“Did she ever find someone else?”
Bruce nodded. “A year later she met a guy named Cameron Weston and a year later they were married.” Bruce set his water down and admitted that he wasn’t happy about it for a long time. “I left her alone once I knew she was happy and haven’t seen her or Sadie since.”
“Don’t you miss them though?”
“Of course,” Bruce said. “What father wouldn’t miss his daughter?”
“Then why don’t you ever call her? Or write to her?”
Bruce said that things weren’t that simple. “There’s a lot more involved in the story Nick, you don’t really understand how complicated things are for me. Your situation isn’t like mine at all.”
“What situation?”
“With your girlfriend,” he told him. “It isn’t that complicated; you think it is, but it isn’t.” Nick asked him what he meant and Bruce told him it wasn’t serious. “I don’t want to insult you or her, but your relationship is still young, too young even. That’s why it’ll break off and you’ll both go your separate ways and find new people.”
“But I don’t want that.”
Bruce said he did. “If you didn’t you wouldn’t spend all of your time here, training for Mizuno’s missions.”
Nick rubbed his eyes and muttered, “It isn’t that simple.”
“Nothing is.”
“I can’t just leave this behind.”
“And why is that?”
“It’s because of my brother.”
Bruce shook his head and said Nick still didn’t understand why he accepted Mizuno’s offer. “You said yes initially because you wanted to avenge your brother’s death, yet you haven’t done anything to find him since you joined, have you?”
Nick said he hadn’t.
“You said your life with your stepdad wasn’t that great to begin with, and now that you’re the only one left you’re being backed into a corner in your own life. Mizuno offered you a way out, as well as a way to find the guy who killed your brother and you accepted it without a word of opposition because the two things Mizuno offered you were what you wanted. He will help you find the man who killed your brother, Nick, but I doubt that’ll be the reason you stay.”
“I’m not going to stay,” Nick told him. “I really am going to leave once I find the guy who killed my brother.”
“Then you’re going to wait a very long time kid.”
Bruce told Nick to finish his drinks as he got to his feet. “I’m sure you’ll figure it all out in the end, but you do need to think about what you want in your life Nick.” He pulled him to his feet as well and started off toward the door. Nick asked what he meant but Bruce only said he needed to realize it on his own.
---*---
Chapter 19
September 16th, 2029
1:15 PM
London, England
Jason sat in Doctor Reynolds’ office while she finished some other work elsewhere in the hospital. I’m just glad this isn’t going to cost us anything. It is good though, considering she might suspect the same thing Audrey and I do. The resurrection must be a part of these powers, not that I want to test that portion of my abilities. What if it was little more than a coincidence? Or what if Joshua Todd only wounded me and I never died in the first place? Maybe I nearly died but somehow regenerated from the brink of death, just like Doctor Reynolds suspects?
Doctor Jamie Reynolds walked in and apologized for the delay. “I am quite grateful that you would sacrifice your time to be here, even if my tardiness makes it seem otherwise.”
Jason frankly forgave her while the doctor took her seat. She flipped through a few papers from what he assumed kept her from their meeting. I’m not even sure why she wanted to make this appointment. She seems incredibly busy and I can’t imagine she has much spare time during the day for non-work related tasks. But then again, she might have some sort of fascination or interest in this phenomenon for purely medical reasons. In any case, I’m just surprised she has the time or will to speak with me, considering this is all fueled by her.
“Well before we begin I want to ask if you’ve heard about the recent news about super powered heroes across the world,” Doctor Reynolds began.
“Of course,” Jason replied, “It’s been in all the papers and on the lips of everyone for days.” And between Audrey and her mother I haven’t stopped hearing about it, though Audrey and I have every reason to fixate on the news around these so-called heroes.
“Good.” Doctor Reynolds left her work and turned her attention to Jason. “I only mentioned it because I feel your recovery is an ability akin to these heroes. It would explain the event entirely as well as confirm my own suspicions.”
Jason let out a breath and told her he agreed with her theory. “While my wife and I were on holiday I discovered a few other powers.” Jason displayed his ability to create fire as well as control it and followed that by a brief demonstration of his flight capabilities (though he was quite unbalanced even while hovering). “I’m also invulnerable,” Jason added. “When I first discovered I could fly, I actually fell off my company’s roof, down over two dozen floors and hit the ground without a scratch.”
Doctor Reynolds eyes widened. “That’s quite impressive. How did you even realize you could do all of that?” She saw the time and apologized, “Maybe another time. Anyway, all of this confirms my thoughts from earlier. I guess it’s safe to say you are a super hero Jason. I do apologize that I asked you to come down to confirm a phenomenon rather than an isolated case.”
That’s it? You couldn’t have confirmed all of this over the phone? Jason cautiously asked whether there was anything else she wanted to talk to him about. “I’m not entirely sure why I’m here Doctor.” Do you even know? Or is all of this something you’re piecing together as it comes to you?
Doctor Reynolds frowned and failed to answer him for a moment. She let out a breath before she continued, “I know this is extremely invasive and highly irregular, but would you allow me to extract a vial of your blood?” She quickly added that her request was for scientific progress. “I would like to examine your blood to see how it compares now to how it did when you were admitted, along with cross examining it with my own blood as a base.”
“Can I ask why you would want to do this?”
“Basically, I would like to analyze the differences between our blood as well as the progression from your blood samples from a few weeks ago and now.” Doctor Reynolds added that she did not want to make him feel like a test subject. “I have nothing but sincere intentions, Jason, let me assure you. All I want are answers.”
It sounds like you want a test subject. Jason told her he wasn’t sure. “Do you think you could even extract my blood as things stand now?”
Reynolds admitted she wasn’t sure. “Your invulnerability might prevent that altogether, but assuming we could find some way to remove and collect it, would you allow me that much?”
It’s just blood. It should be fine. I’ll probably regenerate it all moments later anyway. And if she tried to force me onto an examination table to cut me open I could just fly away. That’s it Jason, embrace the madness. Take in all of the wonder of the rabbit hole as you descend into lunacy.
Jason rubbed his eyes briefly and agreed. “But just the blood,” he told her. “I won’t let it go any further than that.”
-- -- --
After a few failed attempts at drawing Jason’s blood, the two discovered they could cut Jason and gather his blood with the use of an industrial grade diamond bladed scalpel. The incision only remained open for three seconds before Jason’s regenerative power closed the wound. As such Doctor Reynolds had to cut him repeatedly to get the amount of blood she desired; Jason hardly felt anything when she cut him.
Good to know I’m not entirely impervious, though I doubt I’ll ever fight a diamond blade wielding villain any time soon. But in any case, at least I know I’m not invincible.
“Is that everything?�
�� Jason asked her while he wiped the excess blood off his arm.
“It is, sorry again for all of the trouble,” she said while she marked the glass container filled with his blood. “I’ll be sure to let you know what I find.”
Do I thank her or just leave? Jason started for the door but stopped and asked, “Have you found anything about Joshua Todd?”
Doctor Reynolds looked up from the container of blood and admitted there was nothing. “Your claim intrigued me and while you were away I looked into every possible place for any sign of a Doctor Joshua Todd. I asked patients and my colleagues as well as looking through security feeds and personal charts for patients throughout the hospital and I didn’t find any mention of Doctor Joshua Todd. In other words, Jason, from what I can tell there wasn’t any Joshua Todd to begin with.”
Still nothing then.
“Now Jason,” Doctor Reynolds continued, “You didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary while you were out of the country, did you? I mean, outside of this business with super heroes.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean have you seen anyone following you?” The doctor concentrated her gaze on him and scrutinized his response. “Have you felt that anyone has been watching you Jason?”
What are you talking about? Jason frowned and said he hadn’t felt anything out of the ordinary. Should I? Is someone, is Joshua Todd following me? “I’m not sure I understand Doctor, what are you getting at?”
Doctor Reynolds glanced away from him and returned her attention to the vial of blood for a moment. What are you hiding from me? Just come out and say it. Don’t dance around the matter just tell me. “Jason,” she began, “How sure are you that you spoke to Joshua Todd?”
“What do you mean? Of course. The damn lunatic injected–”
“Mister Templar,” she interrupted, “I do not doubt that someone tried to kill you. I saw the toxins in your blood myself and I do believe you were attacked, however I do not believe it was at the hands of Joshua Todd.”
“And why is that?”
Doctor Jamie Reynolds opened one of her desk drawers and retrieved a plain folder. She motioned for Jason to take a look within at the articles and a photograph she’d collected, which were few altogether. She pointed to the date of one of the articles and it proved to be nearly a century old. “There was one man in London who was a Doctor named Joshua Todd who matched your description. That’s a picture of him in eighteen-eighty-three when he was in his late fifties. I couldn’t locate any death certificate or mention in any newspaper, but it’s safe to assume he’s been dead for nearly a century and a half. Now, again, I do not doubt that you were attacked, but I’m only concerned that it wasn’t Joshua Todd, but someone else who attacked you.”
“Then who would claim to be a doctor who’s been dead for one-hundred and fifty years?”
Doctor Reynolds told him it wasn’t her only hypothesis. “How certain are you that you spoke with your assailant? How certain could you have been given the circumstances? You were under a very large amount to sedatives and honestly you shouldn’t have been conscious at all.”
“I swear he said he was Todd though,” Jason said. It was Todd, right? It, it had to be. But, she is right. There’s no way for me to be sure. I never saw his face or any part of him for that matter. I don’t know if it was him. But if it wasn’t, who the hell tried to kill me? Who would even think to use that alias? He isn’t a well-known doctor so why would someone say they’re him? Could it be coincidental? Two men named Joshua Todd? That’s not an uncommon name. He might have lied and said he was a doctor and not realized the existence of another Doctor Todd. Yet why would he target me? And my guess is there haven’t been any other deaths in this hospital or any others at his hands or else he may have been noticed or caught. But then who tried to kill me and why did I pull that name out of nowhere? None of this makes any sense. This doesn’t feel right. I feel like I’m lost and I know I’m headed down the wrong road. There aren’t answers here, are there Jason?
“So, basically we have nothing but a surety that I was poisoned,” Jason summarized. “Have there been any other anomalies in the hospital in the past few weeks?”
She shrugged and told him nothing unusual had crossed her radar. “We heightened security after your incident and there hasn’t been anything remotely akin to your attack.”
“Have you heard of any attacks at other hospitals in London?”
Doctor Reynolds gathered her thoughts for a moment and said she hadn’t. “If there were any I believe the authorities would have made a connection and there would be a manhunt by now.”
This doesn’t make sense. This can’t be random. And where would he vanish to? None of this adds up.
The doctor paused for a moment before she admitted there was one oddity at the same time of his attack. “We discovered a few…supplies were missing. Someone stole a liver and heart which were designated for two separate transplants, as well as six liters of blood. We never recovered the specimens or uncovered who was responsible for the theft.”
“Why would someone want any of that?”
Jamie Reynolds sighed and told him about some illicit dealings in the world. “People will pay a fortune for human organs Jason. I’m unsure about the blood, but if someone’s dying and either doesn’t qualify for a transplant, often times they’ll look for other means to survive, assuming they can afford the incredibly steep prices and often times the incredibly dangerous work conditions.”
“Is this common?”
“No, but it does happen.” The doctor checked the time and apologized to Jason. “I really must get this to the lab before my next appointment. Again, I will call you and update you as soon as I can. But in the meantime, please put all of this business about your assailant out of your mind. You are alive and whoever tried to kill you wouldn’t stand a chance against you now.”
She’s right Jason. You’re more than capable of protecting yourself. But all of this, what does it add up to? If the attacker also stole those organs, does that mean he was after mine too? Did he harvest anything I’m not aware of or did it already regenerate whatever he might have stolen? Could it regenerate if removed altogether? I don’t know. Jason what the hell is going on? This isn’t adding up. What would someone want all of this for? What are they after?
---*---
11:20 AM
Bothell, Washington
Rachel sat in her room with her landscape art project in front of her on her bed. She decided to draw a view of Lake Washington she managed to get a picture of when she and Vladimir bused their way to Seattle. Reflecting on the event still troubled her, as Vladimir hadn’t been to class once in the past week. The only thing she could think of was that he was ill. In fact, she hoped it was the case over her unnerving thoughts of him returning to Romania.
She checked the time on her alarm clock briefly before she returned to her work. Rachel planned on attending church with her aunt as she usually did on Sundays. Rachel wasn’t a very religious person, but knew that it made her aunt happy to have her there. And it wasn’t too much of a sacrifice for her to go, as her aunt let her wear a shirt, flats, and a clean hoodie.
Her aunt knocked on the door and asked if she could come in. Rachel gave her the okay and her aunt cracked the door open and told her they would leave at twelve-thirty. Claire almost left, but stopped and told Rachel, “You know that Drake is going to join us for supper tonight, don’t you?”
“Yep,” Rachel said as she nodded her head.
“Oh good.” She saw the frown on her Aunt Claire’s face and asked her what was wrong. “It’s nothing really,” she told Rachel. “I only feel terrible for him. The poor thing must be a wreck, having to feed himself and live all alone in that great big house Tony left him.”
“I’m sure he’s fine,” Rachel tried to convince her.
“He’s seemed distraught since his father’s passing, but the last time I spoke with him, he sounded like he was finally getting bette
r. I hear he has a girlfriend now too, I bet that she’s helping him through this.”
Rachel nodded and told Claire that Drake and Hiromi were great together.
“I told that boy that he was more than welcome to come and live here with us as long as he’d like, but he’s just like his father, he needs to work through things in his own fashion,” she said with a smile. “I know that he’ll make Tony proud too. The wonders that boy will do…”
Rachel didn’t comment. She wanted to ask her aunt if she was alright, as Tony was her brother, but every time she did her aunt would only smile and say that he was in a better place.
The doorbell rang and her aunt left to answer it. She returned a minute later with a few envelopes and gave one to Rachel. “Our neighbor from across the street happened to get some of our mail yesterday and didn’t have time to bring it over until today.”
Rachel looked at the letter she’d received and asked what it was, though her aunt wasn’t sure. She said it was from the Seattle Art Museum and Rachel felt her heart leap in her chest. She hastily opened it, took out the letter, and two passes which were also included.
“What are those?”
Rachel ignored the letter and looked at the two passes and told her aunt that she won tickets to see Vincent Van Gogh’s gallery on opening night.
“That’s wonderful!” Her aunt gave her a quick hug (something she did compulsively when she was proud of Drake or Rachel, which Rachel and Drake only found as one of their aunt’s quirks). “Who are you going to take?”
Rachel sulked slightly and said she wanted to go with Vladimir.
“Then go with him.”
“What if he doesn’t want to?”
“Why on earth wouldn’t he want to spend an evening with you? You’re a wonderful young lady, a young woman any young man would be lucky to be with.”
Rachel wasn’t a fan of being praised. She knew her aunt only tried to keep her spirits up because she loved her, but Rachel worried that Vladimir would still be resistant because of the way things ended between them earlier.
Impact (Book 1): Regenesis Page 44
