DOCTOR SPENCER

[Doctor Spencer, a Connecticut pediatrician, has terror and death 
wreaking havoc in his neighborhood, as the police try to restrain a young 
boy whose fiery metahuman power is lashing out at everything around 
him. The choice seems to be killing little Ben Sterling, or letting him 
(however unintentionally) kill much of the neighborhood. And as Doctor 
Spencer runs for safety, something else is happening as well.]


Kevin:

   Amid the carnage and confusion, Kevin stops for a moment.  `What 
could have made the ground shake?' he thinks.  `There's nothing around 
here that would explode with that much force.'

   His minds leaps to a conclusion... maybe the Feds sent their own 
metahuman along with the team they were sending after Ben.  Maybe 
any minute now some costume-clad man will burst up out of the ground 
and stop Ben.

   `But then why', Kevin wonders, `do *I* feel so wierd?  Is it just the 
effects of the car exploding?'

   At this point in his musings he remembers where he is.  He looks 
around for another piece of cover (one that's not already occupied by a 
cop or a corpse), preferably a large tree.  If he spots one that's not too 
far away he runs over and dives down behind it.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Once again, as you dive behind the tree on the Larkin's front lawn, the 
earth shakes. In fact, the lawn shudders just as you plant your hands on 
the ground, and then the shudder spreads to the street, as well as 
rattling the Larkin's home. This adds additional consternation to the 
police, who look around in fear. But their attention is still primarily on the 
Sterling house. Fire continues exploding from within, consuming the 
house and sending fireballs rolling across the lawn, searing across the 
driveway, and hurtling through the air to make fiery splashes on lawns 
and homefronts. At this rate, much of the street is going to be up in 
flames.

The Sterling house is an inferno, burned down to the infrastructure, a 
charred black skeleton collapsing on the solid mass of fire within. No 
human being could survive that...except perhaps the human being who 
created it.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Hiding behind the tree, Kevin looks down at his hands in wonder.  
`Was it *me* that made that happen?' he asks himself, `How could I 
have...'  Then it hits him.  `Could it be that whatever causes people to 
become metahumans is somehow contagious?  Obviously if it is 
contagious it's very selective, or maybe it somehow activates latent 
abilites...'

   The smell of smoke reminds him that maybe the details are best saved 
for another time.  Dr. Spencer places his hands firmly on the ground and 
concentrates on trying to make the ground move again.

   `Who was that guy on the news... Terra-rizer?  Maybe I can do the 
same stuff he did.'  If he was able to make the ground shudder Kevin will 
then try to make a hill rise up on the Larkin's lawn.

<><><><><>

[GM]

As you place your hands on the ground, it moves all right...but not in any 
kind of controlled manner.

Instead, as you feel some sort of power surge out of you, the soil 
beneath your hands explodes, and a tremor shakes the street once 
more, stronger than before. Vibrations shake the houses and the 
sidewalks crack. You hear windows breaking. Meanwhile, you have just 
put a rather sizeable crater in the Larkin's front lawn. In fact, there isn't 
much of a lawn left....just a ragged pit,stretching directly away from you.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Kevin is stunned by the damage he has caused, but it occurs to him 
that maybe his newfound power can be used to help stop Ben from 
razing the neighborhood... although maybe the cure will be worse than 
the disease.

   He runs quickly to a spot near what remains of the Sterling house, but 
one that is somewhat screened from direct view (maybe by a hedge).  
Facing toward the house he places his hands against the ground and 
tries to *push* his power out through his hands and toward the house... 
tries to make the ground under the house open up.

<><><><><>

[GM]

You try to pick an inobtrusive spot from which to launch your "attack", 
which normally would be somewhat futile...there are people all over, and 
you're in line of sight of at least a couple. But considering where their 
attention is focussed, it's possible no one will notice what you're up to.

Until you unleash your power.

The shockwave doesn't travel through the ground and "arrive" beneath 
the Sterling house....it tears a path through the earth and throws dirt, 
concrete and wood foundation to either side with an effect similar to an 
invisible Tasmanian devil (i.e. the cartoon), but much louder. A tearing 
sound blocks out the roar of flames for a moment, and then the side of 
the house facing you collapses.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   [Actually, Kevin was mainly interested in hiding from Ben (rather than 
from the police).]

   Watching the side of the Sterling house collapse Kevin is in awe of the 
dramatic effects caused by his newly discovered ability... but not so 
much in awe that he fails to notice that the focused manifestation of his 
power has left a path that leads right back to him.

   Jumping to his feet as quickly as he can, he sprints away to hide 
behind the nearest piece of cover that might shield him from Ben's view.

<><><><><>

[GM]

No flames come roaring after you. Instead, the house continues to 
collapse on itself. Firemen cautiously begin moving to set up their 
hoses, while the police remain watchful, and still ready to fire.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   As the immediate crisis seems to end, and the adreneline rush begins 
to fade away, Dr. Spencer unfortunately has a few moments to think 
about what just happened.

   He may have just killed a child.  A dangerous child, a child who killed 
several other children as well as some of the local police force, but still a 
child.

   He definitely has strange new powers.

   Rising to his feet, he watches as the house collapses into rubble.  
Then he buries his face in his hands and begins to sob quietly.

<><><><><>

[GM]

With no sign of any more bursts of flames, or spontaneous combustions, 
coming from the inferno that was the Sterling household, the police 
come out from behind their cars and assist the fire department, which 
begins putting out all the fires that have started up and down the block.

One of the officers approaches you. "Are you all right, doctor?" he asks.

Whether he or anyone else noticed your display of power, no one says 
anything right now, too busy trying to keep the neighborhood from 
burning down. You see a dark car arrive, then two more just like it, and 
men in dark suit and sunglasses with neat, short hair emerge and speak 
to the officers in charge, immediately assuming an air of importance and 
condescension which the police immediately resent.

Down the street, you see Mr. Sterling and his older son, James, who 
arrived at some point when you were preoccupied with other matters. 
He's arguing with the police, trying to get past them to his house, and 
being held back.

So hot was the fire that consumed the Sterling house that it's already 
dying, having consumed much of the available fuel. The fire department 
isn't even trying to put it out yet, concentrating instead on containing its 
spread while putting out the fires on adjacent roofs.

But as the flames wane, and the charred framework continues to 
disintegrate, one of the cops says "Hey! What the f*** is that?"

"Holy s***," says another.

Heads turn towards the razed property, and in the wavering red-hot 
heart of the blaze, which is shrinking by the minute, there appears to be 
a solid shape that is not burning. In fact, it seems to glow slightly, within 
the hot glow of fire around it.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   When the officer asks him if he's all right Kevin replies "Yes... yes, I 
think I'm OK."  [AnB - I assume Kevin just has a few scrapes and bruises 
from being thrown to the ground by the explosion.]

   He's on his way over to talk the Feds (at least that's who he assumes 
they are) when he spots Mr. Sterling and James down the street.  `How 
am I supposed to explain what happened... and explain that *I* was the 
one who brought the house down on Ben?' he wonders.

   Then the cops spot the glowing shape in the remnants of the Sterling 
house. "Oh my God... Ben," Dr. Spencer says softly, then rushes over to 
where the Feds are standing.

   "It's Ben!" he says loudly, hopefully getting their attention.  "That 
glowing shape in there... it has to be Ben!"

<><><><><>

[GM]

The agents look at you, as one of the cops says "This is the one....he's a 
neighbor, he made some kind of explosion with his hands!"

The agents follow your gaze to the heart of the fire.

"S***," one says. "If he's alive...what are the chances we can take him 
without hurting him?"

"Not great," the taller man next to him says. "Could be like 
Avenger....probably melt any tranq darts we shoot at him before they 
pierce his skin."

"If he's like Avenger, he'll do the same thing to bullets."

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Dr. Spencer looks from agent to agent in disbelief as they calmly 
discuss Ben's fate.  "He's a little boy... if he's alive we need to help him. 
Besides, I don't think you *can* hurt him.  The police fired plenty of 
rounds at him and they didn't seem to have any effect."

   He looks back toward the glowing shape in the fire.  "Maybe if the fire 
department can cool him off before he regains consciousness we can 
give him a sedative.  His power seemed to come out when he was 
scared, so if he's asleep he should be harmless."

   Kevin looks back at the agents.  "I assume you guys brought some 
kind of sedative with you?"

<><><><><>

[GM]

"We brought tranquilizer guns and narco-darts," one of the feds says. 
"Nothing that will penetrate a metahuman heat aura, though. We also 
have gas grenades, but they probably won't be effective against 
someone surrounded by an inferno either." He seems more interested in 
you. "Is it true that you're a metahuman also?"

"Uh oh," one of the cops says. Glancing up, you see that the glowing 
figure within the fire is moving. Ben is apparently NOT unconscious.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Ignoring the agent's question (at least for the moment), Kevin frowns.
"Well, if your darts are designed to take down adult metahumans fairly
quickly then we'll probably have to reduce the dosage of the drug for a
child of Ben's size, but..."

Looking toward where the glowing figure of a small child moves within 
the
ruins of the Sterling house, Dr. Spencer groans.  "No... oh no."  The
momentary relief that he hasn't killed the boy is quickly overwhelmed by 
both
fear and the realization that he may have to try to hurt Ben again in 
order
to save the lives of everyone else here.

   "We have to get Ben's father and brother to talk to him," he says to the
feds, who he assumes are now in charge.  "His mother was too 
hysterical to be
able to calm Ben down, but maybe Mr. Sterling and James can reach 
him."

<><><><><>

[GM]

As Mr. Spencer comes forward, you hear Ben crying from inside the 
ruins of the house. He wails "Daaaad!" then begins walking towards the 
street, where his father is. But he is still radiating a blazing inferno 
around himself, and the lawn ignites as he wobbles towards it.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Quickly moving between Ben and Mr. Sterling, Kevin shouts "Ben!  
Stay back or you'll burn your father!  You're too hot, you have to stop the 
fire or you'll hurt him by coming closer!"

<><><><><>

[GM]

Ben stops, uncertainly. Mr. Sterling, looking both frightened and 
helpless, says "Ben...please...turn off the fire!"

"I can't!" Ben wails. He stands on the lawn, turning it to carbon.

"We have to take this kid out," the fed says, loud enough for you to hear, 
but not Mr. Sterling.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Dr. Spencer turns his head and glares at the agent.

   Then he realizes that a simple glare might not clearly convey his 
message, so he walks quickly over to where the fed is standing (trusting 
that Mr. Sterling will at least be able to keep Ben from starting to walk 
toward him again).

   Arriving in front of the agent, Kevin growls "You *can't* take him out, 
you idiot.  The police already tried that, and look what it got them.  It 
seems bullets can't touch him while he's hot."

<><><><><>

[GM]

"Well, you have any bright ideas?" the federal agent demands. "We 
have another metahuman on the way....but he probably won't be able to 
stop this kid without killing him."

<><><><><>

Kevin:

    Kevin just stares at the agent in disbelief.

    "Do *I* have any bright ideas!?  I'm just his damned *pediatrician*! 
Until yesterday all I knew about metahumans was what I saw on the 
news. *You're* the one the government sent to deal with this... *you're* 
supposed to be the expert!" he says, obviously getting angrier with every 
word (though still in control enough not to yell).  "Some expert!  So far 
your three ideas have been shoot him with a tranquilizer gun, shoot him 
with a real gun, and have your pet metahuman kill him for you!  Any idiot 
off the street could have come up with those ideas!"

   Out of breath for the moment, Kevin tries to calm himself down.  He 
realizes that chewing out the feds isn't going to solve anything.

   He turns and looks to see what Ben is doing.

<><><><><>

[GM]

"There's no such thing as a goddamn expert!" the agent replies, also 
stressed. "We haven't yet figured out the best way to stop a pyrokinetic 
five year old!"

Ben's father is trying to coax Ben to calm down, and seems to be 
succeeding. The heat aura around the boy is diminishing, slightly.

"We had a little girl level a hospital in Texas," the agent continues, as he 
turns to watch the scene also. He waves his hand dismissively at you. "If 
you can't help, back off. There's too many people here as it is."

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   "Back off?" Kevin replies, watching as Mr. Sterling slowly calms his 
son down.  "Sure... if it wasn't for me you'd probably be nothing more 
than a charred pile of bones right now, but if you want me to leave I'll 
leave."

   With that he turns and starts walking away, looking for wherever the 
local paramedics are treating those who were injured during Ben's 
rampage.  Maybe there he can actually do something useful.

<><><><><>

[GM]

The paramedics accept your assistance, once you explain who you are. 
Very slowly, the blazing aura around Ben diminishes, until finally he's 
just a normal little boy, standing in the middle of a blackened lot. His 
father moves closer to him, and picks him up.

A car arrives, passes through the police barricade, and stops in the 
street in front of what was once the Sterling house. One of the federal 
agents goes to meet it, and retrieves a small black case from the driver. 
While Mr. Sterling and Ben stand next to the other feds, the first man 
approaches, keeping his body between the case and Ben.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Kevin feels a sense of relief when Mr. Sterling finally picks Ben up, but 
with an agent obviously trying to sneak up on the boy while holding a 
black case the relief doesn't last long.

   Moving as quickly as he can without actually running, Dr. Spencer 
walks up to the fed holding the case and lays a hand on his shoulder.  
"Let *me* do that," he hisses.

<><><><><>

[GM]

The agent pauses. "All right, doc." He hands you the case, which as you 
expected, contains a syringe and a vial of sedative. Fortunately it has a 
label, and you quickly identify it as one that should be fairly safe. Also 
fortunately, being Ben's physician you happen to know he isn't allergic to 
this particular drug. However, the dosage the agent was going to inject 
into him was far too much for a five year old, and while it *probably* 
wouldn't have done him any permanent damage, it could have....

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Closing the case, Dr. Spencer approaches Ben's father.

   "Mr. Sterling, I think it would probably be a good I idea if I gave been a 
quick check, just to make sure he didn't suffer any damage from his 
experience," Kevin says quietly.  "Why don't we just go over to my 
house... it'll only take a few minutes."

   If Mr. Sterling agrees Kevin leads him over to his house.

   "Why don't you wait here on the porch," he says, "I'll just go inside and 
grab a couple of things."  Going inside he quickly collects his 
stethescope and a couple of lollipops.  After tearing the wrapper off one 
of the lollipops and putting the candy into his mouth he goes back out 
onto the porch.

   "See, I'm back already," he says, talking around the lollipop in his 
mouth. "Why don't you just sit down on the step Ben so I can check your 
lungs?" Using the stethescope he listens to Ben's chest, having the boy 
take deep breaths.  "OK, your lungs seem pretty good Ben.  I'm just 
going to give you something to make sure you don't get sick, OK?  Just 
to be safe." Opening the black case he takes out the syringe and adjusts 
the dosage as needed.  "And of course once you get the shot you get a 
lollipop."

   Holding the boy's arm he gives him the injection, and then gives him 
the lollipop.

[Obviously if Kevin knows that Ben is one of those kids who *really* 
hates needles (as opposed to a normal case of just not liking them) he's 
not going to attempt this plan, and if Ben really objects and starts getting 
excited again Kevin won't try to force the shot on him.  He's not suicidal. 
:)  ]

<><><><><>

[GM]

Ben is has an average level of needle-phobia...you've usually been able 
to get him to take a shot before.

You're extremely nervous, and the cops and feds waiting with guns still 
drawn don't help. But you manage to get Ben calmly to the porch, and 
while he sniffles, no flames appear, while you try to urge him to take his 
shot....

but when the needle sticks into his skin, it turns to vapor, blistering your 
hand. "OW!" he exclaims. And flames crackle in the air, directly in front 
of him.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Kevin grimaces, clutching his right wrist as though he could keep the 
pain in his hand from being noticed by his brain if he just squeezed hard 
enough. "Ooowww!" he exclaims through clenched teeth.

   Luckily the pain distracts him from Ben's burst of fire.  Though he can't 
help but notice the flames he's to absorbed in his own pain to worry 
much about them.

   "Ben," he says, "I need to go put some medicine on my hand.  You just 
stay there, I'll be right back."  Rising to his feet Dr. Spencer heads into 
the house.

   As he treats his injury and then loosely wraps it in gauze he has time 
to think about what happened.   Maybe Ben could be given a sedative 
orally, but Kevin doubts that the feds are likely to sit around and wait to 
see if it takes effect.  No, now that it seems that Ben can't be injected 
even when he's not radiating fire the feds are probably going to panic.  
Even if they can restrain themselves from doing something stupid now, 
when their pet meta shows up they'll probably waste no time in having 
him (or her) take Ben out.

   Kevin bangs his good hand against the wall.  That injection was 
probably Ben's last chance to get out of this situation alive.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Banging your hand against the wall produces an unexpected result...the 
wall blows outward, and the shockwave you generated continues 
through your living room.

On the porch outside, Ben screams, and men start shouting- you don't 
have to look to know that an arsenal of firearms is being leveled at your 
house...and at Ben.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   "Damn!" Kevin exclaims, and quickly rushes back out onto the porch 
without taking the time to assess the damage he's just done to his home.

   Once outside he interposes himself between the guns and Ben.  "It 
wasn't him!" he shouts, "It was ME!  I blew the wall out, and it was a 
damned accident!"

   Turning his back on all of the armed men he speaks quietly to Ben.  
"It's OK Ben. It turns out I'm like you... I have a power that I can't seem 
to control."

<><><><><>

[GM]

"I don't want no powers!" Ben cries.

His father is also trying to interpose himself between the police and his 
son. Their guns are all out and ready. The next exchange will 
undoubtedly be a bloodbath...Ben may be protected by his powers, but if 
those powers don't kill his father, the bullets will. Not to mention you. 
And then Ben's powers are likely to sweep out over the police again. 
Either way, you'll be caught right in the middle.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Kevin is tired.  Tired of spending the day risking his life.  Tired of trying 
to reason with a young boy who could kill him at any moment.  Tired of 
dealing with the police and the feds.  Tired of being in the middle of 
things.

   Medical school never prepared him for this.  He had been trained to 
save the lives of children, but to save them from injury and disease not 
from an army of scared law enforcement officials.

   To make things even worse, now a small part of him was saying that 
maybe this is one child who *shouldn't* be saved.  Saying that maybe 
the life of this one child isn't worth more than the lives of all the people 
he had already killed and would probably kill in the future.

   Maybe the important thing now was to save the lives of all of these 
local cops and firefighters who were only trying to save their community 
from a small boy who called forth fire.

   Turning away from Ben he once again crosses the no-man's land 
between the opposing forces, walking toward the federal agents.  Once 
he gets to them he begins to speak.

   "You have to tell your men to hold their fire.  They *can't* hurt Ben," he 
explains.  "That white-hot inferno we saw is now inside of him."  He 
holds up his bandaged hand.  "When I tried to inject Ben the syringe 
didn't just melt, it was *vaporized*.  If you hit him with bullets they'll 
probably just vaporize too, and then Ben will lash out and kill all of us."

   Taking a deep breath he says, "How soon will your metahuman get 
here?"

<><><><><>

[GM]

"He's supposed to be enroute, by air," the agent says. "ETA twenty 
minutes or less. I'm afraid I'm not exactly sure what he'll be able to do to 
stop this kid, though. He has wind powers....maybe he can deprive him 
of enough oxygen to prevent any more flames."

He sighs. "F***-all if I know what to do...we can't capture him, we can't 
knock him out, we can't kill him....I have a few more last-resort options, 
but they'll result in a dead kid for sure, and probably toast half the 
neighborhood." He slaps the roof of his government vehicle. "We're 
f***ing helpless against people like....you."

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   "People like *me*," Kevin says.  "You mean kind, law-abiding citizens 
who for some reason are unexpectedly manifesting strange powers they 
don't understand?  Don't turn this into an `us against them' thing, 
especially when some of us are trying to help you."

   He shrugs.  "Not that I know what I can do to help now that my medical 
knowledge has been proven worthless.  I stopped him before by 
collapsing the Sterling house, but I have no idea why that worked.  He 
must have fallen and hit something that knocked him out briefly... but I 
don't understand what there could have been in the house that wouldn't 
vaporize the same way the bullets must have.  Maybe because the 
debris didn't penetrate his skin?"

   "I just discovered this... thing I can do a few minutes ago.  Maybe 
there's something else I could do to stop Ben, but I don't really 
understand just what it is I'm doing.  If that makes any sense.  If I knew 
what I was doing I wouldn't have blown out the wall of my house!"

<><><><><>

[GM]

The agent blinks, and refrains from answering at first. Then just says 
"From what we've seen, a lot of metahumans have difficulty controlling 
their powers at first....adults and kids. You think you could try a low-
powered blast, see if you can knock him out again? I know it's not 
perfect, but it's better than calling in an airstrike, and yes, I'm dead 
serious. Or we can wait until our guy gets here- who, by the way, we just 
recruited four days ago, so he's hardly a veteran either- and HOPE he 
can do better than you."

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Kevin shakes his head.

   "I guess I didn't explain things well enough.  So far my power has only
worked when I've been in contact with something... like the ground," he 
says,
pointing toward the nearby lawn he turned into a crater, "or my wall.  I
knocked down part of the Sterling house by sort of pushing the force
through the ground toward the house.  I don't think I can shoot some sort 
of
blast through the air."

<><><><><>

[GM]

"Well," the agent says, "have you tried?"

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   "Have I *tried*?" Kevin says incredulously.

   "Of course I haven't tried!  Exactly when did I have time to try?!  
Anyway, I didn't think that this was the time or place to be experimenting 
with my new powers."

   "But if you want me to," he says, taking a couple of steps back away 
from the agent, "you just stand there and I'll see if I can knock you out."  
He raises his unburned hand and points it at the fed.  "After all, if I screw 
up while trying this on you you're not likely to go berserk and burn down 
the entire neighborhood."

[To be clear, he's *not* trying to actually push his power toward the 
agent... he just wants to scare him.]

<><><><><>

[GM]

You scare him all right, and realize you've underestimated just how 
paranoid and edgy these people are.

"Holy s*** he's going crazy!" the agent next to him says, and whips up 
his dart gun and fires at you, even as his partner says "No! Wait!"

The dart hisses through the air, barely dents your shirt, then slows to a 
halt, hovering in the air for one crazy fraction of a second, then spinning 
away from you, as the sudden rush of adrenalin from realizing you've 
been shot at brings another surge of energy, some kind of vibration 
building up in you, seeking release, and you feel your entire body 
beginning to tremble.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   `That bastard!' he thinks.  `He's lucky I'm such a nice guy.'

   "Won't hurt anyone," Kevin says through clenched teeth, then point his 
hands straight up and gives the energy inside him the release it craves... 
straight up into the air where it's unlikely to harm anyone.

<><><><><>

[GM]

The energy does not obey your command, unfortunately. You direct your 
hands and your will into the sky, but the vibrations begun in your body 
spread outwards, shattering the ground at your feet and rippling through 
the earth and the air in an expanding circle around you, pulverizing the 
side of the police cruiser and blasting the federal agents off their feet, 
along with a couple of police officers. The effect isn't as catastrophic as 
last time, as you desperately try to reign it in.

Which doesn't stop the panicked cops from opening fire.

Bullets fill the air, and those that approach you slow to a stop and spin 
harmlessly away in the same insane manner as the dart.

You feel heat on the back of your neck, and then a wall of fire rolls over 
you, most of it deflected by the same force that stopped the projectiles, 
leaving you singed but not badly hurt....and it continues on towards the 
cops.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   The brief moment of relief Kevin feels as the bullets spin away from 
him is quickly ended by the wall of fire that passes by him, threatening to 
engulf the men in front of him.

   And it's his fault.  If he had kept control of his power Ben would still be 
calm.  He has to do something to save them.

   Kevin turns around, his eyes searching for the little boy that he has 
tried so hard to save... the boy he will now try to stop.  When he spots 
him he points his hands toward Ben and tries to call forth the power and 
focus it on th boy.  Pushes it toward Ben as hard as he can.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Ben already seems to be in shock.

The wall of fire he instinctively threw out as bullets came at him swept 
over his father and his brother first. Ben is now the sole survivor of his 
family.

The ground ripples between you and him, and a shockwave slams into 
him, sending the little boy flying back into your house, a horrible little 
missile, trailing blood and flames and igniting whatever he passes.

Your shockwave follows him, tearing apart the front of your house. The 
next sound is the impact of Ben hitting a wall within, at high speed.

No more flames come jetting out. Ben may be spared ever having to live 
with the fact that he killed his entire family.

You're the only one left to bear the guilt of what happened today.

You and the authorities. Rather than looking grateful that you just saved 
them from incineration, they stare at you in fear and shock.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Ignoring the law enforcement officials Kevin just sits down where he is, 
puts his hands over his face, and begins to cry.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Men are moving all around you, but no one comes too near, and you're 
left alone in your misery, for how long you're not sure. Long enough to 
replay everything that happened, and try to figure out if you could have 
done something differently.

A sudden breeze finally attracts your attention. Glancing up, you see a 
young woman, with a plain, rather pudgy face and black hair tied in a 
braid, hovering in the air, wind making her jeans and windbreaker flap 
around her. She's a bit overweight, which makes her floating presence 
appear even more unlikely, arms outspread and simply hanging there in 
midair as if lying on a cushion of air.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Kevin gets to his feet and looks around, and then looks up at the 
woman and waves.

   "Planning on coming down?" he shouts [because I'm assuming she's 
too high for a casual chat].

<><><><><>

[GM]

The chubby woman blinks, and descends, landing a few feet from you. 
"Who are you?" she asks, with a slight Midwestern drawl. One of the 
agents who is (supposedly) in charge approaches and says "I'm afraid 
you're too late, Ms.Brown."

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   "My name is Kevin, Kevin Spencer, and I guess I'm the one who ended 
up... dealing with the problem we had here," Kevin says quietly, stepping 
forward and holding out his hand.

   Then he looks over at the agent.

   "So what now?"

<><><><><>

[GM]

"I'm, uh, Jessica Brown." She shakes your hand hesitantly. "I've been 
calling myself 'Windwalker' but I guess that sounds pretty stupid, huh?" 
She looks down at the ground, embarrassed.

The federal agent clears his throat. "Well, it seems the....threat, has 
been, uh, removed. Ms. Brown, can your wind powers help suppress 
these fires?"

Jessica looks around. "Yeah, I think so. Uh, what was the threat 
anyways, they didn't tell me very much on the phone, just said they 
needed my help really bad, some metahuman running amok. Did you 
capture him already?"

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Kevin resists the tempation to groan at Jessica's mention of her 
superhero name.  No wonder everyone expects metahumans to either 
be superheros or supervillians rather than just people.

   Of course Jessica quickly derails that train of thought when she asks 
about what happened.

   "There was a little boy who could start fires, and he was too young to 
control his powers so we... I... I didn't want to but I had to.  The injection 
didn't work and then Ben started to... and I had to stop him," Kevin says, 
his voice thick with emotion.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Jessica's face scrunches up. "What do you mean, you stopped him? 
Stopped him how?"

"Ms. Brown, the fire, please?" the agent says urgently.

Jessica looks at him and back at you, eyes flashing with suspicion. "Just 
what happened?" she demands. "You didn't hurt a little boy, did you?"

She lifts off with a gust of wind that sends her hair whipping around her 
face. You can't get over how comical the image is, this large woman 
wafting into the air like a great big balloon, but nothing else seems funny 
about the situation. She flies a little closer to your house, and gestures 
like a stage magician. Wind roars and the flames suddenly shoot 
straight up as she generates an upward funnel that begins sucking air 
from the blaze....along with an awful lot of your less weighty household 
possessions (those that haven't already been burned.) The flames 
flicker and dissipate in moments, and she begins focusing on other 
nearby fires. With a glance back at you now and then.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Dr. Spencer doesn't reply to Jessica's questions, and is relieved when 
she flies off to deal with the fire.

   Kevin looks at the fed.  "So," he says bitterly, "does the govenment 
have any openings for a homeless physician who just killed a small 
boy?"  He looks around at what remains of his neighborhood.  "I doubt 
the parents of my other patients will be very understanding about what 
happened here... not that they should be."

<><><><><>

[GM]

"You did what you had to do," the agent says, trying to sound 
sympathetic. "Listen, your powers just manifested less than an hour ago. 
We have experts who can help you figure out just what you can do, and 
how to control it. Maybe you'll learn a way to use your powers non-
lethally. I'm sure there are all kinds of ways you can help people."

The implication that maybe you *could* have stopped Ben without killing 
him, if only you knew what you were doing, does not sound very 
comforting.

Jessica, aka "Windwalker", continues extinguishing fires by drawing air 
away from them. She, at least, seems to have achieved some control 
over her powers.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   It would be easy to blame the feds for Ben's death, both because they 
had pushed Kevin to use his powers even though they knew he probably 
couldn't control them yet, and because they were so scared of the 
metahumans they were supposed to be dealing with that one of them 
had shot him.

   From what Kevin had seen of her powers so far Jessica probably 
could have dealt with Ben, at least in the short term, without killing him.  
If the Feds had just been content to wait.

   Unfortunately Kevin knows that he was the one who actually lashed 
out and killed the boy.  Not that Ben could have had much of a life 
anyway... the best he could have expected would have been to be 
drugged somehow and locked in a cell in some secret Federal facility.  
Still, Ben was only a little boy and...

   Enough.  Self-pity wasn't going to solve anything.  The agent was 
right, Kevin needed to learn how to use his powers so that maybe he 
could save the next Ben... and the Feds were the only ones who seemed 
to know anything about metahumans.

   "You're right," Kevin says to the agent, "I need to learn how to control 
this power of mine.  If metahumans keep appearing a few of them are 
bound to be children, and maybe if I know what I'm doing the outcome 
will be better next time."

   "So when do we leave?"

<><><><><>

[GM]

"Well, there is one slight problem....our facility where we do metahuman 
testing and evaluation is, umm, temporarily shut down. But, we have a 
new office opening in New York, where some of our personnel are 
already assigned. If you want to go there immediately, we'll book hotel 
reservations and have a couple of our metahuman researchers there to 
meet you tonight."

Jessica lands next to you again. "Metahuman researchers meeting you 
where? And you never answered my question; where's the metahuman 
child?"

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Dr. Spencer turns to look at Jessica.

   "They'll be meeting me in New York, tonight.  And the boy... Ben is 
lying dead in what remains of my house," Kevin explains, his voice 
getting louder and louder.  "I had to stop him and I didn't have the time 
or the control be gentle!  So now he's dead!  Maybe if you had gotten 
here a little sooner he wouldn't be, but I had to stop him from killing 
everyone!"

   "Is that what you wanted to know!?" he shouts at the woman.

<><><><><>

[GM]

Jessica turns pale, then begins to flush. "If *I* had gotten here sooner?" 
she exclaims. "You just killed a child and you're saying it's MY fault!?" 
Wind whips around the two of you, increasing in intensity. "What kind of 
a creep are you?"

"Ms. Brown, he didn't have a choice!" the federal agent beside you 
interjects. "The boy was an uncontrollable pyrokinetic, he was setting 
everything and everyone in sight on fire. We tried to calm him down but 
it was too late! Dr. Spencer had to stop him before he razed this entire 
neighborhood!"

"HOW did you try to calm him down?" Jessica demands. She gestures 
around you. "With an army of policemen and helicopters buzzing 
overhead?"

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   "Ms. Brown, maybe you should just shut up until you actually know 
what happened here," Kevin says angrily.  "Ben *killed* several children 
at his school today... and the authorities did what they did in an attempt 
to keep him from killing anyone else.  I was with Ben and his mother 
before the cops arrived, but his mother was so hysterical and paranoid 
that when the police showed up it was impossible to keep Ben calm.  I 
was in the house when the police captain called and Ben blew up the 
phone.  I ran, and he blew out the front window of the house.  He then 
blew up the police helicoptor, *killing* the crew.  A sniper fired and Ben 
*killed* him, and then proceeded to start *killing* everyone he could... 
killing men who were just trying to save the community they had been 
hired to protect.  He also *killed* his mother in the process."

   "I discovered my power and was able to knock Ben out, and when he 
woke up we were able calm him down with the help of his father and 
brother. I tried to give him a sedative, but the syringe vaporized when I 
tried to inject him," he continues, holding up his bandaged hand.  "The 
fire inside him meant we couldn't tranquilize him."

   "While we were waiting for you one of the Feds decided that *I* was 
dangerous and tried to shoot me with a dart gun.  My powers lashed out, 
and scared Ben enough so that he *incinerated* his father and brother 
and his fire was racing toward the rest of us.  I didn't *want* to kill Ben, I 
didn't even want to hurt Ben, but I couldn't let him kill everyone."

   "I really couldn't care less what you think of me... *I'm* the one who 
has to live with what I did.  It's easy for you to show up now that 
everything is over and second guess what we did.  If you can't stand to 
be around me then... then... make like the wind and blow."

   He looks at the Fed.  "When can we leave for New York.  I don't want 
to stay here any longer than I have to."

<><><><><>

[GM]

Jessica stammers. "You...you....you can just go to Hell!" She lifts off, and 
with a roar of wind that almost knocks you over, sails into the sky.

The fed shakes his head. "Damn."

"We'll have to try to get in touch with her later. You're right, she didn't 
know what happened before, all she saw was that a child had died. I 
think we should go now, before the media feeding frenzy arrives."

He looks at your driveway, where, despite the destruction of your house, 
your car appears to still be intact. "Do you want to take your own car to 
the airport, or would you like a lift?"

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Dr. Spencer watches as Jessica flies off, then answers the fed's 
question.

   "I think a ride would probably be the best idea... certainly better than 
leaving my car in airport parking for an indefinite period of time," he 
says. "Since my house has been destroyed I don't think I'll bother trying 
to pack, so I guess I'm ready to go."

<><><><><>

[GM]

The agents take you by car to the airport, briefing you somewhat along 
the way.

You finally learn that your recruiter is Special Agent Jack Stevenson. He 
explains that their agency is right now a sort of amalgam of the 
Department of Defense and Department of Justice, officially operating 
under the aegis of the Justice Department (which gives them the 
authority to act within the United States), but with a lot of personnel and 
equipment provided by the DoD.

"So far, what we've mostly done is tried to neutralize hostile 
metahumans, and recruit those who are willing to use their powers to 
protect people. We don't have an official charter yet, and frankly, we 
don't even have technical authority to do a lot of what we do. The 
alternative is to do nothing while people like Terrarizer ravage the 
country. So we have scientists working around the clock developing 
weapons that might stop metahumans who are bulletproof, or who can 
walk through walls, and we extensively test any cooperative 
metahumans we can get on our side. So far it hasn't been too 
successful; metahuman criminals still pretty much wreak death and 
destruction at will, and the only time they're stopped is when another 
metahuman arrives on the scene to counter them. An organized assault 
by a group of metahumans is something we're very afraid of; it's not 
inconceivable that a sufficiently powerful meta could wipe out a city, and 
if someone comes to Washington looking to bring the U.S. government 
to its knees,....well, you see why we're so desperate for help from people 
like you."

"That child was unfortunately not the first time we've encountered very 
young metahumans who weren't able to control their powers. There was 
a girl in Texas with tremendously powerful telekinetic abilities. She just 
about flattened a medical research center, and also killed her mother in 
the process. We might have been able to subdue her, but another 
metahuman got to her first."

"There is also at least one child actively using her powers on her own 
initiative; she calls herself 'Falling Star', and she's active in Chicago. Our 
agents have tried to track her down, but she apparently lives in the 
Chicago projects, and she's done a good job of keeping her identity a 
secret. She can turn into ball lightning or something of the sort; she 
becomes bulletproof, and she disrupts electronic activity near her."

"There was also a boy in Illinois who could mind-control people. We 
don't know his whereabouts."

"We had a facility in Virginia where we were bringing captured 
metahumans, and where a lot of our volunteers were staying, while 
being tested for metahuman abilities. But....someone attacked it. 
Someone with a bunch of metahumans all working together. The place 
was leveled, and a lot of people died. We think it's part of a conspiracy, 
and we're warning *all* metahumans that we have reason to believe that 
someone is out there, hunting you down, either to recruit you or 
eliminate you. And the recruiting may not be voluntary; the person 
behind this *might* be a telapathic mind controller."

He smiles grimly. "So, you still want to join us?"

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Kevin listens carefully as the agent explains some of the details of the 
Federal operation and of the current metahuman situation.

   He pays special attention to the part about the facility in Virginia being 
attacked... and the fact that there might be some sort of evil conspiracy 
that is trying to kill or recruit metahumans.

   "So now that I'm stuck... now that the life I had built has been pretty 
much destroyed... you're telling me that in addition to all my other 
problems there is some sort of group out there that's hunting down 
people like me.  It also sounds like you're telling me that if this group 
wants to get me you're not going to be able to stop them, if what 
happened to that facility in Virginia is any indicative of what they can 
do."

   "That being the case, maybe I am having a few second thoughts about 
signing on with you guys.  It sounds like if I join you I'm just waving a big 
sign that says `I'm a metahuman, come and get me!'  Maybe I'd be better 
off going into hiding or something.  I mean... since they find out about 
your place in Virginia won't they just find out about wherever you take 
me?"

<><><><><>

[GM]

Stevenson says "Maybe they will be able to find us no matter where we 
set up, yes."

"But, they also seem to have been able to find metahumans who 
*weren't* affiliated with us. There have been quite a few abductions and 
murders of lone metahumans the past few months. Do you think you'll be 
safer by yourself?"

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Kevin shrugs.  "Maybe... how many of those metahumans they've 
gotten to have actually been trying to hide?  They may have been trying 
to hide the fact that they were metahumans, but they probably didn't 
know that some big shadowy organization might be looking for them."

   Despite this rather good point, Dr. Spencer realizes that he doesn't 
know how to go about hiding himself for any length of time.  So he's 
probably better off letting the Feds try to hide him.

   Plus they might be able to help him control this newfound power of his.

   "It sounds like it's a bad deal either way, but I guess I might be a better 
off with you guys.  If you've got any other discouraging news why don't 
you just keep it to yourself for a while... I'm really not in any condition to 
hear it today."

<><><><><>

[GM]

"Fair enough," Agent Stevenson says. The rest of the trip is in silence, 
and you get more time to think, or try not to think, on the government 
charter jet that carries you and some other untalkative government 
employees up to New York.

A government car picks you up at the reserved strip on the outskirts of 
La Guardia. This vehicle whisks you and Stevenson to a nondescript 
government building deeper in the city.

You meet a new man; Agent Mabe. He looks cool, efficient, and 
dangerous. Also tired. He shakes hands with you, and you notice solid 
muscles underneath his black sweatshirt, unlike the dark suits the other 
agents wear.

"Dr. Spencer. Good to have you with us, despite the traumatic 
conditions. Unfortunately, many metahumans turn to us after events not 
much more pleasant than what you went through. I just flew in from 
Chicago, had to leave the investigation there in the hands of a couple of 
field agents and the FBI. Something is brewing right here in the Big 
Apple. So, sorry to shake hands and run, but I have another massacre to 
go attend to. They'll set you up here-" he waves a hand at the other 
admin types approaching, "and hopefully we'll get a chance to talk later."

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   The long silent trip does give Kevin time to think... too much time.  
Time to replay things over and over in his mind.  Luckily he's exhausted 
from the day's ordeal and manages to catch a few minutes of sleep on 
the plane in spite of the images replaying themselves in his mind.

   Upon his arrival at his new workplace, Kevin is glad to see that not 
everyone he will be working with is the classic Fed.  Maybe this won't 
turn out to be as bad as he expected.  "Sure thing Agent Mabes... maybe 
you'll even be able to fill me in on what's going on here in the city, since 
I assume I'll end up involved in it sooner or later."

<><><><><>

[GM]

Mabe pauses. "Well, no offense but you don't look like you're in shape 
to do much right now, and after your recent, um, incident, I wouldn't think 
going into action right away is advisable."

"But, in a nutshell, what's happening is we have a couple of 
metahumans engaged in some kind of running battle through the streets, 
and killing a whole lot of people in the crossfire. And incidentally 
involving the Mafia as well. Right now they seem to be pinned down in 
the subway tunnels, beneath Queens."

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Dr. Spencer sighs.

   "I wasn't suggesting that I wanted to come along with you Agent 
Mabes, I was just asking to be filled in later... when you get back from 
dealing with your crisis."

   "I'm sure the others will keep me amused here until then."

<><><><><>

[GM]

Mabe leaves, and you are taken to a nice hotel in the city.

Jack Stevenson gives you a small walkie-talkie, a beeper number, and 
points out where there will be Special Agents stationed in and around 
the hotel. They seem to have taken up position in this place rather 
conveniently, as if the hotel is not unaccustomed to playing host to 
shady visitors with a need for personal bodyguards.

"I can answer any questions you'd like," he says. "Or I can let you get 
some sleep and answer questions in the morning. At that point, we can 
discuss your options for the immediate future also."

<><><><><>

Kevin:

  "Since the only questions I have are about what we're going to be 
doing tomorrow we can wait and discuss that in the morning," Kevin 
says, then pauses.  "Oh, I am going to need some clothes... what I'm 
wearing is all I have."

   Of course Dr. Spencer also has plenty of questions about being a 
metahuman, but since Agent Stevenson hasn't demonstrated any deep 
understanding of metahumans so far Kevin figures he's better off waiting 
until he can talk to someone who's better informed.

<><><><><>

[GM]

The maids have brought you some more clothes the next morning; 
apparently, Stevenson managed to send someone to procure something 
in your size. Casual slacks and a long-sleeved shirt, it'll do.

You get breakfast on the government's tab, while Stevenson introduces 
you to Doctor MacInnery, a short, rotund man with a single wisp of black 
hair curling from the top of an otherwise bald head. He is constantly 
readjusting his glasses.

"Our routine until now," MacInnery tells you, "has been to take newly 
manifested metahumans to our facility in Virginia. But that facility was 
just destroyed in an attack orchestrated by someone who seems to have 
a number of metahumans working for him. Much of our research was 
completely destroyed. We have no comparable installation immediately 
available to us, though we're in the process of getting an expedited 
authorization from the Executive Branch to take over a few facilities 
belonging to other agencies, and possibly a military hospital."

"Our research so far has not isolated the cause of metahuman powers. 
We know that metahumans are most often manifesting under traumatic 
conditions, and often they have little control over their powers initially. 
There are certain powers that seem to be relatively common, that is, 
they are manifesting in many of the metahumans we've examined. The 
ability to sense other metahumans, enhanced healing abilities, superior 
strength and speed...those are probably the most common. Nearly every 
metahuman has been physically enhanced in some way. Your power, 
from what I've heard, is apparently the ability to project kinetic 
shockwaves? I'm afraid right now, our best bet for testing it would be to 
take you somewhere out in middle of nowhere, where you can blast 
away without damaging anything. A little practice and maybe you can 
direct it more effectively."

"We have a lot of data collected from all our metahuman volunteers, and 
some of those we captured. Complete physical examinations, lab 
workups, and a lot of other testing to categorize and quantify 
metahuman powers, most of it purely estimatory. We didn't lose ALL our 
data, fortunately. Since you are a doctor yourself, perhaps you might like 
to take a look at it?"

"Now, I can arrange to have you taken to one of our secondary research 
sites where we are hastily assembling new research teams and 
equipment. Speaking on behalf of the scientific arm of this agency, I 
would like that very much, especially since you could actually participate 
in the research, besides being a subject. However, Agent Stevensen 
insists I also mention that there are a lot of metahuman incidents the 
field agents are still trying to cope with."

Stevenson nods. "If what you want to do is meet other metahumans, and 
help us save the lives of some of them, who are being hunted by the 
same maniacs that wiped out our headquarters, that's where *I* could 
use your help. You spoke to Mabe last night about what was going down 
in Brooklyn. Well, what went down is that the bad guys got away, after 
killing a bunch of people, including some innocent bystanders. But we 
have one of the metahumans in a hospital right now. I know Mabe is 
planning to talk to him this morning. Would you be interested in coming 
along?"

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   "Agent Stevenson, what good could I possibly do you the way I am 
now?" Kevin asks.  "I haven't had time to learn how to control this power 
of mine, and in a crowded city like this I'd probably end up hurting or 
killing lots of innocent people if I tried to use them."

   He takes a sip of his coffee.

   "I think I'd be better off working with Doctor MacInnery, at least for 
now.  I doubt I'm going to be able to find any answers that he and his 
collegues haven't found already, but I'll be able to do something to help 
while at the same time getting some control over my powers."

<><><><><>

[GM]

"Well," Dr. McInnery says. "As you already saw, tragically, children with 
metahuman powers are the most likely to cause mass destruction 
without being able to control what they're doing. A girl with psychokinetic 
powers destroyed a medical center in Texas. Maybe once we have a 
better idea how metahumans control their powers, with your background 
you might want to focus on teaching children to control their powers."

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Kevin nods in agreement.

   "That sounds like just the thing for me... I'm better at dealing with 
children than I am at pure research.  Since I'll be working on controlling 
my own powers I'll have more insight into the problems that arise than a 
non-metahuman would."

<><><><><>

[GM]

Doctor MacInnery takes you to a laboratory that seems connected to 
NYU by some shadowy link that most everyone there is doubtlessly 
unaware of. You spend the rest of the day being shown what data 
they've been able to 'port over from whatever facility contained their 
earlier research, the one which apparently suffered a catastrophe like 
the one you just survived.

You're impressed and appalled by what they've learned, and what they 
haven't. The powers they have already documented include much of 
what you remember from the comic books of your youth....metahumans 
with superhuman strength, speed, invulnerability, the power to transform 
matter, manipulate energy, generate power with no visible source, 
perceive in wavelengths inaccessible to humans or even most machines, 
teleport, read minds, control minds.... somehow, reading about it in real 
life is not at all the same as reading about four-color comic book 
characters doing the same thing. *Real* people who can throw cars, or 
read your mind and pry out your deepest secrets, or turn invisible, or 
ignite fires with a glance, are not exciting and heroic. They're scary. Like 
you.

And alas, for all that they have tried to correlate every fact they could 
gather, collecting blood, tissue, urine, sperm, hair follicles, retinal scans, 
everything they possibly can, from their metahuman subjects, they have 
yet to find a common link, anything indicating a cause of metahumanity. 
Clearly, they desperately *want* to find a genetic component, but have 
been unsuccessful.

At about noon, the scientists drop their equipment and computer 
analyses and turn on the TV, following an urgent phone call. You watch, 
horrified with the rest, as news broadcasters in Las Vegas show the 
scene of another metahuman-instigated bloodbath.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   After a discouraging morning of seeing how much effort the 
government has put into metahuman research with little to show for it, 
the last thing Kevin needs to see is a reminder of the urgent need for 
progress.

   "All those people dead," he says to no one in particular.  "And every 
time more people are killed by metahumans the fear and hatred will 
grow. How much more are people going to take... "

   He shakes his head, coming to an unsettling realization.  If the general 
public demands that the government take action to control metahumans 
how long will it be before what is learned in this lab is used against 
metahumans?

<><><><><>

[GM]

Your research continues to be interesting but unproductive. You come 
across a rather frightening report of a metahuman who was literally 
imbedded in asphalt during a metahuman battle. Cell samples were 
taken afterwards, and the cells taken from the corpse were found to be 
*still* alive. You cannot trace the study to its conclusion; where exactly 
did that body go?

However, there is some excitement at the lab two days later as a very 
large refrigeration unit is brought in under extremely heavy guard, 
complete with armed agent dressed in black kevlar and carrying nasty 
assault weapons. One of the doctors tell you that this is the creature that 
caused all that mayhem in Las Vegas....still alive, and being kept frozen 
solid...which apparently has not killed it, any more than did fire, 
electricity, 1200 decibels or 3000 rounds of ammunition.

"Should be interesting," a lab tech says.

<><><><><>

Kevin:

   Day after day of research hasn't made the subject matter any easier to 
believe, and if he's having trouble accepting it then Kevin wonders how 
his non-metahuman colleagues are coping.

   Then the refrigeration unit arrives.

   "Interesting!?" Kevin says, looking the technician in disbelief.  "Why is 
it here in New York?  Surely there's got to be a research center out in 
the middle of the desert somewhere where we could study it.  What if 
something goes wrong with the refrigerator?"

<><><><><>

[GM]

The tech looks at you. "It CAME from the middle of the desert. Look, we 
have failsafes in the unit, and even if it does break down, the thing is still 
for all *practical* purposes dead, and we can make sure it stays that 
way. It will be moved to a more remote facility as soon as we have one 
set up."

<><><><><>


   Having seen pictures of the destruction in Las Vegas Kevin isn't sure 
he trusts whatever failsafes are built in to the container, but he is sure 
that the government isn't going to care what some pediatrician thinks on 
the subject.  So the monster is probably going to be here for a while.

   "While we have it here what are we going to be doing with it?" he asks 
one of his fellow researchers.  "The usual battery of genetic testing?"