9 months later
Tony grimaced as he downed the dregs of his fifth cup of coffee. Wait, he'd already had his fifth...how many cups ago was that? Trying to rid the bleariness from his eyes, he blinked and glanced at the clock.
And promptly choked on his coffee.
3:18am?! Minutes ago it had been 2:12am! He'd planned all this success on injecting the serum exactly at three! Any longer boiling and the serum could lose the crucial electrolytes that would stimulate the brain activity!
Hacking in attempt to rid the tickle from his throat, Tony scrambled over to the controls and dragged his finger down the temperature levels, his heart pounding. He didn't waste a second, darting over the the burner and lifting the beaker off the stand. His heart sank into his toes when he saw the despairingly thin viscosity, but he still trickled a minute simple onto the screen and set the scanner. Please, please, please...
Concentration: 67%
Tony wanted to scream and sob. This serum had been cooking for the last ten months, and he had been so close... And now it was gone. He paused. Sixty-seven percent...that was still a good dose. Not the huge shock he thought he needed, but he was very tempted to use what he had. If there was a chance... No. Whatever the chance was that it would achieve his goals, the chance that it would cause irreparable damage to the mind and body of the subjects was much greater. He winced. His subject... That was wrong. Even if they did wake up, they would be brain dead at best.
He sighed and just flopped down, right on the ground. He was eagle spread, arms splayed, staring at the ceiling. What was the next step? He was not going to abandon this! Where else could he get the materials he needed?
No where. He'd exhausted many resources getting his hands on the elements needed for the serum he was creating...
"JARVIS?"
"Yes, sir?" Responded the AI. Even though he was inanimate, JARVIS seemed just as eager to accomplish the correct combination. They both wanted this goal.
"Sweep the entire globe for quantities of any size of the elements we used for the serum, in any form."
"I already did, sir. There are no traces of any amount."
Tony felt like his heart was being crushed. He. Had. Been. So. Close. The only time someone had come closer was for entirely different results, and all it did was...
Tony sucked in a breath.
He sat up.
"JARVIS?" His voice quivered.
"Yes, sir?"
"Dial up Capsicle. I need to ask him a favor."
Steve was in his mode when the phone rang.
BOOM! BOOM BOOM! BOOM BOOM BOOM!
His padded fists dug into the bag. His gave no mercy, imagining he was back punching the heck out of the Chitari.
Ring.
He froze.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
Who the heck would call him? Cautiously, he flipped open his phone and said. "Hello?"
"Rogers? It's me."
Steve's heart stopped. He struggled to stay calm. "Hi, Stark,"
"Listen...uh...I need to ask you a favor."
"Anything." Really, he would do anything to ease the guilt that choked him every day.
"Okay...I need to take a sample your blood."
A few hours later, Steve stood fidgeting in Tony's lab. The billionaire had gone to get the supplies. When he had woken up after his coma, the huge buildings, bright flashing lights, and roar of such odd automobiles was enough to overwhelm him. But Stark's lab...this was a whole new level of crazy! The world seemed to age 100 years in terms of advancement, as if Steve had stepped into a pocket of a different time. Complex little gadgets littered the table as if they had just been left to sit. What did they do? And the touch-light thing that let Tony just play with images on the wall was a little disorienting. Something that looked like a recipe was currently glowing on its transparent surface. Steve squinted, trying to decipher the hastily written words, but they all looked like chicken scratch until the very last step, which he really didn't get.
CRUCIAL: Experimental quantity- tesseractium? Tesseractite?
Just then, Tony walked in, decked out in rubber gloves, lab goggles, and sporting a wicked syringe. Steve gulped.
"How much do you need?" He eyed the needle apprehensively.
"For now, about a quart." He began to swab Steve's arm. For now? Wondered Steve. But he didn't ask. He was just relieved that Stark was talking to him. They hadn't exactly made up after the Chitari attack, and the only interaction then had only been the forced, necessary sentences. And especially when Tony took that missile, expecting to die...
Steve swallowed. "Look...St- Tony...I'm sor-"
"Don't, Rogers." Steve blinked. Tony continued. "I've already forgiven you. You didn't know. And trust me, if this works...well, I'll be in your debt."
"What is this for, anyway?"
Tony hesitated. "A personal project." Before Steve could ask more, Tony said "Here we go." And plunged the needled into Steve's arm. Steve looked away. An extremely uncomfortable silence gripped the room for about thirty seconds before before Tony expertly withdrew the needle and tossed Steve a band-aid.
He placed it under the scanner. The light blinked green, and a bunch or letters that vaguely resembled some legible pattern glowed to life on the screen. Tony stared. "So that's how he did it... Rogers, that German scientist was a freaking genius." He messed with a few symbols. "...and if it has..." He gasped.
"What?" Asked Steve.
Tony slowly turned to face him. There was an odd look of undulated joy on his face. "Rogers...I'm gonna need some more blood."
Steve was officially, mentally, and literally drained. He'd given Tony everything he needed, and was now struggling to gather the energy to lift the Gatorade cup to his lips. Tony was swiping wildly at his light screens, muttering under his breath. Steve noticed the dark bags under his eyes, how his clothes were wrinkled. Coffee cups littered the workspace, drained of content.
"JARVIS? Separate the organic blood material from the foreign stuff."
"Yes, sir." There was a slight whir, and the container-filter machine that held the blood began to rumble. A slow trickle began from the nozzle, but the liquid wasn't red. It was bright, shifting blue.
"You really did it." Breathed Steve.
"Yep. I just need to make a few of my own modifications, and I'll have enough to try."
"Try what?"
Tony didn't answer.
Ok, people, I'm setting up a poll On my profile. Tell me what you want to happen, as in choose one of the options I give you! I may/may not go with it but I want an ideas of what you guys like!
thanks people! Peace and poll!
