----
Back at the lab, Nolan rubbed his temples, clearly exhausted.
If he could help it, he wouldn't have dealt with people like Fisk at all.
He preferred types like Logan's muscle over mind. Easier to manage.
Heading down to the sublevel lab, he found Jessica glaring at him with a burning hatred.
"Where did you take Matt?"
She'd seen Nolan leave earlier with Murdock unconscious in tow. Now Nolan was back but Matt wasn't.
And there was no way in hell she believed he'd just let Matt go.
"He's dead," Nolan replied.
"B-But you said you wouldn't kill him if I corporated with you?" Jessica said with hit of angerin her tone!
"I lied" Nolan said bluntly
Jessica froze.
Shock hit first. Then guilt.
She collapsed to the floor, legs giving out. Her eyes turned glassy, her expression hollow.
She'd brought Matt into this. She was the one who convinced him to help Nolan. If she hadn't…
This wouldn't have happened.
Nolan looked at his two remaining test subjects Jessica and the half-transformed, lizard-skinned Logan.
Neither was easy to deal with.
Especially Logan. Even if you tore every muscle from his body, he'd just regenerate. And with adamantium shielding his vital organs and brain, there wasn't much room to work with.
"Leave them for now. They'll make good test cases later."
He turned his gaze toward Jessica. With the chemical compounds finally delivered, it was time for the next round of trials.
"Sedate Subject Two."
His assistant pressed a button. A mixture of high-concentration ether and neurotoxins filled the chamber, knocking Jessica out cold.
"Have we extracted the compound?" Nolan asked Connors as they moved into the prep room.
This experiment was critical.
Both Connors and Norman were assisting Nolan's enhancements, flight capability, and the next iteration of the Phoenix Serum were all on the line.
He'd already bartered hard with Fisk and burned bridges to get the formula components. Failure wasn't an option.
"Begin the trial," he ordered.
Norman was in charge of synthesizing the compound and collecting trial data.
Connors focused on monitoring Jessica's biological markers.
Nolan, meanwhile, sifted through mountains of real-time data, searching for the key the why behind every mutation, every cellular reaction.
---
Days passed.
Another test subject lay lifeless on the table, skin cracked open like dried earth, blood pooled across the floor.
"Another failure…" Nolan muttered.
His eyes scanned across endless streams of images and DNA markers on the monitors.
Everything had been perfect. So why was the subject's skin splitting apart? Why was the muscle growth overwhelming the dermal layer?
Norman stood silently nearby. He didn't know what to say anymore.
He was a capable scientist, sure but his time was split between R&D and OsCorp's public affairs. He couldn't keep up with the depth Nolan operated at.
"Did we replicate Jessica's transformation accurately?" Nolan asked.
"We did," Connors said, rubbing his own forehead in frustration. "Including the adrenaline surges during moments of rage. Even the ambient environmental factors were accounted for."
Nolan frowned deeper, combing through the data, hunting for a breakthrough when the lab phone rang.
"I told you not to interrupt during a trial!" Nolan snapped.
That call had shattered a fragile moment—he'd been on the verge of something.
"I'll take care of it," Norman offered quickly, heading toward the door.
"No. Put it on speaker."
Nolan exhaled slowly, trying to hold onto the thread of inspiration still dancing at the edge of his mind.
"What was Jessica missing…"
"Sir," Norman said, returning. "There's been a disruption at the launch event. Protesters are claiming our products are defective."
Nolan's eyes narrowed.
"Today was the launch for our regenerative bandages and spray, wasn't it?"
"Correct," Norman replied. "Harry's running point at the event."
Right… Norman's son. But if Norman's here, who's managing the press?
"What happened? Put the live feed on the screen."
Both the bandage and spray were spin-off products from the Phoenix Serum—intended to drive OsCorp stock through the roof.
And now someone was interfering.
The screen blinked to life.
Total chaos.
Volunteers were panicking. A man lay motionless on stage. Harry stood frozen, clearly overwhelmed. Media swarmed the scene, cameras flashing wildly.
"Patch me into Harry's comm."
"Right away."
A moment later, Norman said, "Harry, your father wants to speak to you."
"Dad—boss—sir…" Harry stammered, clearly rattled. "A volunteer wanted to regrow his severed finger. He used the spray, but then he started seizing. He collapsed… and… he died."
"Then people started shouting. Protesters are everywhere. The media there are cameras everywhere."
Nolan's expression hardened.
'Hydra? SHIELD?'
After that last battle at Oscorp, he'd pissed off at least two major factions. Both had the means and motive to sabotage his launch.
"Where's the body now?" Nolan asked.
"Still on the stage. Medics say he's flatlined. No pulse."
"Inject him with Phoenix Serum Two. Bring him back."
"Too late," Connors interjected. "Our data shows resurrection's only possible if the brain is still viable—about a thirty-minute window, max. Getting from here to the event, even with a chopper, takes over an hour."
"Unless you have the flight speed of a fighter jet," he added quietly.
Nolan turned back to the experiment data, eyes sharp.
His vision flickered with a memory of Jessica's accident. A truck tipped over. Chemicals spilled across her body.
"Flight… How the hell can Jessica fly?"
"Her epidermal cells create self-sustaining bioelectrical loops," Connors replied, "which generate localized anti-gravity magnetic fields."
Nolan's eyes lit up.
"Exactly. Change the method of application. Full-body immersion!"
He finally saw it.
He'd been thinking backward assuming the transformation started internally. But Jessica's flight came from her skin. From external absorption.
Her outer layer soaked up a massive chemical load, triggering the mutation. That's how her body achieved the dense musculature and flight.
"Wait," Connors said slowly. "Are you saying you want to gain flight right now? Fly to the event yourself?"
"That's the plan. I'll manage the chemical control from inside. Just observe my cellular changes in real-time."
"But we haven't even tested the concentration—"
"I'll handle it."
Nolan pointed to the transparent chamber originally designed for visual observation.
"Prep the immersion pod. Now."
In a matter of minutes, the lab was rearranged.
The chamber was filled with viscous, emerald-green liquid. Nolan climbed in without hesitation.
"Begin the trial!"
----
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