Malrick spent the night in a haze.
Alcohol didn't dull his senses, but the drunk faces pressed close made him stop thinking altogether. Strange things had happened.
When he saw Ada and Jill still passed out beside him the next morning, it finally made sense—they were still drunk, sleeping soundly.
Malrick quietly tidied the blanket's edges, then slipped out.
At the police station shower room, he washed blood off parts of his body, then changed into casual clothes.
He walked slowly to the underground research lab.
Tony, of course, wasn't there yet.
The last ti Malrick saw him the previous night, Tony was disappearing into a corner with two big waves of laughter. He probably wouldn't get up until noon.
Right now, the lab was empty.
Yesterday's celebration had effectively put the newly ford country on pause.
Malrick settled in and started research alone.
He commanded JARVIS to pull up Tony's work from yesterday.
Originally, he wanted to continue Tony's progress.
What surprised him was that Tony had managed to reduce the S virus's mutation rate to 5%.
This was essentially an evolutionary miracle serum.
But even for Tony, progress this fast seed almost unreal.
Malrick examined the digital records closely.
Tony had hit a wall mid-experint. Attempts to integrate the Extremis virus had failed.
Then an idea struck Tony: using his own blood as the dium. Efficiency skyrocketed.
The special physiology granted by the world consciousness turned out to be the perfect universal carrier for virus fusion.
Tony had analyzed the changes as the virus rged with his blood.
He successfully fused the Extremis virus with the S virus, bringing mutation rates down to five percent.
Following his own naming pattern, Malrick labeled this new virus "S2 evolutionary virus."
But further improvents stalled.
Despite the breakthrough, the mutation rate couldn't be lowered any more.
At the bottom of the file, Tony wrote a final note:
"Viruses rely on contagion and mutation. To achieve safe, complete evolution, viruses can't be the carriers—we need a new dium."
Malrick pondered this.
A new dium… mold or parasites?
"No. Those are unstable, external. We need sothing else."
He scanned the serum vial on the table, and a spark ignited in his mind.
Wait—Super Soldier Serum. Of course.
He stood abruptly and slapped the table.
"JARVIS, any partial formulas or data on Super Soldier Serum in the Stark database?"
"Master Malrick, there is incomplete docuntation stored at Stark Industries mainfra," JARVIS replied.
"Perfect. That's exactly what I need."
Activating his ti-travel ability, Malrick vanished and reappeared monts later.
He plugged in a USB drive, and a wealth of Super Soldier data flooded the screen.
"This ti, failure isn't an option," Malrick murmured, stroking his chin.
---
Noon ca swiftly.
Tony arrived at the lab, still rubbing sleep from his eyes.
He aid to tease Malrick but froze when he saw the research direction.
Without hesitation, Tony donned his lab coat and dove in.
Hours slipped by unnoticed.
When the giant precision synthesizer beeped, a golden solution was drawn into a clear syringe.
Both n stared in awe.
"Look at this beauty," Tony grinned, holding the syringe like a prize flower. "We're practically Protheus."
Malrick nodded.
"This serum can elevate any creature to a new evolutionary rung—beco a new species entirely."
"It's the fire of the gods, Zeus's own lightning," Tony added reverently.
Approaching the instrunt, he picked up the syringe.
"S virus, E-Mold, Plaga parasite, and Extremis virus."
"We've fused the mutation and evolution factors from these four keys, inspired by the Super Soldier Serum's transformation thod."
"Today's serum isn't contagious, has no side effects—it's simply the next step in evolution."
"Beyond enhanced strength, stamina, speed, and intelligence," Malrick continued, "it grants immunity to viruses, super regeneration, limb extension, bacterial control, blood parasitism, and temperature manipulation to thousands of degrees."
"'Perfect' doesn't even begin to describe it."
"So, what should we call it? SS Enhanced Serum? Since it's derived from the S virus."
Malrick counted the features on his fingers before suggesting the na.
Tony smirked.
"Sounds okay, but not original. How about Super Soldier Aweso Extra Large Serum? Beats that old guy Howard's formula!"
Malrick rolled his eyes.
"Seriously? That's awful. It's settled—SS-type strengthening serum."
Tony shot back, "Your na sounds like a cheap mass-produced product."
"Whatever. It's your serum."
Malrick shook his head.
"And you're not seriously planning to distribute this everywhere, right?"
Tony frowned.
"That would bring more crises and conflicts. You know that."
"Of course not." Malrick pulled two syringes from the table. "Rember our earlier results?"
He laid out three vials.
"This is SS1—only the S virus traits."
"SS2 incorporates Extremis virus properties on top of SS1."
"And the SS3? The perfect serum we just synthesized."
"I've thought it through. SS1 will be widely available, SS2 only for trusted individuals, and SS3... is yours alone."
He patted Tony on the shoulder.
"Since SS3's raw materials require your blood, it's uniquely yours."
Tony's grin grew wider.
"To be honest, hearing that almost made tear up."
He exaggerated dramatically, "If you hadn't drained 400cc of my blood in one go, I'd probably be crying."
"Don't flatter yourself. All for science."
Malrick threw an arm around Tony's shoulders.
"Co on, I'll take you to eat sothing worth your energy."
"Worth it? You an the sticky ration bars in this doomsday wasteland?" Tony grimaced.
"End of the world or not, you still want your gourt fix…" As Malrick spoke, a sudden movent washed over him.
His face shifted.
---
Reviews
All reviews (0)