CHAPTER 17

VANISHING ACT

A very subdued Dr. Miller sent the body of the Visitor to the Base's morgue before reporting the unfortunate news to Colonel Hildebrand who was less than pleased. While having the body of a genuine alien to examine was a coup unto itself, it was not as preferable as having a living, breathing, talking alien to explain all the gadgets in the spaceship that was currently being dismantled at NASA. The Visitor—the Ambassador!—had been very personable, obviously unaware of his own importance, which was all the better for Hildebrand who had been envisioning the accolades that would accompany his being able to introduce a genuine alien Ambassador as a personal friend to all the top brass in government, maybe even the President himself!

Jason's body was wheeled into the morgue and placed on a metal table. Because of the limited staff on the Base, Dr. Miller also acted as coroner and had ordered the orderly who transported the body to prepare it for autopsy. The reluctant man removed the casts, bandages and other medical paraphernalia. He wondered if he should also wash the body. He knew it would not greatly improve the appearance, but at least it would remove all the dead skin.

After several agonizing minutes, the man came to a decision and washed Jason's body. At the same time, he could not help making a cursory examination. The body was covered with bruises from the crash, as well as swollen areas from surgery. The one thing that struck him was how "human" this alien appeared. He knew from the lab technicians that the alien's body chemistry was of a completely different order, but the surgical team said that the internal organs were identical in configuration to those of a human.

Throwing a sheet over the Alterran's naked form, the orderly nodded proudly to himself and left. The instant he was gone Jason sat up, pulled the sheet from his face and looked around, his eyes sparkling. "Thanks for the bath," he muttered sardonically, shaking his wet hair and pushing it out of his eyes. "You're supposed to do that after the autopsy, moron."

Jason turned, throwing his good leg over the side of the table. His entire body shimmered and a second leg appeared where there had been only a stump. At the same time, his other injuries healed over, sutures vanishing along with his bruises. Within seconds, he was completely whole again. He looked down at the energy tube that was now in his left hand. "I think I love you," he said happily, giving it a kiss.

Closing his eyes, the Alterran held his right hand over the sheet and concentrated a moment. His arm and shoulder shimmered and all the metal plates and screws fell out of the outstretched hand and onto the metal table, the sheet muffling the clangs as they fell.

Voices came faintly through the door, causing Jason to look up, his head snapping around in the direction of the sound. Hopping down from the table, he looked around quickly, wondering if he should hide or just blend in with the other bodies. He noticed the entrance was a swinging double door and hid in the corner while he tried to decide what disguise to use. Considering his location, he felt a generic medical look was in order and transmuted again, his naked form suddenly being clothed in the same uniform he had seen the orderlies wear. As the voices grew louder, he hoped the doors would conceal him when the men entered. To his relief, they did. Several men in uniform came into the room led by Dr. Miller. They were all so intent on seeing the dead alien that they failed to see the live one slip out the door behind them.

Then all hell broke loose.

Ignoring the pandemonium he had left behind, except possibly to chuckle at the noise, Jason made his way to the lab, reasoning this to be where his amputated body parts would have ended up. Alarms started to go off, heralding the discovery that his body was missing.

"Maybe you should have mentioned alien autopsies, Mel," the Alterran snickered.

Jason found the lab without difficulty, changing into a slightly overweight, blond woman on the threshold before pushing open the door. He informed the first person he met that he had been sent by Dr. Miller to get all the tissue that had been removed from the Visitor.

"What the hell does he want all that for?" the technician asked, his eyes giving away their location at the same time.

"Didn't you hear?" the disguised Alterran said in a conspiratorial tone. "The body's been stolen. Right out of the morgue."

There was a chorus of murmurs in response to this juicy piece of gossip.

"Dr. Miller and Colonel Hildebrand were going at it," Jason went on, "and Miller suddenly looked at me and said, 'Go to the lab and get everything we took from the Visitor before that gets taken too.' So…here I am."

"Sounds like a good idea," someone across the room remarked.

As the specimens were being collected, Jason decided to add to his performance as reluctant female messenger. "This stuff I'm supposed to be getting. It isn't…gross, is it?"

The reply was a chorus of chuckles.

Within minutes, Jason was pushing a covered cart from the lab, absently wondering how human females managed to walk in short skirts and high heels on a daily basis. He went slowly down the hall moving aside as soldiers ran past on the way to the morgue. Then he patiently waited with several others for an elevator.

When the lift arrived, Jason realized the others were going up, the elevator itself heading down. He boarded alone, a smug expression coming to his face the moment the doors closed. He pushed the button for the lowest level, changing back to his male self and reabsorbing his lost body mass from the specimens on the cart as the lift descended. The doors opened to reveal what he could only assume was a sub-basement. With an amused smirk on his face, he exited elevator, leaving the empty cart inside.

Then, without as much as a backward glance, the Alterran finished his vanishing act by disappearing from the building completely.