A/N: This is my entry for the BH6 Big Bang, and the first in a series of three stories I've planned. Enjoy!
Title: Alter Pulse
Prologue: Patient 0
Author: Kenkaya
Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama/Sci-fi
Type: Post-movie continuation, Superpowers AU
Rating: Teen, PG-13
Pairing(s): Gogo/Honey Lemon
Summary: The team has barely put Callahan behind bars when a new mystery strikes San Fransokyo. Random civilians begin developing superpowers, and the government seems involved in a bad way. But when certain members of Big Hero 6 start showing signs of power as well, it becomes personal.
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Red light splashed across the blocky white pillars guarding San Fransokyo General's ER entrance: bold color flashing in rhythm to the ear-drilling screech of ambulance sirens. Shen paused outside for a moment to watch the frenetic display. He pulled the collar of his grey trenchcoat high against the persistent damp night chill as paramedics ran a loaded gurney past wide glass doors, wheels clattering harshly each time one moved from cement driveway to smooth linoleum flooring. A second ambulance pulled into the circular driveway to join the first and Shen exhaled. He scratched absently at the two-day stubble on his chin before gesturing towards the pair of goons standing just behind him. They had a job to do.
Shen's years of experience shone through in the way he walked casual-yet-brisk across the parking lot, dress-shoe heels clacking with clipped precision as he stepped through the hissing automatic door. Ink black eyes scanned the hectic lobby until they landed on a familiar face: a middle-aged man in blue scrubs, with salt-pepper hair and dark circles permanently etched along the concave curve of his eye sockets. Shen shuffled over to stand beside the overworked medical assistant, fishing a laminated I.D. badge out of his coat pocket and revealing the tail-end of of a green-scaled dragon tattoo when the motion pulled his wrist cuff up. The other man gave a jerky nod as he leaned over to examine the document.
"Here for Dr. Vasquez again?"
"He's expecting me," Shen answered gruffly, truly a man of little patience. "You know the drill, Gus."
"Yeah, yeah," Gus grumbled. "Never know exactly what they send you here for, agent, but I do know that you don't need me to give you directions by now."
"No, I don't," the agent snapped, snatching his badge out of the other man's proffered hand with more force than necessary.
"I need to check theirs, as well," blue-grey eyes flicked up to critically take in the twin muscle standing on either side of Shen. "For security purposes."
"Of course."
Both men handed over their I.D.s, while Gus smiled blithely. He took his sweet time examining them, tilting each card several times, at different angles, before he was satisfied. Shen could only gnash his teeth at the passive-aggressive act.
"Alright, you're good to go."
"Thanks for the waste of time," Shen threw over his shoulder, already halfway to the heavy double doors before Gus even finished his statement. "Prick," he whispered as a distinct buzz sounded alongside the click of a lock disengaging.
Awash with cold fluorescent light, the bright corridor on the other side was busy, but not unusually so. Doctors and nurses walked past them, clipboards in hand, not once pausing or regarding the clearly non-medical personnel with any amount of suspicion. Shen was a familiar enough sight by now. He strode forward purposely- turning left, passing three turns, then right- as his two guards trailed behind.
"Agent Shen," a tall doctor, wearing green scrubs under his pristine white coat, suddenly approached the trio. "I'm glad you could make it on such short notice."
"What have you got for me Vasquez?" said agent responded, straight to business. "It sounded urgent on the phone. I thought we already had our check-in for the week."
"This is… unrelated to the project," Dr. Vasquez admitted sheepishly, twisting the gold wedding band on his left index finger nervously as he spoke. "I just needed to get you out here quick since we don't have the proper facilities to... contain him."
"Him?" Shen asked, mouth twisted wide in annoyance at the false alarm. "We'll have a long talk about how you lied to get me out here after hours later… but who is this 'him?' And what do you mean by proper facilities?"
"Well, you see," Dr. Vasquez began as he ushered them inside a nearby elevator- holding his chipped name badge against a scanner just below the panel before pressing the basement level button. "Several patients came in from the showcase fire last night… most were minor injuries- concussions, skin abrasions, smoke inhalation, and the like. But, there was a young man with severe third and second degree burns over a good portion of his back and upper torso, the left side of his face is a lost cause for the most part, left leg (along with the connected hip) crushed… between late teens and early twenties, unconscious, unidentified. We rushed him into surgery… got him stabilized (had to amputate his left foot just above the ankle, unfortunately), but afterwards… well," he handed a yellow manilla folder to Shen. "I think your department will have... an invested interest in this."
Shen flipped the folder open, grumbling all the while. His irritable mood didn't last. Color drained steadily from the agent's face as dark eyes scanned further down the page. When the elevator 'dinged' overhead to signal their arrival, he was far too absorbed in the material to notice until a guard tapped his shoulder- twice.
"You... said he was unidentified, right?" Shen whispered, glancing up from the chart on the last page. "A John Doe?"
"Yes," Dr. Vasquez confirmed. He led them down another bright fluorescent-lit hallway, this one far more deserted than the upstairs facilities. "I take it the trip down turned out to be worth your while?"
"If this data means what I think you're implying? Yes… definitely yes."
They paused in front of a chrome steel door, a single soot-stained two-by-two window at eye-level. The grey, cloudy plexiglass offered little in the way of visibility inside the room.
"This is where you're keeping him?" Shen felt a shiver (completely unrelated to temperature) shudder through him as goosebumps raced up his arms.
"Yes… unfortunately we… had to forego a bed for the time being… in his current state flammables are… not a good idea. We have him sedated, but until more tests can be run we have no way of knowing how long he'll be safe."
"I see," Shen nodded, internal excitement growing with each word the doctor spoke. "He's been erased from the hospital databases by now, I take it?"
"Of course," Dr. Vasquez said, the affront clear in his tone. "The surgeons will remember, but Lobdell and Seagle are on my team down here as well. The others will probably forget soon enough… with our usual workload, any memory of this one will blend in among the numerous burn victims we see day to day. Our patient was already out of surgery when the first signs of... abnormalities surfaced, so we were able to isolate him down here quickly without drawing attention."
"Good."
"I take it you want to take a look for yourself?" the doctor spoke with a hesitant smile. "You'll have to remove your coat, of course, and any firearms. We have flame retardant hazmats for your protection as well."
"Yeah," Shen grinned, rubbing an anxious hand down the back of his skull. The blunt ends of his buzz-cut tickled through the thick callouses on his fingers. "That sounds like a plan."