"Incredible. Simply incredible," Dr. Mendes sighed, examining the special spools of enhanced thread.

"We did it," another scientist, Dr. Rhodes, smiled. She lifted the red spool, the one she had poured her heart and soul into, to the harsh florescent lighting.

"Be careful!" Dr. Mendes scolded her, grabbing the thread from her hands.

Dr. Rhodes grit her teeth and narrowed her eyes. "I am careful. This is the culmination of my life's work: the study of botany and communication with mother trees, combined and shrunk into such thin armor." Her anger succumbed to the sheer awe which she felt as she looked at the beauty of the thread.

"You're not the only one whose put a lot into this," another scientist argued and began to reach for the green thread.

"Enough," Dr. Mendes ordered. "What matters is that, as a team, we have accomplished a feat most had previously thought impossible. Congratulations are due to all of us!"

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The team of scientists cheered, patting one another on their shoulders and shaking hands. Dr. Rhodes didn't join. Once she got Dr. Mendes alone, she asked him, "What happens now?"

"Now, we send it off to the government. Our work is done. Quite beautifully, I might add," he smiled, but Dr. Rhodes did not feel encouraged. Ten years of her life was spent on this project alone. Countless others on the research that made it possible. Now, it would disappear. The government would cover up anything to prevent such technology from falling into another's hands. Ten years of her life would now never exist. Dr. Rhodes wouldn't let it happen. As the rest of the crew filed out, she stayed behind. Once she turned out the lights, she backpedaled, slipped the threads into her pockets and headed home.

Yanking the phone cord out of the wall, and wondering why she still had a landline phone, Dr. Rhodes finished cutting off all communication to the outside world. She'd already destroyed her personal and work phones, tablet, and laptop. Before she packed her belongings and fled, she turned the television on to check the news. The only show on her local channels was some children's show that she decided to let play in the background. Slowly but surely, she was sucked into the show, becoming enthralled in the plot of an ordinary girl-turned-superhero pulled into an epic battle of wills. Through it, she found the perfect idea to make sure everyone knew about her research. She rolled her red thread in her hands with a smirk on her face. It was time to get sewing.