"What can you tell me about this Tom B. First, Dr. Walker?" Will Tweed demanded upon entering the Doctor's office. "I'm hearing he can dematerialize..."

"He can do much more than that!"

Will Tweed cocked his head, "Such as?"

As far as we have been able to surmize, Bill.." the doctor paused to wipe his glasses with a tissue.

It was obvious to Will Tweed that the doctor was stalling to find the right words. "Just spit it out!" Will demanded.

"The old man rose from the dead three nights ago...we think." Dr. Walker said meekly.

"You think this old geezer rose from the dead!?!" Will said in a semi-state of disbelief and mild amusement.

"We have film..."

"Then roll the damn film, Walker!" Will said defiantly. "Rose from the dead." He snorted as he shook his head side to side.

"Test subject 43-A died on the operating table three days ago. A young man brought in to us during the initial outbreaks of the meta-gene." Walker explained as he turned off the lights.

"What freakish power had he displayed?"

"He had been seen floating through the air by his neighbors." Walker said as he walked over to the projector.

"There goes the neighborhood if some punk kid starts defying the laws of gravity." Tweed smirked. "Wait a minute!" Tweed said indignantly. "I though you said some old man had risen from the dead?"

"Not exactly." the Doctor retorted sheepishly. "Watch the film."

The projector whirled and the body of a young man is shown being given a cursory exam. "Test subject 43-A had died during experiments just minutes prior to this exam." Doctor Walker explained. "Next you'll see the body being placed in the first Hibernation Tomb, standard procedure as dictated by our organization."

"How many bodies are down there?" Tweed asked.

"This is the first one, Will."

"First come, first serve." Tweed reflected. "Hence, the reason why he got the first Hibernation Tomb. I'm really shocked there hasn't been more deaths."

"Cut to a film taken from the Hibernation Tomb about twenty minutes after the young man was placed inside."

Tweed watches as the door to the first Hibernation Tomb is opened slowly. "Guess the kid wasn't dead after all!"

"Watch." the Doctor scolded somewhat. Tweed glared at the doctor. Rethinking his tone the Doctor added, "Please watch."

Out of the mist stepped an old man, obviously disoriented and stumbling around for a minute and a half before security comes to take him into custody. The old man is shown being led away as men in white labcoats arrive to secure the first Hibernation Tomb. As the first Hibernation Tomb is fully opened and in full view of the camera a body can be seen still inside it.

"Ah! Test subject 43-A is still inside...and still dead I assume?" Tweed reasons aloud. The mist clears to reveal a twin of the old man laying in the first Hibernation Tomb where test subject 43-A should be.

"Amazing!" Tweed's scientific curiousity has been tweaked. "This old man named himself Tom B. First, I assume?"

"Actually that's the only thing he's said since coming out of that hibernation tomb. The guards have started calling him by that name."

"It's not a name, Doctor!" Tweed snapped.

"Wha-what...?" the doctor said nervosly.

"Tom B. First." Twed sneered. "Place the 'B' at the end of 'Tom', Doctor Walker. What do you get?"

"T-O-M-B...Tomb!"

"Tomb first!" Tweed snarled. The old man is saying, 'tomb first.'"

"His addled mind is asking to be returned to the first Hibernation Tomb, Doctor Walker." Tweed said. "I take it you've had him pretty well doped up since his resurrection?"

"Standard procedure..."

Will Tweed sighed. "He wants to reunite with his other body."

"But what is this all about?" Walker asked.

"Some type of meta-gene defense system would be my guess. Reunite the two old men and I bet you get one healthy young man?"

"Test subject 43-A?" Doctor Walker asked somewhat dumbfounded.

"No!" Tweed said sarcasticly. "You'll get the Backstreet Boys!"

"What was test subject 43-A's real name?"

"Oh!" the red-faced doctor shut off the projector and flipped on the lights. "I thought I had told you his name." He scrambled for 43-A's file.

"Here...it...is..." He scanned the top of the sheet. "It's L. Lance, sir." Doctor Walker read off his clipboard. "Mr. Lawrence Lance!"

[ 12-28-2001: Message edited by: Tom B. First ]

[ 12-28-2001: Message edited by: Tom B. First ]

[ 12-28-2001: Message edited by: Tom B. First ]