*I'd recommend listening to Kenji Kawai's "Making of Cyborg" for this chapter. Really sets the mood.
It was a quiet and concentrated time in a lab at TCRI. In a spacious cylindrical tank of fluid, a clump of cells was gradually growing into a system of tissues. Outside the tank, a pink brain-like alien, otherwise known as an Utrom, worked at some buttons at a control console while seated on a floating module. On a nearby computer monitor, data texts were displayed beside a digitized diagram of the tiny cell mass that was floating in the tank standing a distance away from it. The Utrom working at the console examined the systems detailing the rising percentage of human DNA. Eyes then shifted over to a smaller digital box awaiting the command to begin melding of Utrom genetic material. A tentacle rose over the keyboard and after a slight lingering, pressed the Enter-key.
The command now issued through the console caused some automated limbs to shift towards the suspended clump of tissue. Each of the limbs extended attached syringes towards the fleshy thing, with the pointed and deceptively thin but hollow needles inching closer with slow but precise aim. The needles softly sank into the thing's flesh, and pistons within the syringes' tubes pushed down a variety of pink, purple, and other variously colored substances. The little clump of cells shortly began to pulse with little sparks of light and bulged in several directions as it began to expand and develop distinguished parts.
The computer monitors immediately began to show two DNA labels with rapidly rising percentages, in which one was human while the other was Utrom. There were a few alternations, with the human genetic level rising quicker than the Utrom level, then vice-versa, and then both eventually developed at the same speed and level.
Beyond what was currently happening, more Utroms were flying by while doing their work, though they were also accompanied by colleagues of different forms and species. A human and a mutant scientist were waiting by another cylindrical tank, though it only had fluid but no other contents. At the same time, a developing embryo was gestating within its own tank while that tank was slowly being transported to another part of the laboratory via an energized railing. The tank was inched towards a circular base, in which it then became secured in the socket. The top cap of the tank extended upward to connect with the bottom half of the tank above, which happened to be the tank observed by the aforementioned human and mutant scientists. A hissing hum emanated from the two tanks and the little developing embryo was gradually floating upwards. As it rose, it passed through the ring of metal connecting the two tanks and floated into the second top tank. The thing that was once a clump of cells was now something vaguely humanoid. To be precise, there is now a bean-shaped life form with a bloated protrusion that had two faintly black spots giving the impression of eyes. There were also faint signs of pinkish streaks behind the eye-like spots. The rest of it began sprouting four thin nubs.
The four nubs had begun to grow longer and thicker, and the tips began to sprout nubs of their own. An Utrom scientist accompanying his fellow scientists observed the growing creature from both the tank glass and computer screens. At the same time, a few other Utroms in robotic walkers, both in bare robot form and in android form, were traversing the floors of the lab preparing other lab equipment for handling the embryo's development. One scientist activated a second syringe which gently prodded the embryo to inoculate another formula. Upon injection, the embryo grew a gelatinous layer around itself which served to provide it with extra nutrients as well as buffer its most delicate parts from any possible damage, whether from getting jostled against the tank glass or disturbed by an unnecessary current of fluid.
The embryo continued to grow and grow, becoming more human-shaped as each part developed to proper proportions. A computer monitor showed a scan of its growing brain, which pulsed and slowly expanded in size. Numbered digits that also showed up on the screen were rapidly rising to show an astounding development in the brain's psychic waves. A mutant scientist observing the phenomenon commented on it to an accompanying Utrom scientist piloting an android mech. In fact, as they were talking, a nearby tray of tools slightly rattled, with the noise getting one Utrom to notice.
The embryo, now having become a more full-fledged fetus, emitted a pulse of light in its head that almost appeared to be a heartbeat. Somehow, this pulsing wave caused the fetus to shed the outer membrane encasing it, but it was even strong enough to cause the glass making up its tank to clang loudly, making a few observers jump back. Everyone present took care to record the data.
The tank carrying the fetus was now transferring it down to another tank sitting below. The new tank now containing the fetus travelled along another energized rail to a large module that physically resembled a security scanner, except that it was larger and did more than just scan the condition of its contents. As the machine did its work with the tank within, the fetus grew more and more pronounced, its pinkish markings gone due to the skin having finally lost its transparency. At that point, there was now finally a fully developed infant with all the proper proportions one would see in a normal human baby.
A screen on one the side of the giant device was monitored by another mutant scientist, recording data on the stabilizing of the infant's bodily functions as well as its brain functions, keeping special note of energy input and signature emitted from the baby's brain. As expected, everything was stable, so the baby was in healthy weight and shape, as well as having a stable brain despite the tremendous amount of energy it produced only several hours before.
The tank holding the fully formed baby made its way across one final energized railway to stop underneath an open lab space above. The tank happened to be transported into a silo-like structure filled with liquid, so that when it opened, the baby drifted out and floated its way to the surface at the top of the silo. An Utrom carefully operated a control panel that caused a set of mechanical arms to descend into the liquid in which the baby was floating upwards in. With slow and careful precision, the arms carefully scooped up the baby and lifted it out of the liquid in the silo.
Once the baby was safely transported away from the pool, a female human scientist stepped forward to scoop the little one in her arms. She managed to get the baby dried by means of an installed gadget that worked similarly to a hairdryer. Once that was done, she carried the baby to a different part of the facility where she finally placed the infant into a bassinet and installed a clear cover for incubation. Throughout all of this, the baby remained asleep. On the bassinet was a label on which was written the baby's newly given name: April O'Neil.
In a darkened room, April O'Neil opened her eyes, having just awoken from a night's slumber. She lied there for a moment, apparently staring into nowhere with nothing to hear but her own quiet breathing. Diverting her eyes to her hand which lay limply in front of her face, she twitched her fingers and then slowly curled them inward and outward, having them get used to the feeling of movement again. She stared at her hand in contemplation, wondering if there was anything unusual about it, or if she was seeing something that wasn't there.
She lifted herself up so that she was now sitting on her bed, rubbing her eyes to make herself more awake. Flipping a switch, she opened the shutters on her window to allow a surge of sunlight to flood into her room. She gazed outside to glance at the busy streets of New York City. Aside from the burgeoning towers of steel and concrete of uniquely intricate designs, she only stared outside without even once turning her head, only focusing on getting her eyes used to the brightness for the day forward.
Once several seconds of all that passed, April planted her feet on the floor and stood up, getting off her bed. Rubbing a hand through her red hair, she made her way to the nearby bathroom to freshen up, going through the normal morning routines expected of the average human being. She then went to her closet to go through her wardrobe, but made sure not to spend any more than five minutes as opposed to how people usually did, at least ones like her if there were any. Once she was finally dressed, she made her way to her bedroom door to leave and make her way out of her home. The window in front of her bed which showed the cityscapes of New York lingered open for a while, from where one could see not just all the windows on the tallest buildings, but even the elevated platforms that held other residences and gardens of botanical innovation along with decorated support pillars holding up every architectural detail ever built above the ground level. As it was daytime, the city's usual holographic advertisements were not seen as well, but they still played no matter the time. In a way, the city looked a lot simpler when the sun is up.
But of course, the beauty of New York's sleeplessness could only be found at night, and just as one must eventually turn the lights out before leaving, the day must eventually leave to make way for the night. As April prepared to leave her home to go to her work, she flipped a switch that caused her open sunlit window to close its shutters again. She closed her door and the room once again returned to the darkness.