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MJ's eyes were unfocused as she stared down at her lap, spacing out as her mind ran on an unending loop of thoughts, worries, and hopes wondering if she had just made the worst or best decision of her life.
"Mary Jane Wattson?"
MJ blinked as someone called her name from only a few feet away and she looked over to find a professionally dressed woman staring at her with a sleek electronic pad held in her arm.
"That's me, but you can just call me MJ" MJ nodded as she stood up her hands and tried to smile hoping it wasn't as awkward of an expression as she feared.
The woman smiled back making her already stunning features look even more breathtaking, which didn't help MJ's anxiety whatsoever, "Well my name is Madison I'm the head of Management for Ascend Agencies and I'll be assisting you today as you begin your ascension."
"Head of management...did Harry tell you to give me special treatment or something?" MJ asked as she followed Madison who made her way towards the elevators.
"Not explicitly, but he has been working rather tirelessly since you volunteered to be our first Ascendant." Madison answered with a grin, "That's the real reason why I'm here, I'll be carrying out the whole interviewing and pitching process to make sure there aren't any kinks that need to be ironed out before I hand the script over to my team if that's alright with you?"
MJ quickly nodded as they stepped onto the elevator and she watched as Madison pressed her hand against a black panel which lit up green after a brief pause.
Catching her questioning gaze Madison smiled, "Biometric scanner, more secure than any key or password considering the number of people we'll have coming in and out of here. Which will hopefully include you soon enough."
The elevator then started to drop and for a moment MJ worried about the lack of music to fill up the awkward silence when Madison began to speak, "So I reviewed the psyche evaluation you submitted a month ago, and I must say you scored very well, especially on some of the theoretical moral assessments."
"I just tried to answer them as honestly as I could," MJ replied this time with a genuine smile, "Though some of the scenarios were rather depressing and morbid."
Madison nodded with a serious look on her face, "They had to be if you can't even answer a hypothetical scenario then you have no place in the field. Because at one point you will fail, and when you fail as a hero, your mistakes are going counted in the number of casualties. That's the reality of being a hero."
For a moment Madison fell quiet seemingly content to make MJ sit with the sobering truth. Having gone through life enough to know when someone was testing her MJ made sure her face and body reflected her determination.
For the past month, MJ had been thinking over her decisions and choices, debating if becoming a hero was what she wanted. But no matter what horrific, worst-case scenario MJ could think of nothing could sour the allure of becoming someone that an entire city looked up to and depended on.
As if seeing the resolution in her eyes Madison nodded to herself, "Good, I can see you've thought about this a lot, and while I won't tell you everything going to be alright. I can promise you that Ascend's primary goal is to provide the support individuals like yourself need to succeed when it matters the most. Whether it be, training or counseling, Ascend will provide it all."
"Wow, and here I was worried that I would just be some glorified science project," MJ muttered with a light laugh as she brushed a lock of fire-red hair behind her ear.
Madison shook her head, "Do you really think Harry is that cold-hearted?"
"No, not him. It's his father that I worried about, though the way you keep talking about Harry makes it seem like he's actually the one running things." MJ asked with a questioning tone.
"I was suspicious at first as well, but that interview you and everyone else saw was the truth. Harry is the one who made all of this possible, I've never seen someone so dedicated before," Madison praised in a straightforward tone that made it seem like she was just making an observation.
Their conversation was then interrupted by a ding as the elevator arrived and its doors slid open with a hiss.
"Welcome MJ, to Ascend headquarters," Madison prompted as she stepped out of the elevator and started walking down a wide central corridor that seemed to house most of the facility's foot traffic as people in lab coats walked either discussing with peers or staring at their devices going over notes from their latest experiments.
"All of this is under the tower?" MJ asked in wonder as they walked down the corridor passing by offshoot hallways that seemed to stretch on for an eternity.
"Yep, and it's even more shocking if you saw what this place looked like just a month ago. We went from a single lab facility to an entire community. Some of the faculty even live on-site in the dorms we have, which is an option for you as well if everything goes according to plan."
"What do I get dental as well?" MJ asked as a joke only for Madison to nod once, "Yep it's included in the standard contract, along with everything else you could want from benefits."
"Now I'm afraid to ask about the starting salary," MJ muttered.
"The sign-on bonus is a million with a yearly salary of five million which doesn't include hazard pay, now this way please," Madison listed off in quick succession nearly making MJ trip as they turned to the right.
MJ's mind was still reeling from the numbers Madison had just so casually spouted when they arrived in front of a hexagonal door, "Alright this is where I leave you for now, I'll see you again after your Biotic Potential Analysis to discuss the next steps and your future here at Ascend."
"I-I'm sorry my what?" MJ asked glancing from the door to Madison who gave her a reassuring smile, "Don't worry it's just a noninvasive procedure, to determine how much your body can handle in the first round of augments."
After a second of searching Madison's face for any deceitfulness, MJ let out a sigh and stepped up to the door which opened at her approach allowing her to step inside.
Looking around MJ found herself in a strangely shaped room, with a prism-like configuration rather than square or rectangular. However, even stranger was the lone device in the center of the room. It was clearly an operating table, though one far more advanced than anything MJ had ever seen. The table was molded to the silhouette of a human body covered in thick white padding that looked like it was made of clouds. But the entire thing was enclosed in a glass cradle which was currently open with the lid lifted like the roof of a car.
"Noninvasive my ass," MJ muttered as she stared wearily at the machine just as the door opened behind her MJ whirled around only to instantly relax as she found a familiar face.
"Getting cold feet?" Harry asked as he walked into the room an easy-going smile on his face that instantly set MJ's mind at ease, "Maybe a little, this is somehow more than what I was expecting."
Harry nodded understandingly, "Makes sense, but I assure you, you have nothing to worry about. All we're doing today is a BPA, so all you need to do is lie down in the Cradle, and I'll take care of the rest."
"I assume when you say Cradle you're talking about that?" MJ asked as she pointed at the enclosed operating table.
"Yep, it's a state-of-the-art device that mimics the function of almost every possible medical device, everything from irradiation therapy to dialysis and life support. Though we won't be using any of those today, all I need is a scan of your body's biotic potential." Harry explained as he walked over to the Cradle and started to type away on a dashboard attached to the outside of the device causing it to come alive with lights and a slight hum.
"Could you please cut the science jargon and talk like a normal person," MJ asked with a pout as she walked over to the Cradle and stood across from Harry who smirked, "Biotic Potential is essentially a term I developed to assess the quality of person's biology, physiology and genealogy before they undergo augmentation."
MJ pursed her lips as she frowned, "And what happens if I score too low?"
"All it means is that you can't do the big ticket augments right away, we'll have to start a few corrective treatments which can include physical training, dieting, or surgery to slowly push your body to where it needs to be," Harry explained as if it wasn't a big deal.
"Wait you said we...you'll be doing the surgeries?" MJ asked with a raised eyebrow.
Harry shook his head, "Don't worry I'm still a couple of years away from getting my MD, the Cradle is programmable and able to automatically carry out 99.99% of all surgical operations with a higher success rate than any doctor on the earth. Now stop stalling and hop in all ready, the faster this gets done the quicker you get to be a superhero."