----
Dr. Connors entered the lab quietly, handing over his latest analysis on the Mystique geno without saying a word. He didn't need to. Nolan would see the issue imdiately.
As expected, Nolan scanned through the report at lightning speed, his brow furrowing. "The cells mutate erratically after injection?"
Connors nodded. "Correct. The serum remains stable outside the body. But once introduced into a live subject, the gene expression becos chaotic. I haven't figured out why."
Nolan gestured to the AI. "A.E.L.R., pull up every video from the Project Shifter trials."
On the massive screen, dozens of fast-forwarded videos flickered, experints ranging from lab rats and rabbits to primates and human volunteers. They played simultaneously at 32x speed.
To anyone else, it would have been visual noise.
But Nolan's enhanced perception absorbed it all instantly.
"Replay subject files 5 and 10," he ordered suddenly.
The screen slowed, focusing on two specific tests. Compared to others, these subjects took noticeably longer before devolving into cellular sludge.
Nolan cross-referenced their dical records. "Both had histories of clinical depression... both were treated with heavy doses of barbiturates. Sedatives might've left biochemical residues."
Connors blinked. "So you think the drug interference stabilized the mutation?"
"Let's find out. Run a new test on rodents, inject a microdose of barbiturates first, then follow with the serum."
Minutes later, the experint confird the hypothesis. A previously erratic mouse underwent transformation. Its body pulsed unnaturally, then stabilized. It remained a mouse, though now jet-black in color.
"Interesting. The color change might indicate a safety chanism, instinctual camouflage," Nolan mused.
Connors glanced at him. "Ready for human testing?"
Nolan nodded. "Begin trials. Though results may vary. Mystique's geno evolved over decades, fine-tuned by nature itself. Most humans don't have that balance. Many will collapse under the strain."
He now understood why Project Sentinel, Bolivar Trask's mutant-hunting initiative,, used chanical exo-shells. Mystique's geno was simply too unstable for direct use.
The liquid-tal interface wasn't just a weapon platform. It was a containnt system.
Still, he couldn't access Trask's data yet.
"If we can even get temporary stabilization," Connors said, "we could begin integrating it into the Sentinel initiative. Dr. Octavius is already experinting with liquid tal fras for exo-armor."
"Tell him to continue. And divert resources into costic applications too, like short-term facial reconstruction or permanent scar removal. If Mystique's geno can reshape tissue on command, it's a goldmine for the beauty industry."
Connors chuckled weakly. "dical research is expensive. And Norman keeps pushing to cut funding. Our self-healing spray is holding off the bean counters, but just barely."
Nolan waved him off. "Do what you must. I'll handle the board."
...
As Connors rushed out to oversee trials, Nolan returned to his real task of fusing the absorption chanics of Red Hulk with the adaptability of Mystique.
Red Hulk's powers altered his appearance, changing skin tone, muscle mass, and even posture.
But Nolan didn't want to beco a monster.
He wanted the power, not the form.
With Mystique's geno, he could anchor the transformation, prevent aesthetic mutations, and refine control.
He began manually fusing the serum into engineered Red Hulk cells.
"Subject 2—green pigntation... cell behavior unchanged."
"Subject 3—blue pigntation. Still unstable."
"Subject 4—cell morphology altered."
One after another, he tested and mutated cells, his focus split between genetic engineering, magnetic manipulation, and real-ti data parsing.
A.E.L.R.'s interface scrolled at impossible speeds, recording everything.
This was why Nolan had created the AI—to offload the nial work of experintal logging while he directed the symphony.
Dozens of cellular variants later, he pulled a stabilized sample under the microscope.
No color mutation. No external energy emission.
Just silent, steady cellular reinforcent.
Morning sunlight spilled through the lab's windows, glinting off the Petri dish beside him. He placed the sample in the light, then peered into the scope again.
The cells weren't replicating.
They were reinforcing themselves internally, just as he intended.
No outward mutations. No monstrous transformations.
Just power quietly growing, like steel beneath skin.
"It's done," he whispered.
The prototype absorption module was ready.
With it, Nolan now had a passive, persistent thod of strengthening himself beyond spells, ditation, or experintation.
A thod that scaled with ti and exposure.
No more rituals. No more chanting.
Just stand in the sun and grow stronger.
Theoretically, there was no ceiling. Red Hulk's limit wasn't emotional like Hulk's. But it scaled with exposure intensity.
The drawback?
Adaptation slowed over ti, and exposure thresholds had to be constantly pushed to improve.
Also, Red Hulk vented excess energy as heat, a wasteful side effect Nolan had no use for. Better to store it.
Maybe Red Hulk's cells had limits on how much they could store. But Nolan's were different.
With each success, he was getting closer to the perfect synthesis.
He looked up at A.E.L.R.'s display. Gamma resonance simulations were now running at full capacity.
Nolan stepped toward the lab terminal to begin the next round.
----
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