The Bakersfield Incident - Heroes & Villains [B.0.2]

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87 YEARS AGO

Brian Baker was led into the hotel by three police officers. News cameras flashed around him, questions shouted at him in every direction. Brian tried to ignore it all, gritting his teeth as he walked past them all at a brisk pace to get inside the building. With the press held captive outside by the police, Brian pushed through the revolving doors, greeted inside by the hotel manager. Brian was then led into a large conference room where the board members of Bakersfield Industries were to meet.  Brian looked around the table until he spotted his assistant, then moved to sit beside him.

“Give me a status report,” Brian said sharply.  Ian Meade winced.

“Do you want to wait until the board is here?” Ian asked, trying to keep his voice calm. Brian shook his head.

“No, I need to know what’s going on now,” Brian demanded, the anger and stress from the past twenty-four hours saturating his voice. Ian nodded and looked down at the conference table, shuffling through some folders lying in front of him.

“The damage was mostly contained to the Island,” Ian said, glancing around the table to make sure they weren’t heard.

“Well that’s good then, isn’t it? Nobody cares about the Island.” Brian said, sounding hopeful.

“The residents of the Island certainly do.” Ian sighed. “You’re looking at hundreds of lawsuits if they sue you for property damage.” Brian closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.

“The houses in the Island are small and insignificant anyways,” Brian argued. “It couldn’t be that expensive for me to buy all the residents a new trailer home.” Ian frowned. He was used to his boss's dislike for the area of town nicknamed the Island -despite the city of Apple Creek being inland. This area of town housed the majority of the poorer people in the city and held the industrial areas and factories. A wealthy man like Brian Baker was sure to have his own prejudices against the Island.  But things were different now. The damage was too great to take lightly.

“Mr. Baker, while the Island was hit the most, the entire city has been evacuated,” Ian spoke carefully, enunciating each word. “If the radiation has affected all of Apple Creek we’re looking at a lot more than property damage.” Brian scowled.

“How soon till we know the latest report?” Brian asked. Ian nodded to a man sitting across from them. The man was too preoccupied with the police to notice their focus had turned on him.

“That’s Anthony Hawks, he’s a nuclear biologist. He has a team scanning the city. We should get the latest numbers by the time the board meeting starts.” Ian said.

Brian and Ian fell silent and watched as the rest of the Bakersfield Industries Board began to fill the room. When Robert Fields entered the room he glared towards Brian. Robert and Brian were the owners of Bakersfield Industries, and Robert was furious with his business partner over this whole mess. It took twenty minutes before everyone arrived, the doors closed, and the meeting began. Robert stood at the head of the table.

“Thank you, everyone, for meeting here on such short notice,” Robert spoke, his voice booming through the room. “As you know, at eleven o’clock yesterday morning one of our factories in the Island exploded. Apparently,” Robert’s eyes narrowed towards Brian. “Apparently this particular factory was working with radioactive substances which have been released into the air as a result of the explosion. Everyone in Apple Creek was immediately evacuated. We are here to discuss what happens now.”

“How much radiation released into the air?” Elias Morales, a board member, spoke up. Anthony cleared his throat.

“I have a team that has been scouting the city and I should be getting a report back in the next ten minutes,” Anthony said. Elias nodded, satisfied with the answer.

“How much radiation was contained in that factory?” Mark Trappers barked staring down Brian. Brian kept his eyes on the table top as the rest of the room turned towards him.

“More importantly, why was Bakersfield experimenting with radiation when it was never discussed by the board?” Robert spoke up, anger shaking his voice. Brian kept quiet. He refused to let the board boss him around. It was his company, after all. There was a knock at the door and a hotel employee poked their head in.

“Mr. Hawks you have a call on line two.” He said. Everyone turned to Anthony as he reached towards the phone in the center of the table. He pressed the necessary buttons and moved the phone to his ear. The room fell silent, anxiously leaning towards him.

“This is Anthony,” He spoke into the receiver. There was a slight pause, Anthony’s face turning into a frown. “I don’t understand,” Anthony said slowly. Glances were shared across the room, trying to decipher Anthony’s end of the conversation. “Yes, but how is that possible?” There was another paused. Brian could feel his palms beginning to sweat. It had been his decision to experiment. If Apple Creek was now a wasteland it would be entirely his fault.

“We’ll be there shortly,” Anthony said before hanging up the phone. His frown deepened and he stared at the table, looking confused. “We are to meet at the laboratories in Fosterton. My men found something they want us to see.” Anthony slid his chair back and stood.

“Do they have a report on the radiation?” Robert asked. “How’s the city?” Anthony looked towards Robert, his forehead wrinkled with his frown.

“They are detecting no radiation in the city,” Anthony stated, eyeing the members of the table. The room was silent. Brian felt as if his heart had stopped.

“What do you mean?” Brian broke the silence.

“There is no radiation in all of Apple Creek,” Anthony repeated, still frowning. “They scanned the whole city and found nothing.”

“But yesterday it was being detected!” Mark shouted, moving to his feet abruptly, knocking his chair to the floor. Anthony nodded.

“Yes,” He spoke with hesitation. “Yesterday there was an explosion that released radiation across Apple Creek. Somehow, today, all that radiation appears to be gone.”

“That’s impossible!” Elias spoke, his voice quivering. Anthony nodded.

“It is. That’s why we need to get to the laboratories to see what they’ve found.”

It took a little over twenty minutes for the board to arrive at the laboratories. Once ushered inside, the board converged into a small room, all standing before a large glass box which housed a single man. The man sat cross-legged in the center of the box, his eyes closed. Brian frowned, staring at the man inside the box. He was breathing normally, clearly alive. There had been no explanation of where they were or what they were doing here, and certainly no reason for them to be staring at a man in a box.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Mark was the first to ask. A man in a white lab coat looked towards him.

“The man in this box has been affected by the radiation poisoning.” The man in the lab coat replied. The board glanced towards each other anxiously. Anthony stepped forward.

“This is Dr. Willis,” Anthony introduced him before turning his full attention back to him. “Why are we visiting a man in quarantine?”

“Because he is the answer to your question.” Dr. Willis said shortly.

“What question?” Mark rolled his eyes, his patience wearing thin.

“How can a city be contaminated by radiation one day and clean the next?” Dr. Willis asked turning towards the box. “This man is your answer.”

“Well give us the answer already!” Robert nearly shouted.

“This man absorbed a portion of the radiation in the air.” Dr. Willis replied. There was an awkward moment of hesitation as everyone tried to figure out his meaning.

“Explain yourself.” Brian’s voice rang through the silence. Dr. Willis glanced towards another lab coat clad man near the door.

“Can you hit the lights please?” Dr. Willis asked him. The room went pitch black for a moment, then a faint glow began to spread from the box. The board neared the glass box as they quickly realized the glow was coming from the man inside. There were gasps and whispers.

“What is this?” Mark shouted above everyone else.

“This man, as well as other citizens in the city, has been affected by the radiation in the air. His body absorbed some and it has resulted not in death, but in unnatural powers.” Dr. Willis explained.

“How many were affected?” Brian breathed.

“It’s difficult to say.” Dr. Willis frowned. “But enough for all the radiation in the city to be gone overnight. This isn’t like any radiation we’ve dealt with before. There’s something different about the way it was created. It’s resulting in this. People are absorbing it.” Dr. Willis gestured to the man to prove his point. “Lights please.” The lights flickered back on.

“How is this possible?” Robert asked, glancing towards Brian.

“We still have a lot of research ahead of us.” Dr. Willis said. “There could be hundreds of other people out there like this.”

“Hundreds of glowing people?” Elias asked incredulously. Dr. Willis shook his head.

“I’m afraid not.” He replied. “How familiar are you men with comic books? The radiation will affect people in different ways. While this man glows, another may sprout wings, or burst into flames.”

“So we’ve inadvertently created monsters?” Robert glared towards Brian.

“No,” Brian spoke up. “No man becomes a monster unless you convince them that they are. These people, while they may have strange abilities, they can learn to control them. They can use these powers to help people.”

“Bakersfield will be ruined.” Elias shrieked. “How will the city feel when they hear about this?”

“We can round up anyone affected by the radiation,” Robert said.

“And do what?” Brian barked. “Hide them away? Experiment on them? Kill them? No, I will not allow it. We have to give these people a chance.”

“These people will be freaks!” Robert argued.

“These people can do things that we cannot. What if the powers that these people receive can help other people? In comic books, people affected by radiation can become heroes!”

“There are also villains in comic books. These powers could destroy humanity.” Robert continued to fight against Brian.

“But we have to give these people a chance. We have to see what they can do.” Brian said. “It won’t be easy, the city will have a lot of adjusting to make, but I believe that these people will not destroy us.”

“I have to agree.” Dr. Willis spoke up. “This man alone has so much potential. I personally cannot wait to see what else this brings.”

“Our company will be slaughtered for this.” Robert frowned.

“Then we look for a cure,” Brian suggested. “That’s what we do at Bakersfield, we build and experiment. But we give these people a chance to show us what they’re capable of first.”

“And our image?”

“We’ve destroyed dozens of buildings already,” Brian sighed. “Our image is already tainted. We will recover, though, I’m certain of it. But as for these people, we have to give them an opportunity to show their skills. To become the heroes they are capable of.”

“Or the villains they’re certain to become.”

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