Book Two - Part One: Spectre

Laurel looks around the lobby at Columbia as Bruce waits, sat on a chair, keeping his head down. Professor Sterns emerges and Laurel moves towards him.

"Excuse me, Dr. Sterns?" she asks, he raises an eyebrow at her.

"Yes," Sterns answers.

"Sorry to bother you. I'm Laurel Juspeczyk"

"Dr. Juspeczyk, my goodness...I read your wonderful paper on mutation in nucleotides!!" Laurie is a little surprised. "To what do I owe the..."

"Oh...There's someone I'd like to introduce you to..." She tells him and looks to Bruce as he steps to her side.

"Mr. Blue, I presume" Bruce offers.

"Mr. Green!" Sterns counters with an excited smile.

................

Sterns' lab has a bit of the 'Mad Scientist' clutter to it as Laurie looks around it. Sterns speaks very quickly to Bruce who struggles to keep up.

"...it took some work, let me tell you, we've never tried to concentrate the trimethadione a tenth of what your peak exposure correlates with. That you survived an event like that to stand here and discuss this....it has something to do with Dr. Ross's protein primer capacitating the cells of course, but it's beyond my reckoning...we could study it for years"

"But you think you've got the concentration right?" Laurie asks moving back towards the two men.

"Well yes...on paper anyway. And my cell saturation will make sure we don't miss any spots...but...even if we hit the levels right, I can't promise this will cure you. It might only be an antidote to suppress the specific flare-up. When you have one of these 'spikes' ... is the experience extreme?" Bruce and Laurie share a look.

"You might say that" Bruce admits.

"Well, I can't wait to see it! You know I must say...I wondered if you were real. And if you were I wondered what it would look like...a person with that much power lurking in him. Nothing could have surprised me more than this unassuming young man shaking my hand!" Sterns then hesitates. "I'd be remiss however if I didn't point out that these concentrations carry extraordinary levels of toxicity." Laurie turns to Bruce and shoots him a look. "If we're over by even a small integer, the residual could kill you. Will kill you" Laurie stares at Bruce.

"There's a flip side to that ... if we miss on the low side...if we induce me and it fails...it will be very dangerous for you" Bruce counters and takes a breath. "For all of you"

"I've always been more curious than cautious. It's served me well so far but if that's what kills this cat in the end...well at least I'll have peeked around a few corners" Sterns then smiles at them. "So then we're all agreed?" Laurie moves to Bruce and looks up at him.

"Give us a second," Bruce tells Sterns and then pulls Laurie away from him.

"Kill you?" She whispers. "This could kill you?"

"It won't" he assures her cupping her cheek. "You and I know how powerful he is....this is not going to kill me, he won't let it" she takes a breath and nods, he kisses her softly and pulls back, he turns to Sterns and finds him right there next to him, Bruce jumps a little.

"Into the Glorious Unknown!" Sterns tells them.

............

Sterns and Laurie make the preparations to 'treat' Bruce. There is a table that looks disturbingly like a set-up for a lethal injection. A little bit of a Frankenstein vibe too. Bruce strips to his lycra shorts and gives his clothes to Laurie.