Chapter 52: Spider-Man Serum
Dr. Martin stood up straight the moment Matthew said his name.
He cleared his throat.
"Boss. I apologize. We only just completed the analysis of how the target's body has changed since the genetic alteration."
"What did you find?"
"We have results." Martin picked up the report and began. "Cross-referencing against the database, the genetic changes in this individual show meaningful similarities to spider genetics."
"From that we can project that his physical capabilities have changed significantly. The primary areas are strength, agility, and vertical jumping ability. He may also present some spider-specific characteristics, such as the ability to produce webbing and to adhere to vertical surfaces."
He paused.
"There is one thing I can't account for." He turned and pointed to a section of the gene map displayed on the wall. "This portion of the altered sequence has resisted all our attempts to decode it. It appears to be non-functional."
Martin had been working in this field for a long time. This particular sequence had him genuinely at a loss.
Matthew said nothing immediately.
He had a hypothesis. The segment Martin was calling non-functional was, in his estimation, almost certainly the Spider-Sense sequence. The one capability in Peter Parker's profile that was in a category of its own. Not the strength or the agility, but the precognitive danger detection. The reason Spider-Man survived things that should not have been survivable. That sequence being unreadable to current analysis was consistent with it being something that current biology didn't have a framework for.
"Dr. Martin." Matthew looked at him. "If I assigned this to your team, could you produce a serum based on his capabilities?"
The question landed on Martin visibly.
He thought for roughly half a minute.
"Boss. What you're describing would be a serum modeled on this individual's abilities, intended to produce a comparable enhancement in a normal human."
"Correct."
"I have to advise you before we go any further: modifying human genetics is inherently extremely dangerous. The probability of genetic collapse following injection would be approximately ninety-nine percent." He said it plainly. "And beyond the risk, the approach itself is fundamentally the wrong way to pursue this. Forcing the body to evolve on a timeline it wasn't designed for. Like trying to make a plant grow faster by pulling on it."
Matthew raised one hand.
"I understand your concern. But what I asked was whether it could be done. The answer I need is yes or no."
"If you can't do it, I can assign the project to William. I'm confident he'll give me a satisfactory answer."
The reason Matthew hadn't started with Birkin was purely logistical. Birkin was already carrying three simultaneous projects: the G-Virus, the V-Virus, and the T-Virus. Adding a fourth would stretch the timeline on all of them to a degree that wasn't acceptable.
He watched Martin's face.
The wrinkles around Martin's mouth rearranged themselves through several expressions. Then he shook his head.
"I'm sorry, sir. I won't make this serum."
"In my professional judgment, it's too dangerous to produce."
He knew he could build it. He also knew he could not make it safe. Since the second part was true, he preferred not to do the first.
"In that case, Dr. Martin, you're dismissed." Matthew said it without any particular emphasis. "I wish you well in whatever comes next. I hope another company will be willing to take you on."
He looked at the rest of the room.
"As for the team. If it can't function without one key person, I'm not sure there's much point in keeping it together."
Just as Matthew was about to make the disbandment official, a figure stepped out from behind Martin.
Young. Probably mid-thirties.
"Mr. Lawrence. I can make the serum. In Dr. Martin's place."
Martin turned around. "Thomas?"
Thomas gave his teacher a small bow.
"I'm sorry, sir. You live alone. You'll be fine. But I have four children to provide for. Loans I can't stop paying. If I lose this position, I'll be in serious trouble next month."
"Same here," said someone else in the group.
"I also have loans. Dr. Martin, the whole team losing their jobs because of one person's decision isn't something I'm prepared to accept."
The voices came from several directions at once. Martin looked around the room at colleagues he had worked alongside for years. Not one of them was standing with him.
"It looks like your team has voted you out, Dr. Martin." Matthew allowed himself a small smile.
Martin could not make a complete sentence out of it.
He looked at the indifferent faces around him, and at Matthew's expression, and something in him arrived at a final decision.
He would leave. Let them have it. They would regret this.
And when he got out of this building, the first thing he would do was find the person named Peter Parker and tell him everything. Then he would take everything he knew about Umbrella's unauthorized pharmaceutical research and make sure it was documented and published.
Martin pulled off his lab coat, dropped it, and stepped into the elevator with the expression of a man walking away from something he had decided was beneath him.
The elevator was, as everything else in this building was, embarrassingly well-appointed. The interior paneling alone was more expensive than most lobbies he'd been in.
He stared at his own reflection in the polished doors and muttered at it.
"Matthew Lawrence. You'll regret this. Thomas. Every single one of you who works for Umbrella. You'll all regret this."
The elevator climbed from the underground laboratory floor.
As the elevator neared the ground level.
A low buzzing filled the cabin. The lights flickered.
Before Martin could identify what was happening-
A sharp crack, from directly above.
One of the support cables.
The elevator entered free fall.
The impact, when it came, was conclusive.
The man who had been planning, seconds before, to expose Umbrella's unregistered pharmaceutical research program had taken his plans with him.
Just an accident. A simple one. No investigation required.
Martin had no family. The matter resolved itself quietly. The laboratory floor's soundproofing was, as it had always been, exceptional.
Nobody on any adjacent floor heard a thing.
"Thomas." Matthew turned. "You said you can deliver this. When can I expect a sample?"
Thomas thought about it for a moment. "Three months, if the samples are sufficient."
"What samples?"
"Blood, primarily. Additional biological material from the target would accelerate the process considerably."
Matthew turned to Eleanor. "In your assessment, can Angela obtain what he needs?"
"Yes, sir." Eleanor nodded. "Given her current positioning, acquiring that material won't present a problem."
Matthew returned to Thomas.
"I'll have samples delivered to you shortly. Start with the blood we already have. Budget is fully covered by the company. Don't concern yourself with that."
He reached over and put a hand on Thomas's shoulder.
"I have confidence in you and your team."
"If you deliver a sample I'm satisfied with in three months, everyone on this team gets a twenty percent salary increase. There'll also be a team bonus."
[System: +5 points. Thomas feels considerably more motivated.]
[System: +2 points.]
[System: +1 point.]
***
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