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Chapter Eight: More Questions

Chapter Eight: More Questions

It took only a few minutes to reach the sickroom from the dining room. As soon as he entered the sickroom John went over to the diagnostic bed and lay down on it with none of his normal reluctance.

Like his brothers he hated lying down on the diagnostic bed, it was hard and when you first lay on it was damn cold. Still it was the best thing for them when it came to diagnosing illness and injury and unlike a flesh and blood doctor it didn't ask awkward questions about how anyone got hurt.

Which considering how often John and his siblings got hurt when on duty as International Rescue that was a good thing, as it helped them keep their very big secret just that secret. So he was grateful for its presence especially in this instance as it spared awkward questions about why he wanted to be scanned again.

As with last night Brains went to the diagnostic beds control panel and proceeded to operate the device. John held himself perfectly still as the diagnostic beds scanning beam swept over him from head to toe.

Brains read the scan results as they appeared on the control panels display screens.

"O...o...odd" Brains stuttered frowning at what he saw on the display. How had that happened? What was going on inside John?

"What is it Brains" Jeff asked.

"The s...s...scan is showing a...a...anomalous activity in every system in John's body" Brains answered. "And we're s...s...still picking up that b...b...biopolymer residue in John's blood but there is more of it now."

"Anomalous activity" John repeated pushing himself up onto his elbows and looking at Brains. "What do you mean by that Brains? And how can more of that residue be in my blood."

"That's j...j...just it John I don't understand what's going on inside you" Brains answered. "As f...f...for the residue its almost like your bodies producing it as a by product."

"A by product" Jeff demanded. "Of what? And is it dangerous"

"I d...d...don't know" Brains answered. "A more in depth scan might possibly tell us more."

"Ok let's do that then" John said lying flat on the diagnostic bed again.

Brains manipulate the controls of the diagnostic bed increasing the scan beam sensitivity to maximum before running another scan of John's body. Again the beds scanning beam swept over John but this time much more slowly taking nearly a minute to complete its sweep before shutting down.

Brains again read the scan results as they came in. The in depth scan had done nothing to shed light on the situation. In fact it made him even more curious about what was going on inside John.

"Well Brains" Virgil prompted.

"The more in depth s...s...scan is still showing a...a...anomalous activity in all systems in John's body. Something strange is happening. Bones, organs, muscles, skin, hair all are changing somehow."

"Changing" John said sharply sitting up and starring at Brains. "Into what? And how"

"I d...d...don't know. The scan has pinpointed some cells in your ears and arm muscles that showing no further signs of changing. They look the same as before but different at the same time. Quite how the changed cells are different I don't know. Even at full resolution the scanners in the diagnostic unit are not sensitive enough to determine that. But I can tell you that the rate of change is accelerating."

John leaned back onto his elbows his mind awhirl. What Brains had just said did not sit well with him at all. In fact it downright frightened him. The knowledge that somehow he was changing was scary. And he was frankly terrified about what could happen when the changes stopped, would he still be human, would he still be John Tracy or will he have been transformed into something else, possibly something completely inhuman.

"Can you stop what's happening to me Brains" he asked.

"Until I k...k...know what's causing it n...n...no" Brains replied. "I d...d...don't even know if it whatever it is can be s...s...stopped."

"But how can we find out what's causing this to happen to John if our medical scanners aren't sensitive enough to find it" Virgil asked. "Unless..." he said his voice trailing off as an idea occurred to him.

"Virgil" Jeff prompted.

"John remember those big bio-scanner units on the way into the lab at that military base yesterday" Virgil said. "And we couldn't figure out an answer as to why they were there."

"Yes I remember" John replied. "What are you getting at Virgil? That whatever is inside of me causing these changes in my body was developed on that base."

"Precisely" Virgil replied. "You did say those scanners were designed to scan down to the sub-molecular level. I think whatever is doing this to you was developed on that base by the US military and that those scanners were there specifically to make sure no one either got infected or stole some of whatever there new toy is."

"But how could I get infected by whatever this is" John asked more concerned now than ever, thoughts of all those old films where factions of the military and intelligence services created virus's that transformed people into living weapons filling his mind. Had they gone and done that in real life?

"I don't know" Virgil admitted.

"Well Brains what do you think" Jeff asked.

"Well Mr T...T...Tracy Virgil's h...hypothesis is certainly very feasible and would explain a lot" Brains answered. "I c...c...could rig up a bio-scanner that would not be a problem we have all the e...e...equipment. But I agree with John I don't see how he could have been infected by w...whatever this is."

"Virgil, John did anything happen in the lab that could explain this" Scott asked. "I know you told me a bank of computers exploded when the river started to breach the lab wall."

"Not really" Virgil replied. "Debris went flying everywhere from the concussion. Smashed a few test tubes sending sprays of some weird liquid everywhere. But none of it came anywhere near us."

"Are you sure" Jeff asked.

"Positive" Virgil replied.

"Me too dad" John added. "Unless it was a very tiny drop that I wouldn't have noticed none of that liquid landed on me or Virgil."

"That's possible I suppose" Gordon said speaking for the first time and frowning. "Not that it helps us. We have absolutely no idea what they were researching there."

"That is a hindrance yes" Jeff agreed. "I'll alert our agents in Washington see if they can find out anything. I need to fill Alan in on all this anyway. How long will it take you to rig up a bio-scanner Brains"

"About f...f...four hours Mr Tracy" Brains replied.

"Get right on it" Jeff instructed.

"Yes Mr Tracy" Brains replied.

As Brains spoke John sat up fully again before swinging his long legs over the side of the diagnostic bed and standing up. He was glad to be off the thing. He couldn't get what Brains had said about him changing somehow out of his head. That fact terrified him. He needed to think about this, to somehow understand why this was happening to him. And to somehow convince himself that he wasn't about to turn into a monster.

"I need to go for a walk" he said at last. Jeff looked at his second born son and thought about it for a moment. He didn't really want John to leave the house not until they knew what was going on with him. Yet he could see in John's blue eyes that he needed some time on his own, time to process what was happening to him. Time to think about it, possibly time to rage about it, and possibly time to cry.

After a moment he nodded. John smiled back at his father then quietly turned and left the room before heading straight for a means to go outside. There were a number of quiet corners on the island that he could go to, to be on his own.

Everyone quietly watched John leave all of them feeling sorry for him and the uncertainty he was now facing. Uncertainty almost certainly caused by the US government and one of there seemingly endless black projects.

Just after John left Jeff sighed.

"I need to go and speak with Alan and alert our agents in Washington" Jeff said.

"Do you think they'll be able to give us some answers dad" Gordon asked.

"I don't know Gordon" Jeff admitted. "I don't know. But for John's sake and for ours we have no choice but to try and find some answers."

"True dad" Scott agreed. "True."

With that Jeff also let the room heading for his office. Scott watched his father leave. He really hoped they got answers soon.

And that they would be able to stop whatever was happening to John.