14 Towering Tower
Hey, I just wanted to ask, is the story going a bit too slow for you guys? I think it's going fine, but you may have a different opinion. With how it's currently going, he'll probably gain his first powers in 6 - 7 chapters min. Should I speed it up or is it going just fine? Just drop a comment on the para.
***
"Goddamn..." Peter whispered as he stood before the Oscorp tower. Its brand was plastered vertically down on the building as if everyone needed a reminder. He honestly didn't know whether the future Stark tower would be taller than this, but given Stark's enormous ego, he would make it so.
He walked over to the entrance of the gigantic complex that was the tower and was instantly stopped by security, but their wary looks disappeared once he showed them his temporary ID. He then had to go through four more security checks that made him mentally groan. He could understand three security checks as they were necessary for an organization such as Oscorp, but the fourth was completely unnecessary.
'Nothing I can do about it,' he sighed to himself as he got his bag back.
He then walked over to the reception, which was beautifully decorated, where he was registered and pointed in the direction that he had to go. The place he had to meet Dr. Curt Connors was in room 1642A in the Cancer Biology program in the Life Sciences Department.
He thanked them and walked over to the empty lift that took him up to the 16th floor. The doors slid open, revealing a pristine white floor that was air-conditioned and lined with evenly spaced named rooms. The laboratories and offices were differentiated by the material of the doors and their width. Comfortable chairs were on either side of every room while occasional plants made the monotone colors of the floor more vibrant.
Peter walked by room after room, the sound of his shoes echoing on the floor. He occasionally passed by a few people, some scientists and other interns whom he asked for more specific directions.
It took an entire minute and a half from the lift to the lab, which spoke to the sheer size of the floor. He walked over to lab 1642A, where he found a beautiful middle-aged woman with a lab coat sitting on a chair. She noticed him walking toward the lab and frowned at him. She looked slightly confused as she looked back at her phone and back to him.
"Are you Mr. Peter Parker?" she asked tentatively, as if scared of making a mistake.
"Yes, I am," not recognizing the woman but still extending his hand for a handshake. "Nice to meet you. May I know who you are?"
"Ah, Mr. Peter!" her eyebrows raised before chuckling and shaking his hand. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you look nothing like the picture I was given."
"No offense taken," Peter smiled. "It's not a very flattering picture. I can accept that."
"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself," she facepalmed. "I'm Martha Connors, assistant professor for Cancer Biology. I read your notes on your experiments, and it's frankly quite incredible what you've achieved."
"Just doing what I can to make the world a little better," he waved off the compliment, acting modest, which made Martha's smile grow wider.
"Well, it's best you get in the lab," she said, grabbing a lab coat beside her and handing it to him. "My husband absolutely cannot wait to meet you, and Norman has been practically jumping in excitement at your experiments."
Peter thanked her and slipped on the lab coat, finally feeling at home.
'Never thought that wearing a lab coat would be so cathartic,' he thought to himself before opening the dual doors and entering the laboratory.
To say it was large would be an understatement. It was twice the size of the lab his former professor had, and the professor was the most highly regarded individual in the university!
The lab he had just walked into was decked to the absolute limits. Oscorp indeed spent money as though it was nothing but water.
There was an entire section for PCR's, another for cell cultures, Immunology research, and more. Marble rows of desks lined the place on which instruments and equipment lay neatly ordered. Powerful laptops sat aside while a large fridge sat in a corner.
'This is easily the best lab I've ever seen,' Peter thought to himself. 'Sorry Professor...'
In the center of the lab, two men were talking to each other - one was quite animated, with small round glasses and thin blonde hair falling to either side, while the other looked like the embodiment of a businessman - Willem Dafoe in a suit and Oxfords. He had brown hair that was combed to the side, with piercing blue eyes that seemed to see through you.
The moment he stepped into the lab, their heads turned in unison.
"Peter!"
"Mr. Parker!"
Peter greeted them, his eyebrow twitching at meeting 616's most well-known and sadistic Nemesis, and walked up to them, extending his hand.
"Finally!" Dr. Curt Connors, who now had two hands, said while shaking his hand a little too enthusiastically. "You have no idea how much I've read your notes. Such a fresh perspective on fighting cancer could truly help us eliminate it!"
"We're past this, Peter," Norman pushed his hand to the side and engulfed him in a tight hug before patting his shoulder. "You've changed so much. I guess you've finally started listening to me about eating better. I can barely recognize you."
"I'll take that compliment," Peter nodded before turning to Dr. Connors. "I've read all your papers, sir. If anything, the growing of T Cells in a lab that you pioneered must've saved millions."
"Ah yes..." Conners sighed, seemingly reminiscing the past. "But the chance of the T Cells going rogue is what bothered me. Immune-related adverse events are what haunt me. Watching a person's body killing itself is horrifying to watch."
"Ah, yes, about that," Peter cleared his throat. "I believe I may have a theoretical solution to it - well, not exactly a solution since I'm not solving the adverse events but am solving another problem."
"You have?" Connor raised his brows in shock. "You've devised another method other than inducing apoptosis?"
"Well, the apoptosis pathways in cancer cells have defects, and thus, my theoretical solution would not be a total solution. Not all the cancer cells would die due to my chemical - it would merely reduce the speed of growth and the number of cells in the tumor," Peter shook his head.
Connor shook his head in exasperation. "Your 'partial solution' can theoretically reduce stage 4 cancer to 3 in the simulations we've done in Oscorp. You're telling me you have a foolproof method to get rid of cancer? So soon?"
"I believe so, but you're the expert here. You tell me," Peter unzipped his bag and passed the doctor a revised version of his notes that were specifically modified for other people.
The very moment he formulated the plan to create Project Genelock, he knew he didn't have the required technology to design such a complicated protein or the genes that would code for its production. After all, even if he asked for the necessary equipment, it would be suspicious as it was unrelated to cancer. If he told them that it was to research a protein, then he would have to throw them a bone anyway, which was RPX, and he couldn't possibly ask to borrow a multi-million dollar piece of equipment for a favor.
Thus, he took a leaf out of the former Peter's book and modified the Resonance Proteins to specifically target cancer. So that he could access the technology needed to design them and could produce it in his house. He would try his best not to leave any traces - perhaps Gwen could help with that.
The Resonance Protein, or the RPX (Resonance Protein X) that he called this type of resonating protein has a specialized amino acid arrangement that acts like a 'frequency converter'. When RPX captures energy from its surroundings, it goes through a complex process of energy transformation. This process involves the conversion of ambient electromagnetic noise (which exists at various frequencies) into specific vibrational patterns within the protein. It could even harness the beating of a heart for this.
These aforementioned vibrational frequencies would attack the uncontrolled angiogenesis (creation of new blood vessels) induced by cancer, effectively cutting off the nutrient and oxygen supply to the cells.
This was a method that would basically starve cancer to death - a fitting ending.
To create RSP's (Resonance Stabilizing Protein) and RDP's (Resonance Destabilizing Protein), he would need another breakthrough in protein designing and DNA composition - thus there was a negligible chance of anybody else recreating Project Genelock. Even if they did, it would make them permanently sterile and could even instantly kill them due to not having BIHT to stabilize and control it.
"Now, wait a moment," Norman, who was watching both of them talk on the sidelines, finally spoke. "I may not specialize in cancer research, but, you know, I'm something of a scientist myself."
"Don't be so modest, Norman," Conners snorted while going through Peter's notes.
"Shut up, Curt," Norman snapped as though they were two buddies talking trash. He turned back to Peter with a grin on his face. "As I was saying, there's a lot of the science talk I don't understand, but from what I've gleaned, you claim that your method is better than the one you previously sent us?"
"That's right."
Norman's grin extended further, "If that's the case, we'll update the contract with much more favorable terms if you give us a license to produce it. Just like last time."
"It's just theoretical, sir," Peter chuckled.
"With that brain of yours, I don't doubt it'll pioneer something totally new. Your name will be in the textbooks - mark my words," he said before looking at his watch. "As much as I want to watch you both work on the cure, I have a meeting in a few minutes, so I'll have to go."
"Go ahead, Norman, we'll be fine. Martha'll be here too," Connors muttered, absorbed in Peter's book.
"It was nice seeing you, sir."
"Goodbye, Peter," Norman waved before exiting the lab. "I'm sure you both would have a lot to talk about."
***
At 3:55 pm
"Are the drums ready?" Gwen asked, nervously spinning her drumsticks on her dainty fingers.
"Yeah, they are," MJ, who was wearing a punk-themed outfit like the rest, spoke. Her vibrant, free hair cascaded down her back while she took a drink of water. The sound of the crowd outside served as a steady background noise.
"How many people are there?"
"I don't know."
"Did you not read the mail they sent us?!"
"Gwen..."
"Alright, alright, I'll stop asking questions," Gwen grumbled, leaning back. She too was wearing something of a similar theme to MJ. It was a tight-fitting black, white, and pink hoodie and pants with small metal studs poking out. She'd even sneaked in a few web designs near the arms as a nod to her dual identity - it was stupid but she liked it.
"Why're you so nervous today? You aren't usually like this in the previous concerts," MJ frowned while adjusting her jacket before giving her a sly grin. "Perhaps... is it because of Parker? You've been talking to him a lot more lately and he isn't like a wood block anymore."
"No... it's not him," Gwen shook her head. Although she wanted him to come with her to the concert, he was busy curing cancer - something she still had to struggle to wrap her head around. He'd told her not to tell anybody, which she wholeheartedly agreed to. Too much attention on oneself would only bring trouble - well, unless you're Ghost-Spider.
"I just feel that something isn't right," she muttered under her breath. Ever since she stepped foot in the stadium, she'd felt highly uncomfortable. At first, she believed it was her Spidey-sense warning her, but eventually she realized that it was a constant warning - like someone holding their finger between one's forehead.
"It'll be fine. It's just the biggest stadium in Forest Hills..."
"You're making it worse!"
"Hahaha!" MJ laughed, which sounded like tinkling bells.
"GUYS! IT'S TIME!" Glory Grant suddenly burst in followed by Betty Brant.
She was dark-skinned and had short hair that complimented her beautiful face. Like MJ, she too was trying her hand in the modeling business, while Betty Brant had a short but wavy bob cut.
"We're coming," MJ said, jumping up and clearing her throat before following Betty and Glory out the door and into the hallway leading to the stage. Gwen sighed to herself and got up too, following her friends.
"You ready?" Glory said as they neared the stage entrance. "We're gonna play on the largest stage in Forest Hills!"
"As ready as I can be," Gwen chuckled. She could even hear the announcer in the front hyping up the crowd.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! IT-IS-TIME FOR THE MAAAAINNNN EVENT!!! PLEASE WELCOME, THE MOST POPULAR BAND IN FOREST HILLS. THE MAAAAAARY JAAAAAAAAAAAAAANES!!!!"
Blinding lights flashed in Gwen's face, and the crowd roared in excitement, but her eyes barely blinked. Something was not right - the feeling was getting worse, as though it was just about to fully activate her spider-sense.
She temporarily ignored it for now, waving at the roaring crowd and taking her place at the large set of drums - giving the drumsticks a showy twirl which made the crowd roar once more.
'Wait...', Gwen's smile slipped off her face as she spotted something odd in the distance. Her enhanced eyesight pierced through the darkness, spotting an enormous figure charging towards them with speeds rivalling a car. It was about six and a half feet tall and seemed to be sculpted out of pure muscle and sinew. A large horn grew out of its head as the sound of its superhuman booms reached her enhanced ears.
"WITH THE INTRODUCTION OUT OF THE WAY, LET THE SHOW...BEGGGGIN!!!!"
'Wait! Ru-
BOOOOM!!!'
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***
Btw, I've seen a lot of people think that the mysterious organisation that Aldrich Killian contacted was Oscorp. That is not true as Norman Osborn had contacted the very same organisation for the contract. Just had to mention it.
