Echos: Prologue – Part III 3

Author’s Note: Questions, comments, suggestions, and constructive criticisms are welcome as always. I hope everyone is enjoying themselves so far.

Prologue – Part III

Down in the parking garage, the argument between the senator and the DVA agent suddenly ground to a halt as a sleek muscle car, its engine burbling like some giant cat, pulled into a convenient parking spot. Professor Marshall got out of the car and ambled over to the senator.

“Senator Malone, I presume” Alex said, sticking out his hand. “A pleasure to meet you.”

“Ordinarily, I’d ask how I could help you. But this is not a good time, young man” the strained senator responded.

“Actually, I believe we can help you” the professor replied with a smile. He looked around a bit, then relaxed stance. “Oh goodie, I didn’t miss the show.”

“Wha? Men, get this clown out of here!” The lead DVA agent shouted, his detached and condescending demeanor finally cracking.

At that moment the elevator door dinged open behind the agents and Dean Smith stepped out. Responding to the noise, the DVA agents whirled around as a man, hands reaching for their sidearms. “Who the fuck are you!? And how did you get in that hospital?” The lead agent demanded.

Before responding, the dean calmly took off his glasses and slipped them into a pocket inside his suit jacket. Then, looking the agent squarely in the eyes, he coldly responded “I, the fuck, am Dean Smith of the Sizemore HCP, and I entered the hospital because that is where I wanted to go. How I got in is my business. And you, the fuck, are newly appointed regional director Anthony Hollister. Now that the introductions are made, don’t you ever speak to me in that manner again.”

From his spot next to the senator, professor Marshall spoke up “I’d suggest you guys listen to the man and stand down. You’re outnumbered, outgunned, and in over your heads.” Alex might have looked a bit silly proclaiming that the two professors outnumbered the cadre of DVA agents and security officers, but he said it with such self-assurance that it wasn’t humorous in the slightest. The agents glanced at each other, doubt beginning to creep into their eyes and stances.

Disregarding the DVA agents, the dean turned to the senator. “Good evening mister senator, the director of the DVA thought I should take an interest in today’s events. I somehow doubt that agent Hollister has adequately explained your granddaughter’s condition.”

“No” the senator said “They haven’t told me anything. They won’t let me in to see her. My wife and I are the only family she has, and they won’t even tell me if she is alive or not!” The senator seemed close to losing whatever composure he had left, so the dean decided to speak quickly.

“Their caution was well founded in the information they had at the time. Your granddaughter was caught in a terrible accident. A criminal super attempted to steal an experimental nanotechnology cancer treatment. The attempt was foiled by a hero who was in the hospital to visit some children, however the nano-bots were freed from any sort of control and descended on your daughter and ‘fixed’ her.”

The senator sagged with relief “So, she’s alive!? And her cancer was cured? It’s a miracle! When they catch that criminal I’m going to give him a medal.”

Dean Smith held up a hand to pause the manic senator. “I’m not finished yet” he said. “You see, as the human body ages, cells are damaged. They are replaced in due course through division and replication. However with each new generation of cells, minute flaws in the cells are compounded.” He paused a moment before continuing.

“The nano-bots identified these cellular flaws and fixed them by dissolving her body and reconstructing it out of the titanium-steel alloy of her IV needle. As far as doctor Adams has been able to determine, the nano-bots reconstructed every single structure in her body precisely according to her genome. Every test he has run has come back identical to the baselines established in her yearly physical, and her brain activity is the same as before the accident.”

By now agent Hollister had calmed down and walked over to join the two older men, but it was the senator who spoke first.

“If everything is identical, can I take her home?”

Agent Hollister immediately shook his head “It… She will be taken into custody by the DVA and evaluated. We need to determine her exact nature, whether she poses a threat to the public safety, and any whether information can be gleaned from this tragedy”

Senator Malone looked to be on the verge of another outburst when the dean spoke, silencing them both. “No. To the both of you. I have already spoken to doctor Adams and the director of the DVA. Miss Malone will be relocated to the Sizemore HCP facility. There, we can observe her in comfortable and humane surroundings, rather as some perverse DVA lab experiment. Also, if her transformation has granted her any super-human abilities, we are eminently well equipped to discover their extent, and educate her in their proper use.”

Dean Smith became pensive for a moment before finishing. “And if she does prove to be a threat, there are few places more well equipped to handle her than the facilities of a Hero Certification Program”

Turning to Alex he said. “Would you mind giving me a ride back to the campus? I suddenly have unexpected housing demands to attend to.”

Alex smiled “Sure, but you know that I know you just like my car.”

The professor shook the senator’s hand and assured him that his granddaughter would be well cared for. Then he went around to the other side of the car and moved to get in. The dean had gone back over to Agent Hollister to make arrangements for Danielle’s transport to the Sizemore campus and, of course, make sure the senator would be allowed to see her immediately. Turning to his boss, Alex called over the roof of his car “Come on, get in. We’ve got work to do”