-“Wait, nothing? Are you sure?” Mr. John said in surprise.
“That’s correct.” Dr. McNeal responded in his usual monotone voice.
The two stood outside of a black trailer in the local police precinct’s parking lot. Dr. McNeal wore his white lab coat with civilian attire underneath. That annoyed Mr. John, apparently Drs. didn’t have to follow bureau standards. His hair was a bit long to.
“And what about the protean acid, did that show you anything?”
“Come now, that was the first thing I did; there were no abnormal results. Besides, it only tells us if she’s a mimic or not, and obviously she’s not.” Dr. McNeal was becoming a bit irritated with this.
“So, nothing at all? Did you compare her to any of the other creatures we’ve come across?”
“Her DNA configuration is relevant to that of the average human, it has the double helix pattern, the acid staining was normal, average radiation signature-“
“Radiation signature?” Mr. John cut him off.
“I said it was normal, apparently there was a significant Beta Radiation event within the last week. Nothing dangerous, but samples from the population show trace amounts in just about everyone in town.”
Mr. John scratched his head, could that have something to do with this portal Sunset Shimmer mentioned?
“Could you do me a favor Dr.?” Mr. John asked hesitantly.
“Can you get that cadaver you promised me?” Dr. McNeal was still trying to get ahold of another dead mimic; that was the main reason he had agreed to join the field teams.
“I don’t think top likes how you butcher your specimens… anyways, I need you to pinpoint the epicenter of that event you mentioned.”
“There’s thousands in the freezer… it’s not like there isn’t plenty to go around.” He said in defense “But sure, why not, I’ll send Jacob over to you when I plot a point.”
Mr. John turned around to head back into the building, maybe Mr. Smith was getting some solid leads out of Sunset Shimmer. So far the only information she gave was just another story, fantastical as it was, it was just a story. Perhaps this was just another mass hysteria event.
-“You’re not being very cooperative Ms. Shimmer, you don’t want me to bring Mr. John back in here, do you?” Calmness was Mr. Smith’s gimmick during interrogations, it was a little intimidating at times.
“I-I told you what you wanted to know…” she said nervously, still looking at her hands folded in her lap. Sunset Shimmer glanced at the one way mirror after every time he spoke; they had moved her to a bigger room.
“No, you’re beating around the bush. You told me everything after you came out of the portal, that’s like teasing don’t you think? You can’t just expect me to care about high school drama… I want to know how you got hear and why.”
Mr. Smith wrote something in a notebook and shuffled the papers on the table. He liked to take his own notes, but all she had done was confirm witness statements. In light of this though, there was much more he wanted from her.
Sunset Shimmer gulped. She had no idea what to do or say now. What would they do with the information if she told them everything about Equestria or how the portal worked?
“You’re not from this world… that much you’ve already made clear. Make this easier on yourself and tell me why you’re really here, you don’t really expect me to believe it was some ‘revenge scheme’ do you?” he said mockingly.
“It’s true! I-I thought I had been wronged in my home, but I learned I was wrong.” She admitted.
“Convenient, you just happen to change your mind a day before we came along… admit it, you and your kind, your planning some kind of invasion or something.”
“What?! Of course not!” she said incredulously “Why would you say such a thing?”
“C’mon, the mimic infestation in Australia and their little shape shifters, ‘monsters’ popping up all over the world; they’re all coming from the same place, the same world I think you’re from.” He still kept a calm disposition.
“No -that’s ridiculous- we aren’t planning anything of the sort!” she cried in defense.
“So, you admit that there is a ‘we’ in all this mess. So if you’re not planning to conquer our world what are you trying to do to it?”
“We –they… -I didn’t mean it like- that’s not what I meant! I came here alone.”
Mr. Smith snapped his fingers, “Ah, that’s it, I know what you’re real goal is. You’re trying to kill everyone on earth off so you can have it for yourself, maybe feed us to your little mimic friends?”
“Wha- I don’t even know what you’re talking about!” She seemed genuinely confused now. Maybe she didn’t know, after all, you don’t tell your subordinates every part of you plan.
“A lot of people died in Australia, I’m not going to let that happen again. We have ways of making you talk, even if you’re not human.” He smiled, maybe that was a little to cliché he thought.
She placed her head in her hands and started sobbing.
“I’ll let you think on it.”
As soon as he left the room, two other men in black suits and sunglasses entered. They flanked the door and looked almost identical.
-Mr. John sat in the precinct’s break room sipping coffee, and looking over the map that Jacob kid brought him. Usually the kid was a bit more up-beat, but he didn’t say a single word today. Girlfriend must have dumped him.
Something radiological did occur at that school, that much was obvious, but Mr. John wasn’t prepared to make any claims without evidence.
“Hey pit-bull.” Mr. Smith entered the break room, and took a seat next to Mr. John with his own cup of coffee. “Think I’m going to pull out some sodium pentothal for this one, loosen her up a bit.”
“DNA says she’s human.” Mr. John said off handedly.
Mr. Smith seemed to deflate. “You can’t be serious… well… she did say the portal turned her human, maybe that affected her DNA as well?”
“I don’t know Cook… that’s a big leap.” Mr. John waved his hand. “Whatever, we’ll just keep looking for solid evidence, still waiting for the school to hand over their security footage. Had to call FBI so they could call a judge… bureaucrats...”
Mr. Smith sighed. “Alright, what are some alternative possibilities, some more, down to earth stuff?”
“Well… the Dr. Said there was a minor radiation spike at the time of the incident, what about the Sun cult, they detonate nukes all the time.”
Mr. Smith dismissed it. “No, they never do that in populated areas where people could get hurt, besides, they like things big and flashy.”
“Ok… Night Watch? Maybe they were trying to assassinate this Twilight everyone keeps talking about.”
Mr. Smith rolled his eyes. “Too messy, you know they’re precision masters, half the school was damaged, and there’s a crater in the middle of the front lawn.”
“Right, just going down the list. What about Somber Horizon? They have been known to use advanced chemical agents. Maybe they used some type of hallucinogenic weapon, and turned the kids into zombies with it. They’re all about the terror tactics. ”
Mr. Smith shuddered and rubbed his wrist. “They’re usually a bit more… violent… people end up dead wherever they show up. Don’t forget they have their hand full after they took over Europe anyways.”
“Well, I guess that just leaves Chaos then.”
“Why would it be Chaos?” Smith asked.
“You’re seriously asking what reason chaos would have to attack a school? Do they need a reason?”
“Alright,” Mr. Smith admitted. “But it doesn’t seem like their methods, they attack in assault teams, usually hitting logistics and mass transit. And don’t forget that stupid emblem they spray everywhere.”
“Well, that Pinkie person seems to fit the profile for a chaos hoodie, the way you described her.”
Mr. Smith laughed. “Probably is, but again there’s nothing linking them to any of this.”
Mr. John sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. “Guess there’s nothing to do know but wait then, get the security footage and hope we see something definitive on it.”
“Meh, who knows, maybe she’s an independent agent or something, trying to throw us off by spreading that story, guess we’ll find out after Jacob drugs her up.”
Mr. John sat forward. “Jacob? I thought he was helping the Dr. today…”
“No, he was over at the medical trailer when I spoke to him. Kids a multitasker, he’ll go far in this organization.”