Prologue: Lab Rat
Disclaimer: I own neither the Nolanverse Batman, G.I. Joe, nor the Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego series. The character of Captain Allan Dante, Delta Force, is my creation as are members of his unit. Dr. Lewis Dodgson, Dr. Howard King, and Dr. George Baselton are based heavily on Michael Crichton's characters.
I was inspired by the work A New Chance by NoStoryLeftUntold. I highly recommend you read the story.
The character of Deric Storm was created by a fellow fanfiction author known as No Leaf Clover.
Character Ages: Ivy: 25, Zack: 22, Deric: 25
Summary: Rachel Dawes was seen to die during the film. But what if a scientific experiment brought her back to life elsewhere, on another world, another dimension. Rescued in a raid by Delta Force, she must learn to live on a new world.
24 October - 23:01:45
Rachel Dawes
BioSyn Genetics
Cupertino, California
"Harvey some -"Light, flashing light. Heat, that seared and burned. And then blackness, an abyss...
Floating. That was the next thing Rachel felt. Is this what it feels like, floating towards Heaven?
Rachel's eyes opened wide, finding herself floating in some sort of viscous liquid. Rachel thrashed about in the liquid. Oh God! Oh God! I'm underwater! Drowning!
In that overwhelming panic, of instinctively holding her breath, the impulse to open her mouth and breathe took over. Rachel opened her mouth and didn't take in fluid, but air. Now she could take stock of the situation. Her hand reached up and felt the area around her mouth and nose. A mask of some kind, connected to a hose in the ceiling of this fish tank.
It wasn't quite water, it was almost oily and a bit thicker. And she could see the world through a green tint. Rachel reached her hands out and she felt the glass tube in front of her. She could see three men standing looking at her.
A hawk faced, blonde haired fellow with a hook nose was first to turn. "She's awake." The man said. The voice sounded hollow, ringing because of the liquid. She could scarcely comprehend it.
The second fellow, a tall, clean cut fellow with brown hair replied, "Vital signs are stable."
"Beginning evacuation." A pudgy Englishman replied.
Rachel became aware of the leads of an EKG attached to her body. The cuff of a blood pressure sensor against her arm began to tighten. Blood pressure and heart rate. A more academically detached part of Rachel's mind thought. That thought was in company with another. How did this happen?
Rachel heard a whoosh and a churning beneath her. The liquid began to drain from the plexiglass tube she awakened in. She felt the floating sensation fade and felt her feet making contact with the grated floor of the tube. Once the liquid level moved away from her face she tugged the mask off of it and began to tug off the leads of the EKG and the cuff of the blood pressure sensor.
It was as the fluid moved just past her chest that two things occurred to her. First her legs felt heavy and she could barely lift her arms. Second, she was naked and three men were looking directly at her. Despite her arms feeling heavy she folded her left arm over her breasts and covered her sex with her right hand.
The liquid drained entirely and Rachel felt her legs wobble and almost give way before the glass of the tube rose up, retracting into the ceiling to the sound of motors.
"No need for modesty, Miss Dawes." The hawk faced blonde man said, "We've gotten an eyeful already."
Rachel couldn't help the blush on her face as the pudgy fellow said, "There's a showerhead on the wall with some soap and shampoo. There's also a hospital gown near the towel."
Rachel noted, with some dismay, that there was no privacy curtain. She would have to bath in full view of the three men. With a sigh she walked over to the shower head, turning it on until the water was to her liking. She stepped under it, grabbing a hold of the bar of soap and scrubbing the sticky greenish fluid from her body.
"Artificial amniotic fluid." The Englishman remarked, "It's rather sticky, I warn you. It means you'll want a good wash."
Rachel complied, reddening as she knew the three men were staring at her nude form. Once she was satisfied that all the goop was off her frame she turned off the shower head. Just pretend I'm at home, just walking out of my own shower. Rachel thought. She headed over and grabbed a towel, drying herself off before wrapping it around her body, grateful for the modesty it offered compared to her original nude state. After she dried her hair with a second towel she grabbed the hospital gown and slid it on.
"H-how did...? What have you done to me?" Rachel asked.
"Dr. Lewis Dodgson, BioSyn Corporation. Congratulations on being the first human being to ever be brought back to life thanks to the miracle of cloning." The blonde haired man said.
"What?" Rachel asked.
"Cloning," the taller brown haired fellow said, "And transfer of memories too, a feat in and of itself. How we transferred the memory from your original body to the other...a work of certifiable genius."
"This can't be true." Rachel replied.
"Well, check your abdomen for one. Do you see the scar from when you had your appendix removed at twenty-one?" Dodgson replied.
Rachel's fingers flew under her hospital gown, feeling no scar, definitely confirming exactly what Dodgson had said.
"How did you do this?" Rachel said, "Wh-why..."
"That's classified information I believe." The Englishman spoke, "As to what end, well my dear, you'll find out soon enough."
"I need to call someone first..." Rachel said.
"That's out of the question." Dr. Baselton, the Englishman, replied.
"What?" Rachel replied.
"You realize you're the first person to ever been cloned, been aged to her exact point of death, and had her memories successfully transferred from her original body. There are some tests we need to run..." Dodgson added.
Rachel's heart sank. Tests? They're going to run tests on me like I'm some sort of lab rat...
As if reading her thoughts Dodgson said, "Precisely. We need to know if this procedure works properly. We need to know if you survive a day, several days, the rest of a lifetime."
"You can't just keep me here against my will." Rachel replied.
"Yes we can." Dodgson said, "Need I remind you that we haven't told anyone that you're alive. No one knows you're here and you only live because we brought you back to life. You don't have any rights."
He smirked and said, "Well you've got a place to stay here in the lab."
"Room and board free of charge, right over here." Dodgson continued, indicating a small room with a bed, sink, and a toilet.
Having been an ADA she knew a prison cell when she saw one. As she walked towards the room she felt a burning sensation. She doubled over, feeling like her skin was on fire.
"You'll no doubt feel residual memories of the point of death. That's been the theory anyway." Dr. Howard King, the brown haired, tall fellow said.
She heard Harvey's voice screaming in her head, "No not me! Rachel! Get Rachel!" Then white hot fire. Then blackness...
"Careful, we don't want to get you too stressed. It could well lead to a fatal heart attack." Dodgson said.
"Stressed? Stressed!? You bring me back to life, then you tell me I'm a lab rat for all intents and purposes. How can you possibly tell me to not get too stressed?" Rachel replied.
"Lab rat is a bit crude of a term, but it is sufficient." Dr. Baselton said, "Science experiment is more appropriate."
"And besides we can't let a woman known to be dead be allowed to run freely. That's just insane." Dodgson replied as he pushed Rachel into the cell, closing the door.
"But..." Rachel sputtered.
"I'm afraid we must bid you good night, Miss Dawes, it's rather late." Dodgson said as he, King, and Baselton walked from the room.
Rachel beat her fists against the glass until everything went dark. Knowing she would never see her mother, Harvey, Alfred or Bruce ever again she fell to the mattress, sobbing until falling into a fitful sleep.
Two guards waited outside the cell, to keep an eye on their prize. Their weapons showed that they clearly meant business and their demeanor showed some sort of professionalism.
24 October - 00:01:13
Captain Allan Dante
Delta Force
Cupertino, California
Captain Allan Dante clutched the M14 Enhanced Battle Rifle to him as he glanced out over the California skyline. In the dark, the black painted UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was nearly invisible.
He glanced around to the other Delta operators, all of whom he had served with in the Cobra War, and gave a slight nod. Once more into the breach dear friend, once more into the breach. Shakespeare had it right. Dante thought.
"Thirty seconds out." The helicopter crew chief's voice echoed into the aircraft's PA system.
He could see Major Randall "Randy" Schneider, the assault force commander, tug back the bolt on his M4A1 rifle to check for a round in the chamber.
Dante scanned the roof of the target building through the lens of the telescopic sight mounted on his EBR. He knew the other Delta snipers from his sniper troop were doing the same from not only their helicopters but adjacent buildings.
"Got guards on the roof, boss...engaging." The voice over Dante's radio headset sounded. He knew it was Sergeant First Class Iago Orthel, one of his snipers, sighting in from a target building.
He also knew that the guards in Iago's sights were already dead or dying.
The helicopter flared, and Dante could see the other two helicopters doing the same. Operators jumped from the helicopters onto the roof and Dante could see evidence of Iago's work.
Three BioSyn guards lay, shot through the head or heart by the silenced rifles of Iago and other snipers hidden nearby.
He saw Schneider scanning the teams as two men ran up to the roof accessway. Attaching explosive charges. With a bang the door was blown down and the first assaulters were through.
Allan stood up and ran, following the assault team into the building. He knew additional operators waited on the street in case any of the three high value individuals (HVI) attempted to flee.
Sergeant Major Eddie "Baldy" Carr, a stocky bald man, sprinted over to a door marked laboratory. He attached a pair of explosive charges to the door, wiring them before twisting the blasting machine...
24 October - 00:01:13
Rachel Dawes
BioSyn Genetics
Cupertino, California
The fitful sleep saw dreams of the events before the blast. Of Harvey's agonized screams. Of how her friends were to decide who was going to make it.
Rachel could hear conversation from the two guards still out there. She did all she could to tune them out. One was a brown haired fellow with mutton chops and the other a younger blonde haired fellow. Her assessment of them as professionals had dropped with the comments they were throwing out.
"No, Bart," the man with the mutton chops replied, "I don't think they'll take to kindly with you slipping her a rufie in her drink."
"Aw, come on CJ, all we have to do is..." Bart replied.
"No, it'll be more trouble than a half hour between her thighs are worth." CJ replied, "I'm gonna get a snack from the vending machine, want anything?"
"Yeah, a bag of chips." Bart replied.
CJ walked up to the door only for it to explode, flying like a projectile, striking him with the force of an accelerating automobile.
The all too familiar sound of an explosion propelled Rachel into a fully wakeful state. She could see the brown haired guard fly backwards, struck by a flying door. Gunshots sounded, suppressed because of the thumps. She could see the commandoes in black assault uniforms and kit swarm into the room at the same time Bart's forehead burst open with another gunshot.
One of the commandoes ran up to the door of Rachel's cell, "Stand back, cover yourself with the mattress if you can." The man shouted, as he slung his rifle to one side before attaching explosive charges to the door.
Rachel complied, eager to avoid being the victim of something exploding again. Another bang and the commando was inside. He tugged the mattress away, helping Rachel to her feet.
"Can you walk?" the man said, a clear New England accent apparent.
"Yes." Rachel said.
"Metal 0-8, this is Dragon 0-1, no sign of the HVIs, but I've got a civvie in here. Looks like she was a prisoner." The commando said through a radio microphone.
The man turned to her saying, "Have you seen any of the scientists?"
"They left, I can't remember when, exactly. But it was at least an hour ago." Rachel said.
"Dammit." the soldier said, before making the report through his microphone, "Metal 0-8, the HVIs left an hour ago. No one's here."
Rachel noticed the soldier stop for a second to listen to his radio before saying, "Roger that, we're moving her to the roof to get her out of here."
Rachel stumbled in the darkness but the soldier helped her to her feet, in fact picking her up, one arm behind her shoulders and the other underneath the bend of her knees. She reached an arm up, grabbing him around the neck and holding on for dear life as the soldier ran up flights of stairs.
She could hear him breathing, see three of his teammates moving with him, keeping him safe. Rachel scanned their uniforms for signs of police badges or any law enforcement signs. There was nothing that indicated anything of that sort.
They were clearly professionals as they moved swiftly from room to room, shooting only when they encountered armed guards.
Once they got to the roof the soldier set her down, saying, "Are you injured?"
"I'm fine. A little spooked, but fine..." she replied.
"We'll get you out of here soon. Don't worry." the soldier replied.
Rachel could see the commandos forming a perimeter around the roof and saw blackened helicopters flying in. The helicopters hovered above the roof and the soldier with Rachel picked her up, laying her gently down on the helicopter's floor. The commandos began hopping aboard the aircraft.
One of them that was crouched near Rachel was talking on his radio, "Overlord, this is Metal 0-8, no sign of HVIs (High Value Individuals). One hostage recovered from Objective Baldwin."
The helicopter lifted thunderously into the air and Rachel took in what details she could. Are these guys a rescue team or another set of kidnappers? Rachel thought.
24 October - 00:20:00
Rachel Dawes
BioSyn Corporation
San Jose Cargo Airport
"Come with me." the soldier that had pulled her from her cell said.
Rachel followed the man, feeling the cold tarmac against her bare feet as they walked into an aircraft hangar. From the look of things they were near a cargo terminal, a less travelled part of the airport.
The soldier removed his helmet, revealing a tousled mess of dark hair atop his head.
As the other men removed their helmets and night vision devices Rachel was struck by how ordinary they all looked. If she saw any of them in plain clothes, without armor or weapons not a single one of them would stick out.
Special ops. She concluded.
One of the men, a lanky African American carrying a medical kit, walked towards her. "I'm gonna give you a check up, make sure you're alright. Is there anything wrong?"
"No, I'm fine, just a bit shaken." Rachel replied.
"Dre," the soldier said, "stay with her for a moment, I'm gonna talk to Randy about something."
Rachel saw the man walk towards a tall, blonde haired fellow whom she assumed was this Randy character.
Dre held up a thermometer saying, "Hold this under your tongue..."
Rachel complied and the man said, "98.6, normal body temp."
"Are you feeling faint? Any symptoms of nausea?" Dre asked.
"Randy, this isn't Goddamn right!" Rachel's rescuer exploded at the blonde haired fellow.
"Look, command thinks it prudent." Randy replied, his ice blue eyes fixing him with a glare.
From what she saw Randy appeared to be the commander of this team. And whoever this other soldier was, he was also up there on the pecking order, given how he was talking back to Randy.
Rachel watched Randy direct the other man to a far corner of the hangar as a stocky bald fellow in his late thirties headed over to where Dre was finishing his checkup on her.
"Dre, keep an eye on her till the boss gets clarification from higher." the bald man said with a distinct New York accent.
"Got it." Dre replied.
24 October - 00:25:20
Major Randall Schneider and Captain Allan Dante
Delta Force
San Jose Cargo Airport
"You're saying we treat her like a detainee?" Dante demanded.
"We need to ascertain who she is. After all we didn't find any ID on her." Randy replied.
"I don't damn get it, pull her out of one cell only to stick her in another." Dante replied.
"Look, do you have any clue how huge this is?" Randy replied, "We not only discovered BioSyn and COBRA's link, we've also got evidence of what exactly they've been doing. Some cloning experiment."
"This 'some cloning experiment' is a human being with rights, Randy." Dante replied.
"Dante, don't think I don't understand where you're coming from." Randy replied, "But we have to know exactly who we're dealing with."
"Alright, but I don't advocate sticking her behind a cell of some kind." Dante replied.
"Hang on," Randy said, as he picked up a now ringing cell phone on his kit before saying, "Looks like the spooks are sending some folks up here to talk to her."
"Alright, Randy, I'll keep an eye on them." Dante replied.
"That's what I was hoping you'd do. Let me try and clear things up with higher and see what's up." Randy replied.
Dante headed back into the hangar proper, noticing a gray sedan parking in the hangar's small parking lot. He noticed a man and a woman walking his way. The first was a tall, red haired woman in company with a shorter blonde haired man.
At the sight of them, Dante visibly relaxed. The ACME Detective Agency had sent their best team of detectives. They had been the ones working the BioSyn case from the get go and they had been working with Delta's own Intelligence Support Activity in planning the raid to try and apprehend Dodgson, Baselton, and King.
"Zack, Ivy, nice to see you two again." Dante replied.
"Nice to see you too, Dante." Zack replied as they followed Dante into the hangar.
Dante could see Sergeant First Class Andre "Dre" Bentz, one of the sniper troop medics finishing his check up. As soon as they arrived Dre said, "She's got a clean bill of health, boss."
"Thanks Dre. I got this." Dante replied before turning to address Rachel, "Sorry we haven't been properly introduced. My name's Allan."
"Rachel Dawes." Rachel replied. She confirmed the man was special ops because he didn't give a last name.
"Well, Miss Dawes, this is Zack and Ivy Darren, two colleagues of mine." Dante said, "They want to see what it is you know about your captors. It's a standard debrief for hostages. Nothing to be worried about."
Dante moved off nearby to observe the discussion, and from his body language Rachel could tell he was comfortable with these two.
"So what can you tell us about your time with BioSyn, Rachel?" Ivy asked.
Rachel turned to the red haired woman and said, "Not a lot, honestly. I was there for a few hours and your friends sprung me from there."
"Ok, what can you remember?" Ivy asked.
"Well, this is going to sound really strange to you..." Rachel began.
"Try me." Ivy said.
Rachel took a deep breath as she watched Zack setting up a laptop computer with a fingerprint scanner on it.
"Excuse me, can you set your right hand on this plate?" Zack said as he held the fingerprint scanner up.
Rachel laid her hand on the device as a laser began to scan her fingerprints. She had been fingerprinted during law school when she worked for the DA's office in what felt like a lifetime ago.
"Well," Rachel began, "It began after I was killed in an explosion..."
"Wait? What?" Ivy said. Rachel could see the surprise on the woman's face, but it quickly faded.
Rachel continued, "I woke up in a lab of some kind, in some sort of greenish gel-fluid. Then these three men named Dodgson, Baselton, and King told me that they cloned me and furthermore they were going to run some experiments on me."
Ivy turned to face Zack who replied, "I don't see her prints from any database in this universe, but I did pull one up from one of the alternate universes we recently came into contact with via the C5."
"And what did you find, Zack?" Ivy asked.
"Evidently she was an Assistant District Attorney in a place called Gotham City. She was reported as having been killed by a bomb." Zack replied.
"Is this..." Ivy asked.
Rachel nodded, blinking, remembering that timer. Watching it tick down the last seconds of her life. Hearing Harvey's anguish.
"This is heavy." Zack remarked.
Rachel noticed Allan turning his head and noticed Randy walking towards them. "What's going on?" Allan asked.
Randy glanced at his teammate as if to say, "Wait a minute."
Allan nodded as Randy headed over to Rachel, taking a knee so he was level with her, sitting on top of a cot.
"Well, Miss Dawes, since you're from out of town, in more ways than one you'll be debriefed in detail by the ACME." Randy said.
"And after that?" Rachel asked.
"You'd have to talk to them." Randy said, "But they wouldn't hold you against your will, I can assure you of that."
"So you're letting me go?" Rachel said.
"We weren't holding you captive to begin with," Randy said, "But that's an apt description."
"We can get you settled in the morning." Ivy said to Rachel.
Having no other alternative Rachel followed Zack and Ivy to their car. Rachel sat in the passenger seat as Ivy took the driver's seat and Zack sat in the back as they drove away from the airport.
"So where are we going?" Rachel asked.
"Well, unless you don't feel comfortable we'll take you to my place tonight." Ivy said.
"It's fine." Rachel said, as she looked out at the California night sky. She suppressed a yawn as she looked directly at the clock readout on the dashboard of Ivy's car.
25 October - 01:50:20
Rachel Dawes, Ivy and Zack Darren
ACME Detective Agency
San Francisco, California
The car pulled in front of an apartment building and Ivy walked with Rachel into the place. It was a comfortable sort of place. A two bedroom apartment, with a kitchen, two bathrooms, and a decent sized living room.
Zack yawned and said, "Night Ivy, I'm heading home. Nice to meet you, Rachel."
"Likewise." Rachel said, politely.
"I've got some clothes in the bureau in the bedroom, I'm sure you'd like something more comfortable than a hospital gown." Ivy replied.
"Thank you." Rachel replied as Ivy showed her into the bedroom. She took notes of the different photos and knick knacks Ivy had around the place. She noticed a photograph of Ivy on a beach with a tall, blonde haired fellow with an easy smile.
Noticing, Ivy said, "Oh, that's my husband, Deric. That was our honeymoon in Hawaii last week."
"Oh, when did you guys get back?" Rachel asked.
"A couple days ago." Ivy replied, fingering her wedding ring as she spoke.
"I hope I don't wake Deric going into the bedroom." Rachel said.
"You won't, he's actually on a case right now." Ivy replied, "No rest for the wicked it seems."
Rachel stepped into the bedroom, going through a drawer and finding a comfortable t-shirt and pair of shorts to change into before she walked back out, following Ivy to the spare bedroom.
She noticed a couple surfboards, a mountain bike, and various odds and ends in the room.
"Sorry if this place sort of became a store-room/spare bedroom." Ivy began.
"It's ok." Rachel said, "It gives it a cozy sort of feel."
Ivy had been nice enough to even set some linens from the hallway closet onto the bed. The sight of the bed and looking at the time on the alarm clock elicited a yawn from Rachel as she realized just how tired she really was.
She went to lie down and was asleep almost the instant her head touched the pillow.
To Be Continued...
Up next: Rachel learns more about the nature of her new home and the beginnings of a life.