A small self-contained story that connects with other stories that take place within the city of heroes universe.
Part 5 of 8
Part 1 – The Gunslinger 1
Part 2 – The Templar 1
Part 3 – Blockade 1
Part 4 – Dead Woman 1
"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." Marcus Aurelius
I
The young man sat alone in the hospital chapel. Irony didn't even begin to describe the scene as the young man was all about the science. Religion was myth and magic was undiscovered science. For him, that was truth and he used that to shape himself to become the young man he is today.
But it wasn't enough for some ...
He took out a small digital recorder and turned it on. He spoke into it quietly but methodically, "My name is Leonard Hill. Its," he looked at his watch and spoke, "11:52 pm and I am here at county general's chapel." He paused forced himself to stay the course and then added, "and I am waiting for news on my sister's condition.
"I'm eighteen years old and I am a mutant. My power? Well, it's a bit complicated. I have the ability to learn at a more efficient rate than most people. When I was six years old I was already reading at an 8th grade level. By the time I was eight I was able to understand Algebra." He wanted to go on but he figured that anyone who listened would get the point, he was, as his mother said that made him smile, smarter than the average beah-air! He spoke on, "When I turned 9 I was allowed to go to the community college and get a bachelor's degree in computer science. MIT called up later with a full on scholarship to get a masters to which I accepted. Harvard offered up their own scholarship as well that allowed me to get a doctorate in science."
He paused, felt himself swell up with a bit of emotion and turned off his digital recorder so he could compose himself. He closed his eyes, breathed in and out carefully which forced the tears into hiding. He would cry later, for now, he needed to speak his mind. He turned on the recorder, "I've done a lot of good with accomplishments but I know that there are some who believe that that is nothing.
"Doctor Alexander who is head of cardiac surgery for the hospital said as such. When my sister passed out my mom called 911 and I went to work on checking her. It didn't take me long to figure out that she was suffering from ..." he turned off his recorder and chastised himself for not being professional but he couldn't for all he could think about was what came after. He turned on his recorder, swallowed back the tears, and said, "I told them that I could do the surgery that I could save her life but he had said ...
"He. He had ... said ..."
He paused, the tears turned to anger as he tried to speak but he couldn't. He turned off his recorder and lowered his head. He couldn't say the exact words because they stung really, really hard but it all boiled down to the notion that some were not willing to accept a sure thing because it could interfere with what they considered as reality. Everyone knew that Leonard was brilliant and could do the actual work, but Leonard didn't have a medical degree nor did he have a license to practice.
Everything deflated from him with one slow exhale. There were rules of course and Leonard respected that and part of him even knew that without rules that things would break. Still, couldn't they have made an exception?
"Leonard?"
He turned to see his mother at the entrance and he immediately stood up.
"How's Julie?" He asked tentatively.
And he knew the answer the second he saw his mother cry.
II
After the funeral, Leonard packed his bags and made his way to Paragon City. He spent time at the university and was hired almost immediately. He would go onto teach several classes in the world of science and would of course contribute to its longevity with his inventions and ideas. He built, and built, and people thought that that was eccentricity at its finest when in fact that was his desire to simply hide from the pain of his loss.
In time, the people at Paragon University would call him – The Professor – as would the rest of Paragon City.