be interesting to ride a horse... Ah, but I might have work..." Duke sighed. "It's alright, I'm not saying we have to go see them now. Just whenever you're free next." Snake smiled softly. "I mean... Hmm... Hold on I need to make a call." The lieutenant stated before going to his bedroom to call wheeler. 

"Yo, wassup Dukester?" The chief asked over the phone. "Well, Snake wants to show me his farm but I still have to finish my workday-" 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You don't have to return to work today, you had a very traumatic experience. Just take the rest of the day off. Besides, even if you weren't traumatized, you haven't had a day off in like, six months? I'll fill in for you don't worry." The chief spoke. "Oh, uh, thanks, Chief wheeler." Duke responded before hanging up and returning to Snake.

"It looks like I've got the rest of the day off. Do you think they'll like me?" The lieutenant asked. "I'm worried I might frighten them." 

Snake responded, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. "As long as you're gentle they'll love ya, they trust anyone I'm friends with." He cooed. "And be sure to keep some apples ready, they'll do anything for them." 

"Heh, I'll keep that in mind." Duke blushed more as they remained close, he was growing a crush.