Here Comes the Science: the origin of Miss Nox

(Posted in eight parts.)

Part I: Kings Row, 1992

"Jessie, suppertime!" came the yell from downstairs.

"Just a minute, Mom!" the young girl yelled back, before turning back to the assortment of parts and pieces scattered out on the table before her. Naturally, her mother’s call was forgotten within moments as she refocused on the project at hand. She was determined to finish this in time for the Science Fair at school tomorrow—she was positive she’d get first place this year. The remains of an old toaster, a few cheap watches, a dissected lamp, a radio, a television remote, and a few other bits were all put together in what looked like a contraption out of Rube Goldberg’s imagination. She might not be able to name her creation, exactly, but it served its purpose.

"Jessica Winifred Knox, you get down here RIGHT NOW!"

Jessica sighed, pushing herself away from the table with a grumble of frustration. She was so close to finishing her project. One hand pushed her oversized glasses up her nose, then tucked strands of mousy brown hair behind her ears from where they’d come out of her ponytail. She stomped down the stairs of the cramped townhouse where she lived with her parents and various relatives, the only child in the household. "I told you I was coming down, Mom—"

"What. Is. THIS?"

"—Oh. That." Jessica scratched the back of her neck, looking at the ominously blank space on the counter. "I…kinda needed the toaster for my science project, and it was an old toaster anyway, it didn't always work..." Her voice trailed off as she looked back at the rather angry face of her mother. Thin fingers fidgeted with the hem of her t-shirt.

"Do you think money just grows on trees, that we can go right out and buy anything we need just because you decided you needed something for one of your little hobbies? Especially when we just had to replace—"

"Damnit, Linda, lay off the girl just once!" came another yell, followed by a belch. Jessica winced slightly, having mixed feelings about her 'champion'. On one hand, she appreciated the intervention; on the other, it just meant more arguing...

"Maybe you oughta take more of a hand to her then, Thomas! For all you know she could be...building one of those clockwork monsters or something up there! Bad enough she can't be bothered to babysit or do a paper route or—"

Jessica had snuck out of the kitchen at that point, while her parents were distracted, seeking a bit of solace in the living room. One hand wiped a bit at her eyes, making sure no angry tears actually fell, when a hand rested on her shoulder.

"Don't take it so hard, kiddo. It's just bill time, you know what that means." The voice was reassuring; she turned and hugged the source, her uncle Jay. He was just eight years her senior, ten years her dad's junior; he'd always been more of an older brother to her than an uncle. Even if he'd been going out more and more lately, and staying out longer, having him there helped immensely.

Jessica detached herself from her uncle, moving to the front door. He made a bit of a sound behind her, probably to try and tell her not to go out, but she pretended she didn't hear. Besides, not like she tended to get bothered much around here. The worst element in this area were the Skulls, and most of them didn't seem really that interested in a skinny, geeky ten year old. The Clockwork haunted another part of Kings Row, and she'd heard rumors of wizards but hadn't seen any of them. She just wanted to get out of the house for a few.

Her nose wrinkled at the constant scent of air pollution. Even if the big factory had closed down before she was born, the smell it left in Kings Row didn't seem like it'd ever fade. There were still smaller places, like the steel rolling mill that her dad worked in, but the industrial heart of Kings Row was long gone. Most people Jessica saw were pretty down-hearted, resigned to living and dying in this place. Her mother couldn't see that she didn't want to be one of those people-- Jessica was determined to get out of here, go to the university, and become a successful scientist or engineer or something. Her teachers all said she was bright, that she'd be able to get scholarships.

She'd gotten to go to Atlas Park once; even though she was born and had lived all her life in Paragon City, Jessica had only been outside Kings Row that one time. They'd gone to see City Hall and learn some more of Paragon's heroic history, especially about Atlas himself. The main part that Jessica remembered was feeling self-conscious in her old shirt with the kool-aid stain and the jeans that she'd outgrown but still had to wear. In Kings Row it didn't stand out so much; most of the kids at her school were poor. In Atlas Park, with the other school groups around in their brightly-colored, new clothes, sneakers that lit up...she was acutely self-conscious.

Still, it didn't keep her from studying, from working toward those eventual scholarships. She hoped to take her current project to the Paragon Science Fair, if she won tomorrow's at school. Jessica was fairly sure she was a shoe-in, anyway-- most of the other projects involved feeding plants Coca-Cola, or making bubbles, or (among the more ambitious) connecting lightbulbs to batteries. She was about finished building a laser.

"Gettin' a little far from home, aintcha, little girl?"

Jessica pushed her glasses back up her nose, turning toward the voice. A figure detached itself from the shadows of an alley nearby; it was too dark to make out any features until he stepped more into the light, showing a skull-like mask over his face.

"I'm just out walking," she said, fidgeting once more with her shirt. This time to keep from bolting— she was trying to be brave, Uncle Jay always said she should be a brave girl. "I'm not doin' anything, just walking. M-my parents are arguing..." She saw more come out of the alley, and felt her stomach clench nervously. Gotta be brave, gotta be brave... "I don't have any money, my mom wants me to start babysitting or whatever but I don't have any money or anything. I mean, I'm just ten..." Mom had said criminals do bad things to girls...

"Maybe we got somethin' we want you to do for us. You do it? We'll give you a bit of money. Easy as pie." The one speaking exchanged a look with one of the others, who reached into a pocket. At this point there were about five around her.

"I—I don't know about this—"

A small package was shoved in her face. "Take this. Hide it for us for the next two days. Don't let no one see it. You do that? We'll give you enough money for a new bike or somethin' clean to wear."

Jessica looked from the package to the Skull holding it. What was in it that she had to hide for them? What if she said no, what would happen? She knew they had something, now...and they knew she knew. What if they did something to her family? There wasn't really a choice, was there? It all made even Jessica's head swim, a bit overwhelming. "I—okay, I will...just promise nothin'll happen to my family."

A grin came to the Skull's face. "Well, do what we say, don't tell no one, and no one'll know anything and won't come after you, will they?"

Jessica shoved it inside her jacket, then turned and ran. Her face burned at the laughter echoing off the buildings behind her.

Part II: Kings Row, 1992

The next night Jessica was woken up by a hand shaking her shoulder and a voice hissing at her in a whisper. "Jess! Jessie, wake up!"

She pushed herself up, leaning on one elbow while rubbing her eyes with the other hand. "Uncle Jay? What're you doing her? What's wrong? Building's not on fire is it, I don't hear sirens—"

"That package the Skulls gave you—where is it? What'd you do with it?" His voice, even at a whisper, held a certain urgency, almost fear. It was enough to make her sit up fully, waking quickly.

"I—I don't know what you're talking about—" she began, fumbling for her glasses beside her bed.

"Yes you do—damnit, Jess, this is important, don't keep secrets from me, not about this. Where's the package they gave you?" Once she had her glasses on she could see his face in the dark, which only alarmed her further. She'd never seen her uncle this worried before.

"It's—it's under my bed. I mean, up, in the box spring, where there's a hole in it. The corner down there—what's in it? I didn't look, I was afraid to look, what is it? How'd you know about it?" She was a smart girl. She could put two and two together... "You're—Jay, you're one of them?"

"Shut up! I'm trying to keep you safe, Jessie, you're the only one in the family who's got a chance to get outta here, outta Kings Row, I'm not gonna let you get killed in some drive-by because you went out for a [censored] walk and ran into a gang. When I found out Rolf made you take it and hide it I broke his nose, but he didn't know you were related to me."

He sat up from where he'd been looking for the package, looking at her once more. Both of his hands-- one with the package-- grasped her shoulders, his face drawing closer to hers. "Listen to me, Jessie. Don't ever do that again. I know you didn't wanna hurt anyone, but you gotta promise me, stay away from these guys. Keep your head down, run if you gotta, but just get through school here and get out of Kings Row before it's too late."

Jessica felt tears stinging her eyes, even more afraid now. "But—but you always told me to be brave—"

"Be brave at school, if a kid picks on you hit 'em back, but just run when you see these guys, Jess, I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you. Understand me?"

She nodded, falling silent again with tears still in her eyes, and watched him tuck the package away before he slipped out of her room.

Part III: Atlas Park, 1993

"And now, first place in the Grade 6-8 division of the Paragon City Science Fair goes to...Michael Wilton, from Atlas Park Junior High, for his project on aerodynamics!"

There was raucous cheering from the Atlas Park area of the university gymnasium where the science fair was being held. Jessica drew a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. She hadn't even placed-- and didn't understand why. She'd walked around the gym many times, she was the only one here from Kings Row Middle School but her project was, to her mind, the best. What had she done wrong?

"It's not you," Mr. Sokowoski, her science teacher, sat down on the bench beside her. "The judges didn't think your project was 'appropriate'." His tone of voice held clear scorn for that decision.

"I don't understand. What was wrong with it?"

He gave her shoulder a brief squeeze. "They didn't think a homemade laser was an appropriate project for submission by a sixth grader. They said because it was too dangerous, but I think...they didn't believe you really did it yourself."

She felt the familiar sting of angry tears. Again. "They think I copied it? I mean—I listed what I used, how I built it, and everything, why would they think I didn't do it?"

He seemed to hesitate a moment, looking down at her. It looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't decide if he ought to...but apparently Jessica was deemed grown up enough, because he did continue. "They don't think some girl from...well, where you're from would be able to do this. They might expect it from someone here in Atlas, or one of the rich kids from Founders Falls, but Kings Row? You're the first one to come here from our school in ten years, Jessica. I thought it'd show that you're something special...I'm sorry. I don't know if I'd encouraged you if I knew this would happen. We both know yours was the best. They just..."

"Didn't think someone like me could do something like this."

Mr. Sokowoski's shoulders slumped, and he rubbed his forehead. "I'm sorry, Jessica. I didn't think this would happen. Keep all of it, all of what you did and make copies of your work just to be safe. I think this'll get you somewhere in the future. I'm gonna protest the decision on your behalf, but...I don't think anything'll change. Just keep up your work. When you get to the real world, it won't matter where you're from, especially if you get to work with the heroes."

"It's okay," she said quietly, trying to smile reassuringly up at her teacher. "Just 'cause they don't want to see my project doesn't mean it's any less important. My uncle told me to keep studying and I'll get to be the first in my family to go to college, so...this'll just be an afterthought."

She felt him give her shoulder another squeeze. "You're a special girl, Jessica. I've got full faith I'll see you in the news one day, accepting some prize or another." He smiled. "Maybe I'll get to see you accept the Nobel Prize. And you can give your acceptance speech—I can hear it now. 'Mr. William Sokowoski taught me everything I know...'"

That made her laugh a little, through the tears. "I'll do that, I promise. Even—even if I didn't win here, you're right, it won't be a big deal later on...and besides, what other kid can claim they've got a real laser?"

He sobered up for a moment. "Be careful about that, though. Don't let it fall into the wrong hands, or tell a bunch of people. Especially back home. Now come on...time to head back home. My wife said she'll be happy to cook us dinner, if your parents don't mind."

With the display board folded, her project boxed up and secured, Jessica shuffled back toward the car with Mr. Sokowoski. Maybe next year, she could think of something beyond all of this but still 'safe', so she'd win like she deserved...

...Or maybe, just maybe, she'd do something even more outrageous. Who needed a prize? Jessica suddenly had the desire to just shock them all. She smiled to herself, the day now very much brighter.

Part IV: Kings Row, 1995

"Look man, we weren't doin' nothin'! We're just standing here mindin' our own business! Go bust some of those wizard creeps, can't you just fly up to some rooftop?"

"Yeah, man, all we're doing is playin' cards here. Last I heard there wasn't a law against that."

Jessica stopped short at the voices, recognizing the latter—her uncle. The one who'd become one of the Skulls. She didn't recognize the other Skull, nor the two additional male voices. A little voice told her to keep walking, let Uncle Jay handle his own stuff, and that she shouldn't be involved at all. Just run, like he said. Unfortunately...she was stubborn, and far too curious for her own good.

She turned, taking care to walk as silently as possible toward the sounds of arguing, her lower lip caught between her teeth. There were some empty crates near the alley; she could crouch behind them and peer between the top one and the corner. Be unseen while she watched what was going on and who was bothering Uncle Jay.

What she saw was a bit worrisome-- her uncle and his Skull associate, but the two with them were heroes. Please oh please don't let them arrest him...he said he wasn't doing anything, and she knew as well as anyone that just because you were in the gang didn't mean you stole or vandalized stuff.

"Just being here means you're up to something," said one of the heroes, a man wearing a red and blue bodysuit, with blue goggles. Lightning bolts decorated his metal gloves and boots. "We know you Skulls, we know how you work."

"Just because you're not doing anything right now doesn't mean you won't be an hour from now," continued the other hero, a blond man dressed in a sleeveless Chinese-looking robe. "I'd say my partner Arcflash and I are justified in wanting to take the two of you downtown..." The blond looked over to 'Arcflash' significantly.

"Unless, of course..." Arcflash's voice trailed off a moment, and he seemed to smile beneath his goggles. "...You turn your ill-gotten gains over to us. Can't have you putting it to bad use, after all. Might convince us to let you go, if Fox here agrees."

"Might. Depends on how much you got."

Jessica couldn't believe her ears. She thought heroes were supposed to...do good things. Fight actual crime, not harass people who weren't doing anything. Oh sure, she knew the gang did stuff sometimes, but they weren't at that moment. Why were the heroes doing this? Trying to take Jay's money?

"Where'd you get this, Skull?" The hero called Fox held up a little box, opening it. Something glimmered inside. Jewelry? Did Uncle Jay have a girlfriend...?

"Give it back, man, I bought that, it's legit."

"Right."

"You want me to prove I bought it? Fine, here's the receipt. Only showing you 'cause it's for my niece, tomorrow's her birthday, she'll be thirteen. I ain't giving my niece somethin' hot, she deserves better than that—" She could hear the growing anger in her uncle's voice.

But still—it was for her? Jessica had never owned a piece of jewelry in her life other than those cheap metal bangles you could get at the dollar store. It was something that was a real gem, just for her? And she was going to have to watch it get taken away...

"Where'd you get the money for it? Seems a little high for the regular income in this part of town," said Fox. "How about we keep this, and take you downtown anyway? I bet some jewelry store's gonna come up short something, or short some cash at the end of the night."

So not only was her birthday present going to be taken, but they were going to arrest her uncle just for being there? She couldn't stand it-- she had to do something. The two Skulls had been pushed against the wall when she finally moved.

"Stop it!" Jessica shrieked at the so-called heroes, running across the short distance to try and pummel Arcflash with her small fists. "Let them go, they didn't—Uncle Jay—" A fist caught her in the face, sending her into the brick wall; the jolt of electricity that had accompanied the hit left her stunned, slumping to the ground in a daze.

"What the—you just knocked out a kid, Arc, for crying out loud—"

"I didn't mean to! I didn't know what was coming at me, I just acted, it could've been another—"

The sound of a fist meeting flesh greeted her ears, as she still-blearily watched her uncle attack the hero called Arcflash, switchblade in his hand. He apparently found a mark, as there was a sudden shout of pain from the hero; the other jumped into the fray, lashing out with punches and kicks faster than she could follow.

It was all over too soon. Jessica watched in horror as her uncle collapsed, eyes wide open; everything seemed to shift abruptly from fast-forward to slow motion.

"Holy—holy f--k, Fox, you killed him—"

"He was going for you with a knife!"

The other Skull had long since fled, while there was a distraction; it was only Jessica, the heroes, and her uncle there. Who wasn't moving, whose eyes were open and glazed over. A feeling of sickness welled up in her, and through what seemed like superhuman effort she dragged herself from the wall to his body. "Uncle Jay—please—please wake up...you can't be—"

She looked up at the two heroes who still stood there, tears blurring her vision. "You killed him!" she screamed at them. "He—he wasn't doing anything—and you—you—"

"S--t." One of them threw the box down, before the pair of them bolted.

Jessica didn't know how long she'd been there before the police finally showed, to drag her away from her uncle's body. She clutched the box in her hand, only later looking down at what it contained. A silver necklace bearing a pendant in the shape of an atom, with the electrons as sapphires, the protons as rubies, and the neutrons as amethysts. There was even a little card inside the box.

Jessie— Keep studying. Hope this helps, maybe it'll be a good luck charm for you in the future when you're a famous scientist. Love, Uncle Jay

Part V: Kings Row, 1998

"Dude, Jessica, why do you wear that thing?"

Jessica looked down at the atom-shaped pendant around her neck. Usually it was hidden under her shirt, but her shirt was tossed over the front seat at the moment. She gave a shrug, looking back at the guy laying over her. "What? It was a present from a relative. What's the big deal? There's more important stuff for you to be looking at—"

"Heh, didn't know I was takin' some nerd out—hey Ms. Wizard, you bring us a pocket protector?"

"What do you—oh goddamnit, Rich, you were supposed to bring them."

"'S okay, baby, we don't need it, I'll just be careful..." His hands started moving again, looking to hike up her skirt.

Jessica wasn't having any of it. She pushed at him, moving his hand away from her leg. "I don't think so, I'm not [Censored] my chance at college just because you're an idiot who couldn't remember something as simple as a [Censored], I wanna go home—"

"Aw, c'mon, babe, you can't get me this worked up and not do something about it...just a little, that's all, come on—ow! You just—you b---h, you broke my tooth!"

"Because you wouldn't get off me, [censored]. I told you that you had to bring that was all you had to do, I even paid for my own movie ticket tonight and brought the twelve-pack. You don't get off me when I say, you get hurt. I didn't take those self-defense classes just for fun. [censored]." She wiped blood from her face, from where he'd spit on her while talking. Ugh.

"Come on, Jess, don't be like that—look, sorry, whatever, get back in the car—"

Jessica ignored him and kept walking, tugging her shirt on as she went. She heard the screech on the pavement as he peeled away, obviously more than willing to leave her there on her own. Good litmus test for a guy, wasn't it? Not that she'd shown herself to be very good at picking them in the first place. Hopefully there weren't any cops around, either, she knew they smelled like beer, and she was all of sixteen.

One hand came up to her necklace, so recently mocked, and she suddenly wondered what her uncle would have said about her now. She wasn't the skinny, gangly, mousy Jessie Knox anymore—there hadn't been any more upward growth, leaving her at just a few inches past five feet, but she'd filled out a little. More than a little; it'd been a constant embarrassment in junior high gym class, having to wear two sports bras over her regular one before she'd dare play soccer or any of that.

He'd be ashamed of her, probably. She was supposed to be studying more, not going out and drinking and whatever. Why did she do all of this, anyway? Because it was so nice being noticed... Mom and Dad barely paid attention to her these days; when her uncle was killed she hadn't realized that most of the attention she got—apart from the yelling—had been from him.

Jessica had kept on entering science fairs, because she knew he'd want her to, but with each year she was pretty sure her invites were more for the shock factor than because of genuine scientific interest. And she didn't mind it, really; she knew that beyond the 'shock factor' her research was solid, the interests relevant. But who else would have done a study of venereal disease among prostitutes, or the exact physics involved in the design of the ten most popular sex toys?

She turned down an alley after making sure no one lurked there; it was a good shortcut to get home, but if she ran into the wrong people...well, she remembered that time the Skull had wanted her to hide a package. Now there'd be a completely different kind of package to deal with, and she wasn't in the mood.

Why was tonight so different? She hadn't thought about this stuff in a while, at least not while on a date. All of a sudden, though, Jessica found herself wondering what her uncle would have said to her about what she was doing these days. She grasped the pendant that hung on the chain there, feeling suddenly ashamed for all of it. It was getting close to that time to apply for colleges. She'd already taken the SAT test twice; the second time was to improve her English score, she'd done perfectly in Math.

Uncle Jay had wanted her to be the first person in their family to go to college, and she was blowing all of that off just because her parents didn't care where she went, anymore. She heard Mr. Sokowoski's voice in her head, too—Maybe I'll get to see you accept the Nobel Prize someday. Did she want to disappoint him too? He was still very much alive, and even though she got straight A's...her reputation around Kings Row High wasn't nearly that immaculate.

Jessica paused, ducking her head to light a cigarette, then continued walking. She was thinking too much tonight, but maybe it was a good thing. She wanted to think her uncle could be proud of her someday...maybe she'd make her project next year about nullifiers. Ways of rendering a superhero's powers, assuming they didn't come from gadgets, useless. It'd be a nice legacy for Uncle Jay, wouldn't it?

She didn't hate heroes. She hated those who abused their power, and wanted to tell more people that just because people called themselves heroes didn't automatically mean they were good. And maybe some of them needed a little humility, courtesy of a lower-class girl too smart for her own good. There were a few people at her school with superpowers; she could use her reputation to lure them in to test it. Even of one of 'em was a chick, people said that girl was a lesbian anyway. Why not?

She had scholarships to win, and she'd do so however possible.

Part VI: Paragon City University, 2004

"Dr. Newell—ack! Hey, let me get this set up first—hold on, hold on, hold—" The rest of her protest was lost in a giggle, as Jessica felt herself tugged backward once the tube was secured. A pair of arms, still in the white labcoat, wrapped around her waist and a pair of lips found her neck.

"Dr. Newell, I don't think this is gonna help our research—" she continued her protest, though it was belied by laughing. She turned around in his arms, her own hands moving to his shoulders as she started to move them backward, toward the lab adjoining this one. The lab where the major work was.

"Mm. I love it when you call me by my title."

Jessica knew all of this was wrong; he was her professor, she was his student and his lab assistant, and even though they constantly worked together on his latest obsession there were boundaries that shouldn't have been crossed. Why couldn't she ever say no? It'd been her problem in high school, and now at Paragon City University...well...at least Dr. Newell had nabbed her quickly her freshman year, right? As long as they kept it quiet, no harm done. He wasn't married, he had no reputation for seducing students previously, and for the past three years here at PCU neither of them had looked at anyone else.

She wasn't in love, no, but this was a happy arrangement. Science, and regular booty calls with a man who was even smarter than her, not bad-looking, and a damn sight more mature than any college guy. And she discovered she liked 'em older; fifteen to twenty was a good gap. Jessica giggled once more, swatting his roaming hands.

"We'll have plenty of time for that afterward, Dr. Newell. I even got us some champagne, 'cause I know we're gonna succeed this time, and we'll need to celebrate..."

"You're a remarkable young lady, Jessica." He kissed her right beneath her ear, before pulling back. "We'll finish this part of my—of our negative energy work today, and celebrate tonight. Maybe this weekend, since it is fall break. First the project, then the champagne...then the world!"

She laughed, tugging him with her into the lab. "Come on, Dr. Evil, let's get this done."

One more brief kiss later and both had switched to business mode; another way they got along so well. Jessica slid her goggles on over her glasses, stooping to make last-minute adjustments to the capacitor. Adjustments, double-checking of tubes and wires, everything necessary to be sure that there were no unplanned variables in the final test.

Dr. Newell was putting on his safety gear while she made the checks, moving from the capacitor to the accelerator; the design had been based on the concept of a particle accelerator, hence the name, even if its purpose was quite different. The design was in fact Jessica's; through the cooperation of a hero with powers centering around negative energy, they were able to gather data, even store a bit of that particular form of energy in a second capacitor, at the other end of the accelerator.

Everything seemed to be in order. Jessica felt that little flutter in her stomach, from anticipation and excitement. If they succeeded, they were quite possibly looking at that Nobel Prize; this would be a form of energy-based fuel that was renewable and even self-sustaining. Already parts of the research had been released, timed appropriately and with just enough of the facts to be interesting but not enough to reveal their work prematurely; more importantly to her, it had both names on it—Graeme Newell and Jessica Knox. He wasn't going to try to take her work as his own, as she'd heard other professors doing.

"One more kiss, Jessica. For luck." He smiled at her, stepping over to the machine as she turned toward him. After starting the warm-up process for the capacitors, she turned from her place at the controls and tilted her head back to receive that kiss. "I've got a good feeling about this."

"Me too, Dr. Newell, me too." Jessica smiled, closing her eyes as he leaned down to her.

Something moved nearby, and a split second later there was an incredibly bright—at least, as compared to the mostly dark room—flash of light as if from a camera. Jessica turned about before she could help it, bumping into the negative energy capacitor; there were sparks as she knocked out some wiring and tubing, and more flashes from the camera. A photographer had snuck in—

"Dr. Newell!" she yelled out, giving up on trying to fix the device. "Get down!" She threw herself at the professor, to try and knock him down.

Everything shortly went black.

Part VII: Chiron Medical Center, Atlas Park, 2004

The first thing Jessica heard when she woke was her mother complaining about the hospital bills. Typical. At least Dad looked worried about her.

"Mrs. Knox, I assure you—Paragon City University will cover the hospital costs. Both because the incident happened during class hours, on an experiment done through the university, and because...well..." The doctor cleared his throat. "The accident has left your daughter genetically altered, Mr. and Mrs. Knox. In short, she is now what we would classify as 'superhuman'."

"You mean to say," Jessica heard her father say, "That my daughter's gonna be a hero?"

"Well, that's up to Miss Knox," the doctor replied. "Superpowers, as we all know from those currently housed at the Zig, do not automatically mean heroic deeds. She may want to continue to live her life as a normal citizen. While many with powers do feel the call to do something with them, there are still many who prefer to go about their everyday lives. Ah, Miss Knox, I see you're awake."

Jessica looked between the doctor and her parents. "What happened?"

"According to Dr. Newell—who is waiting outside, quite worried—you were setting up the final stage of your ongoing scientific project involving negative energy. A photographer from the school newspaper had snuck into the lab, and took a picture. We don't yet know why he was there," the doctor glanced at her parents before continuing, "But in addition to startling you, causing a sudden movement that damaged the equipment, the continued flashes set off a reaction between the negative energy and the light energy. I don't know why, I am not the physics professor that Dr. Newell is, but the reaction...well, the professor was wearing his safety gear, the photographer had escaped, but you caught the brunt of the blast, mostly unprotected.

"And luckily for you, you survived. Only now, our tests show that your genetic structure has been altered to something superhuman. The negative energy that was part of the experiment is now a part of your system."

Jessica let out a slow breath. "Wow. But..um...this won't affect my scholarships, will it? I don't have my Bachelor's Degree yet, I'm supposed to graduate in the spring..."

"Your other professors have been notified of the situation, Miss Knox, and we've made arrangements for your work to be sent here while we run further tests. Your status as an exemplary student made them more willing to make such allowances, fortunately." The doctor paused. "I'd read about you before, Miss Knox, you've quite a reputation."

For once it was nice hearing that in regard to her intellect, not other tendencies. Jessica smiled as he continued. "Some of your research into nullification has been put into effect with the superpowered criminals at the Zig. Ironic, now that you have superpowers yourself. I do hope you won't find your own work used against you, young lady."

That got a bit of a laugh from her. "Can I see Dr. Newell now?"

The doctor looked down at his clipboard, then nodded with a smile, gesturing for her parents to leave ahead of him.

Part VIII: Atlas Park, 2005

"Are you sure you want to register as...'Miss Nox', Miss Knox?" the hero identity registrar asked, eyebrows raising as she fixed her gaze on Jessica over the tops of her reading glasses. "Most heroes prefer to keep the identities separate, for their families' sakes. You're not exactly diverging here."

Jessica shrugged, shoving down the emotions that threatened to well up. "My parents are dead, ma'am. They got killed in a Clockwork-caused accident in Skyway five months ago. I don't have any family left to threaten, I don't have a boyfriend, I don't even have friends. I just graduated college, I want to do something with what I do have, and that something is be a hero. Already registered with Hero Corps and everything, all they need is my codename. I want Miss Nox."

The registrar shrugged, turning back to her computer to enter the information. "Suit yourself, dearie. Gonna print out some forms for you to take back to the Hero Corps folks, they'll tell you what you need to do next, and tell you where to go for your ID and EMD—that's your emergency teleportation device."

"That's the thing that monitors when I'm almost dead and zips me outta there, right? Handy thing to have. Thanks, ma'am."

The registrar smiled. "Good luck, Miss Nox."

Jessica smiled. "Thank you."

She left the registrar's office, papers in hand; her free hand reached up and tugged the atom pendant from beneath her shirt. "Well, Uncle Jay. I might end up beating up your former friends, but...I hope you're gonna be proud of me."

Jessica, soon to be Miss Nox, kissed the pendant before slipping it back under her shirt, heading toward City Hall. First the Hero Corps people, then Dr. St. John-Smythe of SERAPH, who was to be her starting contact as a science-origin Scrapper—a Paragon Hero. She paused briefly to look up at the immense statue of the fallen hero Atlas.

"Good luck, Miss Nox," she murmured to herself, before continuing onward.