Super Science
Ch 32: Big Brother/Sister(?)
Back in Japan, at the National Diet, where the Prime minister presided, an elderly yet stern-looking woman was sitting at a table and eating a large Japanese-style breakfast while watching the news on her phone and skimming through the political section of a newspaper. Suddenly, her large office doors were slammed open, and a young man with a worm and ragged look burst in while running at top speed. He breathlessly ran to her.
"Prime Minister! Prime Minister! Important news!", the man practically yelled, a panicked look in his eyes.
Not dazed by this scene, the woman continues eating and reading while saying nonchalantly, "What is it, Ryu? I'm in the middle of breakfast."
"I-Its Hokkaido, ma'am!", he tells her in a hurried tone.
"It's a nuclear wasteland, Ryu. What about it?", she says, looking down at her paper and rolling her eyes as she changes the channel on her phone.
"It's...not.", he says vaguely.
Confused and shocked, the Prime minister puts down her paper to look at the young man and ask him, "What?"
The man took a deep breath and explained, "The science department just came with a report of the isotope levels in Hokkaido…suddenly dropping. It is safe for human habitation again!"
He placed a folder on the table and opened it. The prime minister took the folder and looked over the files within. After skimming through everything, her face growing ever more shocked, she finally put them down, took a sip of tea, and crossed her bony fingers in thought.
"I don't believe it. How did this happen?", she asked in a soft voice.
"It may have something to do with the dense forest that has sprouted up overnight.", Ryu offered.
The prime minister snapped her old head towards him, and while shooting him a look, she stated, "Really? Are you going off on an ecological miracle for an answer?"
He shrugged, then counteroffered, "Well, we also think that it may have to do with this place."
He said that he flipped through a few more pages in the folder, which brought up information about the Neo Icon Phoenix Research Facility, a picture of it alongside a picture of Egon and Izuku.
Narrowing her eyes at the photos, she said without looking up, "Call them up and set up a meeting."
When Egon got a call from the Prime minister of Japan herself seeking an audience, he was unsurprised but still nervous. Sure, he expected it to happen at some point and even very soon, but he couldn't hold his feelings. So he and Izuku got ready for the day that she came, even though they didn't have to get ready since they'd been prepping for it in advance. So it was all a matter of refresher and figuring out what to say.
So the day comes, and the two scientists find themselves in their meeting room with the head of government in Japan. An elderly lady who has shown years of experience and experience shit! Grey hair, wrinkles, yet sharp eyes, and an even sharper grimace. She was a force to be reckoned with. However, they had the ball in their court.
So they sat there and drank tea silently for the first few minutes.
"So, madam Priminister, enjoying your tea?", Egon inquired as she said nothing in return. Drumming his fingers to give off the sense he was nervous, he followed up, "I was wondering when you'd call. I suppose late is better than never."
She took another sip of her tea before saying, "After your most recent… "achievement" and many others hidden in the dark, your laboratory was brought to the forefront of my attention."
"Well, we did save Hokkaido and you billions in cleanup. Now all that money can go towards rebuilding.", Izuku argued back.
Sending him a hard glare, she retorted, "I didn't come to thank you for that or talk to a child."
Egon clinched his crossed hands at the comment and, trying to keep his cool, calmly told her, "With all due respect, madam, he is the whole reason that NIP exists. Without him, Hokkaido would still be a wasteland. So I suggest you respect him for that much, at the very least. He may be young, but even I have to admit he's far smarter than me."
The Prime minister looked between the man and the tree before sighing and saying, "Very well.", She then waved for one of her guards, and they brought out a huge stack of papers and two pens, and she told them, "Now onto the topic of business. Sign here and-."
"No, no, we won't be doing anything like that, madam.", Izuku quickly shut her down, making her glare harshly at him.
"I beg your pardon?", she asked back with a calm sharp tone.
"No offense, but NIP will not be one of your lap dogs held under your thumb, and there are many, many restrictions.", Izuku explained to her.
Egon chimed in and added, "Without even a single bit of help from any government funding or inclusion, we were able to build this place from the ground up and won't need it now."
She narrows her eyes at the men while tightening her hands around the pens and tells them, "I hope you realize what you are doing is illegal."
Both men resist the urge to laugh while Egon informs her, "We have plenty of certifications, notarized and accepted by the government with your seal of approval.", This fact makes the prime minister scowl at herself. While I admit we were trespassing on government property, it was also uninhabitable, and we made it habitable," Egon argues back nicely.
The prime minister opens her mouth to argue with him, but Izuku cuts her off as politely as he can and tells her, "Madam Priminister, let's just stop you right there. We're not going to budge unless you want to go in circles all day. And if you want to do a protracted court battle, I can give you the cards of the 17 law firms we hired.", he then gets a text on his phone, reads it, widens his eyes, and corrects himself, "Oh, sorry, now it's at 21 law firms."
The prime minister takes a very long, drawn-out breath. After calming herself down and maintaining the same neutral stern expression, she asks them, "What do you want, then?"
The two men smile at seeing her surrender, and Egon tells her, "In essence, we just want to be left alone. However, in return for this, you'll be the first to know about every invention, weapon, or creature we make here and have first dibs on it. Even before the public knows of it, if you want to buy it, then buy as much or as little as you want. Sounds good?"
She raised an eyebrow and asked, "So you want to be secretive and have open trade? Sounds rather suspicious. I won't know everything you're doing and for what reasons."
"We all have secrets, madam. Us with NIP and you with Hokkaido.", Egon says with a knowing hum in his voice, making the woman try her best to hide any expression. The man then continued and told her, "As for our reasons, it is for the good of humankind and science. We have no ill intent. And even if we did, we are not at a state where we can easily defend ourselves against you."
The Prime Minister closes her eyes and sits there in deep thought for a while. After that, she takes her tea glass, finishes it up, and, after smacking her lips, tells them, "Very well. You men have a deal."