Rise of the Fallen: Ascensionis

Rikki Hillman is sound asleep in one the nearby motels. She never realized just how exhausted her body really is. It’s typical for her to stay awake two days in a row running solely on coffee and energy drinks. Not particularly a healthy lifestyle but she inadvertently becomes so consumed with her work that it happens from time to time. Her cell phone suddenly rings and she mumbles incoherently while blindly trying to grab a hold of it. After fumbling for a minute, she places the phone next to her ear and says with a raspy voice, “Agent Hillman.”

After listening to the agitated voice of her superior, she quickly sits up and alertly says, “I’m sorry, sir. I overslept. I’ll be right there.”

Rikki swiftly removes the covers and hops out of bed. They’re about to remove Adam’s bandages from his face and he’s going to need a lot of emotional support in order to cope with his drastic transformation.

An hour later, Rikki arrives at the doorway of Adam’s room and her jaw drops open at how radically his facial appearance has changed. They even operated on his eyes making his eyeglasses useless now. Gone are the looks of a bashful nerd. Now, he has looks that would melt any girl’s heart. A veritable Adonis. Although, it is rather noticeable that he has still not fully recuperated. She stands beside him and warmly says, “Hey, Adam. Lookin’ mighty cute, there.”

He grins slightly and replies drowsily, “Thanks. The narcotics are making me feel cute inside.”

“I bet. Good news. This time tomorrow, you’ll be living at my place.”

“Really? I thought you said it wasn’t possible.”

Rikki places her hand on his head and tells him, “It’s not a one hundred percent done deal yet.”

“Is Melanie still here?”

After a brief pause, she explains, “No. She left a few hours ago.”

Adam turns her head to look away from her and remains silent. She has no idea what to say that can even remotely comfort him. This is the reason why she feels so uncomfortable around kids. These exact moments when you need to walk on eggshells. Just as she turns around to walk away, Adam grabs hold of her wrist. This makes her look at him in a concerned manner. He grins again and says in a low tone, “Thank you, Agent Hillman.”

Rikki blushes at what he just told her and she smiles as she replies, “You’re welcome, Adam. Oh, and I think it’s okay for you to skip the formalities. Call me Rikki. Now...get some rest. Tomorrow’s gonna be a big day for us.”

Adam nods, releases his grip and lowers his head onto the pillow. Rikki walks out of the hospital room and takes a few steps before stopping to rest her back against the wall. She folds her arms and begins pondering how much her life may change soon. She whispers, “What the fuck am I doing?”

Several light-years away from Earth, Indrid awakens to find herself inside of her ship. Her plan of beaming herself aboard and using the singularity device to create a small black hole worked. But not without suffering some damage to both her body and space craft. She soon realizes that most of her clothing has been ripped off of her heavily bruised, half-naked body. She attempts to raise herself up to a sitting position which results in an intense pain in her chest as well as the coughing up of blood. Her injuries are more severe than she realized. She may, indeed, have several fractured ribs and her right leg feels like it’s on fire. Her healing process is faster when compared to that of a human’s, but this may require at least four or five hours. She asks the ship’s A.I., “X-301. What is your status?”

The ship does not respond. Indrid will need to perform repairs as soon as she has completely healed. Was this all somehow planned in order to keep her away from Ludwig and the others? If this is the case, she must force herself to at least reestablish communication with the ship. After that, it will repair itself and head back to Earth. There is no telling how time works here. If an hour here is a day over there. Indrid screams in agony as she turns her body over and proceeds to crawl toward the cockpit. She says while gritting her teeth, “Damn it.”

Back on Earth, Barbara finishes her final sweep of the entire area. Unfortunately, she finds no trace at all of Indrid. While approaching the entrance of Area 51, she sees Dr. Frankenstein patiently waiting for her. This must be tearing him apart right now. After all, they pretty much grew up together and formed a special bond similar to that of brother and sister. Barbara stands in front of him and says dourly, “I’m sorry, doctor. I just can’t find her.”

He looks up at the sky and replies, “It’s fine. She’s alive somewhere, Barbara.”

Deciding on not diminishing his hopes, she asks, “Did any civilians get hurt or killed?”

“There was an airliner full of passengers heading towards McCarran International airport. It got obliterated.”

Barbara covers her mouth with her hand and shakes her head in disbelief. With tears in her eyes, she mutters, “Shit. What now?”

“Major General Avery is undoubtedly at the American Institutes for Research with his team preparing a cover story for this tragedy.”

“A cover-up? Really?”

“Yes and the masses will believe every single word.”

Barbara watches Dr. Frankenstein turn around and begin to slowly walk. After a minute of thinking about what was just said to her, she walks until she is beside him and asks, “They’re willing to risk innocent lives just to kill us?”

“I do not believe that their intention was to kill us. No. Something else is happening here.”

Barbara does not respond and continues walking beside him. She will need to conduct the interrogation of Frank Garrison on her own now. He has to know more about what’s going on. She just hopes that after what has happened, he’ll be more forthcoming.

As they both step inside, Barbara feels something collide with her legs followed by what seems like tiny arms applying pressure around them. She glances down to find a yellow haired, happy Phoebe looking up while shouting, “Barbara! You’re okay!”

She can’t help but grin at Phoebe’s enthusiasm and gently pats her head. The fatal accident she suffered has made her sterile making it impossible now to have children of her own. For a brief moment, however, she feels like a mother. Suddenly, she receives an incoming call and her cybernetic eye provides her with the caller ID. Barbara touches her ear-bud and asks, “Haruka?”

“Yeah. He’s ready to talk.”

“That was fast.”

“He’s a wounded puppy, now. He only wants to talk to you, though. He’s so stubborn about it.”

“Shit. It’s a long story but Indrid’s missing. It’ll take me a while to get there.”

“I understand. I’ll see you when you get here, then.”

Barbara disconnects the call and looks up at both Dr. Frankenstein and Henry. She says, “I need to find a way to get to Kabuki-cho, doctor. Our prisoner’s ready to talk.”

“Very well. I’ll make the arrangements.”

As the doctor walks away, Henry approaches Barbara and asks, “Mind if I tag along?”

She is surprised by his request and asks, “Don’t you hate flying?”

“Yeah. I’m tired of being cooped up in here, though.”

Barbara feels Phoebe tugging on her jeans and looks down at her. Phoebe asks, “Can I go, too?”

Jerry immediately replies in an irate manner, “No, Phoebe! It’s too dangerous.”

She folds her arms in frustration and her hair color changes to a fiery red. Barbara feels a sense of remorse for her and kneels down. She tells her calmly, “Hey. I promise I’ll take you there at another time. Okay?”

Phoebe’s hair fades to a dark yellow and she replies with a smile, “Okay.”

Meanwhile, Joshua and Alexandria enter the hospital room to find Frank intently watching the television screen. Joshua greets him by saying, “Hey, grandpa. What you watchin’?”

Frank raises the volume and replies, “Hey, Josh. The news is reporting something about a commercial airliner that disappeared here in Nevada.”

Alexandria grabs onto Joshua’s arm and asks, “You think that explosion had anything to do with it?”

Joshua gives her a frightened look as he ponders that horrific possibility and, instead of replying, focuses his attention on the news report. She gets a shiver up her spine and joins everyone by also watching the live broadcast.

“Once again, to everyone that’s just tuning in, we are receiving word that United Airlines Flight 736 has completely disappeared from radar detection in the area of Nevada. It is not known, as of yet, whether or not this is a case of an engine malfunction or a hijacking. We are receiving word from the FAA that they are investigating this unsettling incident at the present moment and has suspended all flights as a precaution.”

Dr. Frankenstein enters Hangar 18 and finds Barbara and Henry speaking with each other. While approaching them, he says, “Due to the FAA issuing a nationwide flight restriction, I’m afraid your flight may be slightly delayed. I have requested an exemption, however, which should only take a few minutes to get approved.”

Barbara turns her head to look at the doctor and nods at him. She says, “I’m thinking about what you said earlier. All of this does seem to have been carefully planned.”

He strokes his goatee and tells her, “And I’m afraid that there isn’t much that we can do except remain one step behind.”

Henry becomes annoyed and asks, “Why can’t we just inform the CIA of what’s going on? Not everyone can be corrupt, right?”

“We have no evidence, Henry. This is how the military-industrial-complex operates. One action leading to another. Many within our government simply do not see the big picture. It’s a small faction who have the power to organize such plans and remain untouchable. I use the Project for the New American Century as an example.”

Barbara is familiar with what the doctor is referring to and adds, “Plausible deniability.”

He is impressed with her response and replies, “Yes, precisely.”

A few minutes later, his cell phone rings and he answers it by asking, “Do we have permission?”

Dr. Frankenstein nods at the helicopter pilot soon afterward confirming the approval. He salutes him and makes his way inside of the aircraft. He looks at his crew and says, “All aboard, people.”

Henry, having familiarized himself with every US aircraft in existence, stares in curiosity at the black, sleek and futuristic looking utility helicopter. It almost resembles the Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk with the difference being the noticeable physical alterations. The doctor disconnects the phone call and tells Henry, “This, my dear boy, is the UH-60N Black Hawk. A truly remarkable accomplishment. Not only does it have low-observable technology to avoid radar detection, it has been also equipped with digital camouflage. Not only that, it uses plasma energy as its main energy source.”

Henry takes a closer look and says, “That explains the replacement of the T700 turboshaft engines.”

Barbara interrupts the conversation by saying, “As much as you two are enjoying this touching moment of male bonding, remember that time isn’t on our side.”

Henry chuckles and replies while stepping inside, “Hey! It’s rare that the doc speaks my language!”

As they both sit down, Dr. Frankenstein shouts, “The maximum speed of this helicopter is 325 kph. Which means it may take thirteen or fourteen hours to arrive at your destination.”

While strapping herself to the seat, Barbara nods and says affirmatively, “Understood, sir.”

Dr. Frankenstein backs away and the pilot closes the door shut. He then hears the humming of the plasma engine and observes the four blades as they gradually spin faster and faster. The ceiling of Hanger 18 detaches itself from the middle and slides open to allow the military helicopter drift upward until it flies off toward the serene evening sky. While the ceiling is closing, Dr. Frankenstein says, “Good luck.”

Indrid is squinting in pain as she uses her tools to repair her ship’s main computer. If she can at least succeed in booting X-301′s operating system, she can command it to use the singularity device to return home. Moving her arms is such an arduous task due to her massive internal injuries. The entire cockpit suddenly lights up and the sound of the system activating makes Indrid close her eyes and sigh with relief. She slowly rests on her back and asks wearily, “X-301? What is your status?”

An unearthly feminine voice replies, “Structural integrity is compromised. Initiating repair procedure.”

“At 95 percent completion, activate the singularity device and set a course for Earth.”

“That is extremely dangerous and not recommended until....”

“Do it anyway.”

“Yes. As you command.”

Indrid closes her eyes tightly and whimpers in agony. It hurts to even breathe. She has never experienced pain to this extent but, in a way, it makes her feel more human than ever. She grins and says weakly, “I feel pain.”

Indrid feels so drowsy that she closes her eyes and it doesn’t take long for her to lose consciousness. It is at this point that she flashes back to living inside of the reinforced bubble when she was a young child. Her chin is resting on her knees as she sits on the floor with her arms wrapped around her legs. She gazes down at one of her favorite books given to her as a gift by her beloved friend. Her only friend in this grim reality.

A loud tap on the plastic shield startles Indrid and she raises her head to find the young son of her caregiver, Dr. Victor Frankenstein. She asks in a very low voice, “Ludwig? Are you not supposed to be in school right now?”

“I’m not feeling well today, Indrid. I can stay home.”

Ludwig walks over to the nearby console and proceeds to type quickly on the keyboard. Indrid gradually rises to her feet and asks out of curiosity, “Wha...What are you doing?”

He places his finger over his lips and grins as the plastic bubble dislodges from the floor. It then slowly rises upward until Indrid finds herself free from her imprisonment. She can’t help but give Ludwig a teary-eyed gaze in response to what he has done for her. She hears his thoughts at this point. “Come with me, Indrid. Let’s get some fresh air.”

“But...your father, Ludwig. We can get in trouble.”

He extends his hand and, while still giving her his warm grin, reassuringly tells her, “My parents are going to be away for several days. It’s really nice outside, Indrid. Let’s go.”

She nods nervously in agreement and walks toward him while extending her pale-skinned hand. They are now holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes. Ludwig then proceeds to walk upstairs to exit the basement with Indrid following very closely trembling with fear. He has always resented his father’s decision of having her forever contained inside of that bubble like a laboratory rodent. She is part human, after all.

They both arrive at the back door of the Frankenstein household and Indrid has already become mesmerized by the sunlight peeking through the thin slit of the curtains. She whispers to herself candidly, “I’ve never seen the sunlight before.”

Ludwig grabs hold of the doorknob and his eyes widen as he almost forgets a very important detail. He turns around to look at Indrid and reaches into his pocket. He then hands her an object which she recognizes and asks him, “Sunglasses?”

“We wouldn’t want to frighten the neighbors with those eyes of yours, right?”

She smiles innocently and immediately puts on the over-sized eye wear. Ludwig can’t help but giggle at this awkward sight. The sunglasses belong to his mother but they will suffice for now. He nods, turns around and opens the door to reveal the lush, green lawn of the backyard. While firmly holding her hand, he assists Indrid as she takes one step outside. The blades of grass tickle her bare foot at first but she soon becomes accustomed to this new sensation. She places her other foot on the ground and profoundly observes the tall, majestic trees ahead. A strong wind blows and the branches sway back and forth. Ludwig whispers into her ear, “Isn’t this beautiful?”

After a moment of silence, Indrid replies in a low voice, “Yes.”

She kneels down, caresses the tips of the grass with her hands and says while a tear rolls down her soft cheek, “Yes, it is. I have seen pictures of a lawn but it doesn’t compare to feeling it with my fingers, Ludwig. And the warmth of the sunlight together with the freshness of the air is so soothing.”

Indrid looks up at him with those large, black sunglasses and says, “Thank you, my brother.”

Suddenly, her flashback becomes interrupted by the unearthly voice of her ship saying loudly, “I repeat! We have arrived at the Solar System, Miss Cold.”

Indrid feels her ribs to find that they have almost completely healed. They are still somewhat sore, however. She sits up and says, “Understood. How much time on Earth has elapsed since our escape?”

“Approximately thirteen hours, thirty-eight minutes and five seconds.”

Indrid Cold wastes no time sitting down on the pilot’s chair and moves both of her hands forward. The controls give off a luminescent glow indicating activation and disappears soon afterward. She angrily looks at Earth and shouts, “I’m on my way, Ludwig.”

The engines of the X-301 glow brightly and the ship flies toward Earth in a matter of seconds. Hopefully, nothing tragic has happened during her absence.