Being a Banner [ 1 of JA ]

27

This'll be an interesting night. I grabbed my jacket and was out the door when I called to Dad to hurry up. He came out wearing a grey button down shirt and khaki pants.
      "Where are we going?" He asked, grabbing his coat.
      "To the lab. I told Dalia earlier today to meet us there around nine." I explain.
Dad sighed, "Okay. Hang on a second."
      He exited the living room, and about a minute later he came back with a pile of fresh clothes in his hands.
      "What are those for?" I ask, eyeing the pile.
      "Do you want to see me half-naked? My clothes don't just magically appear on my body after that happens." Dad explains.
      "Good point." I say as I open the door to leave our apartment. I was very nervous, but I could tell Dad was extremely nervous. I couldn't imagine what this felt like for him, and I could tell it was about Dalia seeing him as a monster.

      I knew I could keep Dad in line, but I was nervous that I could do something wrong and have New York see a battle between the SWAT and a giant green monster. My worst fear was not handling the monster and ending up hurting Dalia. If I somehow didn't break every bone in my body when Dad flung me out the window of the radiation center, then I wasn't too worried about myself tonight. But like everything there's always the one question everyone asks theirselves in a big situation: what if?

*************

      When we arrived at the lab, we didn't go through the front doors, but into the alley way and to a door that was at the end of stairs heading into the ground. As we entered the lab, I smile to see Dalia on the table eating fried rice from takeout she got.
      "Oh!" she exclaims, putting the white plastic container down. "Hey guys," she greets with half a mouth full of rice. Dad and I walked up towards Dalia, a bit close together. Dalia moved herself in front of Dad, and I knew this was my cue to move away letting them have a moment, but also to eavesdrop.
      "Hey, Bruce," Dalia whispered to Dad. I pretended I was setting something up while taking off my coat. "Whatever is going to. . . 'Go down' tonight, I'll still be with you." I saw Dalia smile from the corner of my eye.
Dad smiled. "Thanks, Dally,"
Dalia smiled. "Dally?" All Dad did was smile small of embarrassment, but Dalia's cheeks turned pink as she smiled even bigger.

      "Here, lets go this way," Dad says, directing us to the double doors on the other side of the room. After exiting the doors, I realize we're heading towards the Radiation room. 
      "So, where'd you come up with Dally?" Dalia asked.
      "You always say, 'don't dilly dally,' and I can't help but think of you because you're so motivational." I hear Dad say. Dad's so awkward, but I can tell it's making Dalia feel like the best girl in the world.
      As we walked down the hallway we passed the Radiation room where I met the Other Guy for the first time the other night. The doors and shattered windows were taped with yellow 'DO NOT CROSS' tape, and I could see a bunch of safety cones everywhere inside. I looked to Dad, which was a bad move, but saw he was looking too, and I could tell he was putting on an act for right now.
      "Did Barbara tell you? The Radiation Room got blown up by the main controller." Dalia explained. A silent sigh of relief left my lips, and I felt instantly better that Dad's company didn't find out it was us.

      The three of us entered a room a few doors down from the Radiation Room. All the machines had a covering over them to keep them from getting dirty. The machines were surely here because they were either broken — hence some without a covering — or they were back up machines that were replaced with new technical machines.
      "What's this place?" I ask, just to make sure that if anything in here breaks it won't matter to the company.
      "It was the old main lab, now it's just known as the Dirt Pile." Dad says, looking around the room himself. I pulled off a covering on a machine, which made a heavy dirt and dust cloud in the air and travel down my lungs.