Spider-Bat: New Way Home
Chapter One: Bad Medicine
Richard and Mary Parker, scientists at Oscorp, sat in Norman Osborn's office having a very important conversation with Norman and Otto Octavius.
"Please hear me out," Richard pleaded. "My wife and I are trying to have a baby, but due to Mary's medical condition, she is unable to get pregnant. We know you have been working on a drug that can cure her of this condition, and we beg you to consider allowing her to take it."
Norman leaned forward, but he didn't actually say a word. However, he merely looked over at Otto and allowed him to speak instead.
"The formula we have been working on is still light years away from being tested on humans," Otto informed them.
"Please, I've seen with my own eyes what the formula is capable of doing!" Richard retorted. "It is ready!"
"Sure, it has been tested on lab animals and insects, but I assure you, it is not ready for human testing." Otto repeated. "Several of our test subjects have had some terrible outcomes. We still haven't even figured out where the alien compound comes from. When the test subjects finally did give birth, they merely produced a black larva, only to hatch erratic offspring. Would you really want to do that to your child?"
Mary leaned forward. "That's not totally correct. We have been able to use the alien's DNA to cure our subjects, while at the same time, separating the erratic portions. Test Subject P is proof of that."
"Ha!" Norman laughed, finally willing to interject himself into the conversation. "Test Subject P is an arachnid! Do you really want to inject yourself with something that has only worked on a spider?… Only ONE spider, I remind you!" he reiterated. "Besides… even if it did work, all of our test subjects- AND their offspring- are the property of Oscorp."
"Mr. Osborn, please be reasonable. We have been working for you for over ten years now. Doesn't that allow us a little leniency?" Richard pleaded.
"Your leniency comes in the form of a rather nice paycheck." Norman replied, spinning around in his chair, now his back facing towards them. "I've given you my answer. Now…please leave my office," he demanded, waving his hand in the air as if to shoo them off.
Mary and Richard stood up frustrated. "Please sir, I implore you to reconsider!" Richard bellowed.
"I'm considering the possibility of replacing the two of you if you don't get the hell out of my damn office." Norman threatened. "If you want to have a child, simply adopt one."
Richard and Mary began to walk away, but before they exited the office, Mary turned back around. "Isn't your wife pregnant, Mr. Osborn? Seems strange that you lack the empathy of understanding what we are going through, doesn't it?" She emphatically stated, "I also find it strange that she too wasn't able to conceive a child, yet here she is… pregnant with your child. Funny how that worked out, isn't it? But… I guess it's like you said… All the test subjects are your property." She then turned around, exiting the room, slamming the door behind her.
"Those two might present the company with a bit of trouble," Norman said, spinning his chair around to face Otto, "I want you to restrict their security clearance. I also want you to keep a close eye on them," he instructed.
"Yes, sir."
"Plus, I'd like for you to get a hold of Mr. Fiers." Norman requested, giving Otto a mischievous glare.
"Mr. Fiers, sir?" Otto repeated, stunned by Norman's request, knowing Mr. Fiers was a hitman for hire; also known as The Finisher. "Are you sure that will be necessary?"
"Don't get your panties in a ruffle, Otto. I'm only going to use his services if those two try to cause us any trouble with our research."
"As you wish, sir."
Moments later, as Mary and Richard entered the parking garage, they were suddenly intercepted by another scientist at Oscorp whose name was Carl Brock.
"I was standing outside of Norman's office and I couldn't help but overhear the conversation the two of you were having about wanting to have a baby. I know what you are going through. My wife and I were very excited to finally have a child of our own. Little Eddie has brought a lot of joy into our lives. I believe I could help the two of you to complete your goal."
"How?" Richard eagerly wanted to know.
"Well, for starters, I heard you guys discussing the breakthrough of Subject P, but what you don't know is that Subject P wasn't actually the first breakthrough. There have been several others."
"What are you talking about?" Mary interjected. "We work in the main lab. We would know about any others."
Carl shook his head. "You work in the main lab… but there is another lab below Oscorp in which only a few scientists know about. There, they have discovered cures for several things. You should see what they've accomplished with bats."
"How exactly are we supposed to see this "hidden lab" if we don't have clearance?" Richard retorted.
"Because… I have clearance," Carl snapped back. "The two of you can meet me here tonight. I'll let you in through the back."
"Won't the security guards see us?"
"I will loop the security feed and shutdown the system that allows them to see which doors are being opened."
"That sounds dangerous," Mary cautioned.
"I've done it several times before. Everything will be just fine… Trust me. We will be in and out… I promise."
Later that evening, Richard and Mary met up with Carl. He then led them through the back door at Oscorp.
"Are you sure security won't know we are here?" Mary quietly whispered.
"The cameras are looped for 9 o'clock." Carl whispered back. "Plus, I have taken the liberty of setting up a couple motion detectors in the hallways. The guards just did their walk-around check of the building a few minutes ago. They usually hang around at the front desk for a half an hour. That should give us plenty of time to get in and out."
Carl then escorted them to an elevator, one they had been in several times before… Except this time was different. As they got inside, Carl pressed the number pad in a particular sequence which allowed the elevator to descend further down than Richard and Mary knew it was capable of going. Once the elevator stopped, Carl pressed a few more buttons which allowed the doors to open up.
As the three of them stepped out of the elevator, Mary and Richard couldn't believe their eyes. They saw several test subject animals in cages and some of the most advanced scientific equipment they had ever laid their eyes on. Then, Richard noticed something strange about the animals and the food they were eating.
"Why are all the animals covered in the black goop?"
"It's not black goop." Carl replied. "It's part of the alien compound. It is using the animals as its host."
"None of the other test subjects that we worked on in the main lab were covered with the alien compound." Mary spoke up.
"That's because those test subjects were given radiation, which caused the alien compound to remove itself."
Richard walked closer to the cages. "Norman said they didn't know where the alien compound came from. Is that true?"
"Sort of." Carl replied. "We don't know exactly where it came from, but we do know when it got here."
"How?" Mary and Richard asked in unison.
"Do you remember the meteorite that crashed into the cornfield in that little farm town called Smallville?"
"Yeah. But I thought the government got to it first." Richard replied.
"Well… It wasn't exactly a meteorite that crashed down. It was a spaceship. A witness said they saw two people picking up a small infant child from out of the wreckage. But- after going for help, the witness said the two people and the infant were gone. They even took the small pod the alien arrived in. The only things that were left behind were the black ooze and a few small, green-colored, meteor fragments. It must have somehow hitched a ride on the alien spacecraft."
"If the government got to the alien compound first, how did it end up at Oscorp?" Mary asked.
"Have you ever heard of the new and upcoming nuclear physicist named Robert Bruce Banner? He is only eighteen years old and he's already graduated college with a doctorate. When he first received the alien compound, he realized it was dead… or so he thought at the time. His theory was that the alien compound died from the extreme heat upon entering our atmosphere. After hearing the witness' testimony, Banner believes the alien compound was trying to get inside the spaceship so that it could use the alien child as its host, but when it couldn't breach the ship, it burned up. He also believes that the alien compound may have surrounded the ship like a cocoon in order to keep the child safe upon entry."
"If the alien compound was dead, how are we seeing it alive and well now? And you still haven't told us how it ended up in Osborn's hands." Richard continued pressing for answers.
"Gamma radiation." Carl proclaimed. "Banner realized the alien compound wasn't actually dead at all, but instead it had only gone dormant. He used Gamma rays to wake it up. But the study of Gamma rays is so new, Bruce would need a lot of money to do more studies- money the government wasn't going to provide. Therefore… he made a deal with Osborn to give up some of the alien compounds in exchange for funding. A lot of funding to be more precise."
"Wow! That is hard to believe." Mary piped up. "Based on what you are saying, we not only have this alien compound, which needs a host to survive, but we might also have an actual flesh and blood alien on Earth."
"Correct." Carl agreed. He then walked over to a table which held a small metal cylinder in the center of it. "Now let me show you what you are going to need in order to help you get pregnant," he said, pushing a button on the cylinder, allowing a small glass tube to pop up from out of it. "This is how Subject P was able to have non-erratic offspring. It is also what allowed Norman's wife to become pregnant."
The glass tube held a sample of the black alien compound inside it. And it was quite vibrant, bouncing all around inside the tube.
Mary took a hold of the tube. "How is this any different than the other alien compound which caused all the other offspring to become erratic?"
This isn't the same alien compound. This is a baby from the original alien compound. It has adapted to our atmosphere, the same way humans eventually evolved. Except it has evolved much quicker than we did. Once you inject yourself with just a little bit of its cellular structure, your body will start to heal itself, and you will finally be able to get pregnant, just like Subject P and Osborn's wife."
Richard began studying some of the other test subjects. "What are these bright green pellets that the tortoises are eating?"
"That is super-food. And those aren't tortoises. They are turtles. The super-food has made the turtles get larger." Carl answered. "It is called super-food because it is a synthetic formula meant to replicate the super-serum which created Captain America. Norman is still in the early stages of trying to recreate it. Once he does, he will be the richest man on the planet. Norman also believes that Banner's research of Gamma Rays will be very helpful with his discovery of a new super-serum."
Richard then walked over to a glass cage which was holding a bat. "Why does this bat look so malnourished?"
"Norman wants to see how long the alien compound can survive in a host without eating."
"We should feed the poor guy." Richard declared, grabbing a spoon full of the bright green pellets, and then dumping them into the top of the container holding the bat.
"Noooo! Don't do that!" Carl blurted.
Before Carl could do anything else, the bat began eating the pellets.
Carl's face turned worrisome. "We better get out of here."
"Why? What's wrong?" Richard inquired, not understanding why feeding the bat was such a big deal.
Suddenly, the bat began to grow larger. It continued to grow until it was three times its original size. It got so big that it was being crushed by the side walls of the glass cage, causing the glass to start cracking, until finally-
CRASH! Glass shattered in all directions after the bat finally managed to extend its wings.
The bat then became erratic and started shrieking, flying all around the secret laboratory. It swooped in, trying to attack Carl, but Carl managed to duck below a desk. It then hurled itself towards Richard and Mary, but Richard managed to put his arms up, keeping the bat away from their faces. However-
"OUCH!" Richard cried out. "That damn thing just bit me!"
Mary quickly grabbed a hold of Richard's arm and helped to usher him into the elevator. "Come on Carl! Let's get out of here!" She demanded, knowing Carl was the only one who knew the number sequence to get the door shut.
Carl hopped out from under the desk and quickly ducked into the elevator. He could see the bat soaring directly at him, but he managed to close the elevator just in time. However, in all the commotion, Mary looked down and realized the glass tube she was holding had been shattered, and the alien compound was no longer there. What she didn't know was that the alien compound had already attached itself to her.
"How did the bat grow so quickly?" Mary asked.
"Bats grow quicker than turtles. They only live five to ten years, whereas a turtle's lifespan can be well over one-hundred years long, which is why the turtles had only grown to the size of a tortoise thus far."
After the elevator had made it to the main floor, Carl received an alert, letting him know the motion detectors had gone off. After the elevator door opened, Carl peeked his head around the corner.
"It looks like the coast is clear. Let's go, but be quiet."
Unfortunately, Mary stepped on the shattered glass, making a loud crunching noise, which in turn caused one of the guards to hear it.
"Who is over there!?" The guard yelled out.
Carl quickly pushed Mary and Richard back into the elevator. "Get to the third floor, and then take the fire escape down to the ground. I will keep the guards away." He instructed.
Mary and Richard did what he said. After making it away from the building, they jumped in their car and sped away. The only thing they could do at that time was hope Carl would be okay.
When they finally made it home, the two of them began to feel sick and feverish.
"Does it feel hot in here to you?" Mary asked, sweat dripping from her forehead.
"I was going to ask you the same thing." Richard replied. "Maybe we should go lay down."
To be continued...
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