The Silhouette and The Forge
Chapter 18

Without asking any questions I follow the man down the hall to the lab door riddled with various locks he puts in password after password all of which I see and remember before the door opens and he quickly ushers me in closing and sealing the door behind us. 

Looking around at the various beakers, and cages along the walls with various animals and insects, along with many different scanners and microscopes. Numerous pieces of equipment can be seen in the room as he walks past me and I continue to follow, interested in what he needs help with but also grateful he is finally bringing me into the lab.

“See the fruit fly cell?” At my nod he continues, “Use the lure to draw one out and bring it over to that table there. I have an idea of how I can get a breakthrough.”

He has a manic smile on his face as I do what is asked of me. After looking over the various buttons on the cage and swiftly figuring out how to operate it a bright light forms and the many smaller cages housing the fruit flies open up letting one out as it goes for the light before it is trapped once more inside of a small cube that is placed into a slot for me to grab.

Bringing it over to the table not disturbing the fly as it stands on the wall of its prison without a care in the world. Setting it down on the spot that is colored differently from the rest of the table beside a few square-shaped parts of it Kirk takes a beaker of some clear fluid that has a green tint to it as he takes a dropper filled with it and brings it near a slot that otherwise keeps the fly in but when the dropper goes against it.

The tip slides in as the fly flees in terror but has nowhere to go before a gentle squeeze puts a blob of the concoction on the floor of the prison. Dropper now back carefully to not let the test subject go as it eventually calms down and hops around the liquid checking it out before taking a chance and drinking from it.

“I had an idea to try and cause a mutation and change in a subject while it is mostly full-grown compared to doing it when they were still an embryo and growing. The subjects would die before anything of note could happen with the changes to their genetic structure with it being too drastic and fast for them to handle at that stage. So I thought why not try a mutagen that would bond with them while they are more mature?” Kirk speaks aloud and I watch in interest as the fly who before was a small thing stops abruptly and its form grows.  

It is nothing too drastic but it’s fast enough to be eye-catching with its front forelimbs now no longer being simple digits to a fly and instead angle up with serrated edges along them as the thorax grows longer and thinner and the head more angular looking like a triangle as the eyes grow bigger. After a brief moment as its body spasmed from the transformation, it starts moving again.

Where the fly from before was erratic in its movements this one is slower looking more like a predator. It moves around the container as Kirk and I watch in awe. He managed to make a fly into a hybrid of what I assume is a praying mantis.

As it rubs his it’s new forelimbs together it halts as a low tremor wraps its body and Kirk’s smile falls as he plants his hands on the table and his head draws closer.

The insect vibrates more and more before falling over on its side. 

“No! Come on little one, live I say live!” Kirk demands of the insect as it takes its last breath curling up and dying on the spot.

Kirk and I stare at it for a long moment before he hangs his head curling his hands into fists so hard that his knuckles turn white. “So close to only being faced with yet another setback… sorry to waste your time like that Daniel.” 

He says to me shaking his head and walking away as I look between the insect and Kirk. “Maybe we could dissect the subject to get a better understanding of the inner workings… it could help you better figure out what went wrong and correct the method you had used and improve upon it.”

He stops and looks over to me nodding his head sadly. “Just keep the specimen on the panel Daniel… sorry for the false alarm, I was so certain I had finally made a breakthrough.”

Doing as the man had asked a light on the metal plate set on the table comes from it going over the container and focusing on the bug. Walking over to Kirk as he types away on a computer and I see what he is looking at.

The scan shows the image of the fruit fly hybrid and several red exclamation points show what went wrong.

He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose, “The same issue as always. Trying to get the subjects to not just die on me and for their bodies to be able to accept the changes.” 

Gesturing for me to stand right next to him as he continues, “What I have been stuck with Daniel is trying to make changes to a subject much faster and apply changes from different species entirely. I take specific traits in the genetic sample and apply those to the subject.” He says explaining what he has been doing and struggling with while keeping it simple.

Looking over the readings and seeing how the fly had died and what seems to have led to it helps me further understand his frustration. The serum he used to induce the transformation looks to be a unique compound Kirk had made to quickly insert genes from a praying mantis into the fruit fly. It was both terrifying yet smart what he managed to do.

One of the issues lies in how the process from what Kirk wants to speed it up causes issues because you can’t just drastically change something's genes in a matter of seconds to minutes and expect it to be fine with no health issues. It’s like taking large quantities of steroids or other drugs and instead of easing into them you just go as far and extreme as possible.

“Have you tried slowing the process down to at least let the subject adjust to the changes? Making them go through something that fast in such a short time can’t be good for their bodies.” I say as Kirk blinks a few times before he shakes his in respect at me.

“I did indeed do that. It’s how I proved to the scientific community it is possible to splice genes from other species into entirely different ones. The issue is any cure or method to treat others by doing that is simply scoffed at since it would take years for a person to properly adjust especially if they need it now. The people I had gone to for further funding had told me it’s not a good investment…” 

His smile dims as he runs into an issue that seems to plague this world. They are incredibly smart and talented but never get the resources they need to further whatever they are working on.

If he could slow the process down to let’s say several years he could see better results but there’s the problem. With everyone laughing at him and constantly fighting for any funding he can get with a lab that has the equipment he would need he doesn’t have years.

“But there looks to be another problem beyond the speed of the changes Kirk. The way the subject responded later on to the newer genetic material altering it.”

“That is the other problem. Easily the bigger and more daunting task I have been stonewalled by. I can change a subject without them becoming a mindless chimeric abomination that could be seen in a dime a dozen horror movies, but the problem is trying to get them to stabilize with the modified DNA.”  

He clicks over a file pulls it up and goes through a few of many different tests showing the results to me. All similar to this one. The insects since he hasn’t used anything like mice or rats just yet all started well showing that he can introduce different genes to them but they don’t survive for long once the changes have occurred.

The other much bigger problem than the speed at which the subject was forced to transform was despite how he managed to create a hybrid the way he did the genetic structure of the fly was compromised like with all the others. 

He just added some DNA strands trying to subvert a few of them but the issue is the compound isn’t gentle in how it goes about doing this. But it is a far better method compared to what he had done before.

The insect this time lasted significantly longer than the others before it who had died on the spot mid-transformation or just as it finished.

The prior method would be like using a sledgehammer to nail a picture to a wall instead of just using a simple nail hammer. The newer method with that compound is an improvement but it still needs to have the flaws ironed out. 

The genetic structure of the insect is not stable and it causes several organs and parts of its body to not mesh well and start shutting down never mind the changes to the organs and the damages done because of the change.

The fact he even managed to briefly create a hybrid like this is just amazing. With a lot of time, he could make it work. 

“Before I forget to ask you, Kirk, is it alright if I use a small portion of the lab for my tests?” I ask him as the man glances up.

“By all means Daniel. As my assistant, as long as you don’t damage any equipment or cause any problems for either of us or the school you are more than welcome to do so.” He says with a sad smile.

The man just can’t seem to get a break. “Kirk, from the looks of the numbers and data you are improving it and even managed to keep this one alive for much longer compared to the rest. This is a breakthrough.”

I say trying to get the man out of his funk as he looks over to me he figures out what I am trying to do as he simply shakes his head as he works on his computer adjusting the formula for the compound.

“I appreciate what you are trying to do Daniel and you are not wrong. Under normal circumstances, I would be ecstatic at such a thing but with Edgar and the board looking more and more likely to pull the rug out from under me if they don’t get something they think is a breakthrough then it is not enough.”

“Well to hell with them I say. What the hell would any of them know about genetics or science? A bunch of incompetent fucktards if I ever saw any.” 

A bark of laughter escapes Kirk before he covers his mouth as he looks around wide-eyed. Tilting my head and raising a solitary brow at his antics he chuckles sheepishly.

“Almost forgot we were in my lab… don’t want to let them hear you say such things, Daniel, as much as they are horrible people they are horrible people that can make both our lives rather miserable if they are given a reason to.”

“Fair enough,” I say shrugging my shoulders indifferently as I go to a corner of the lab and get to work setting it up. Looking around the lab for any materials I would need and note they have a few chemicals I could use for what I have in mind which will be used as a means to speed up getting out of this college with my degree.

That and some extra money in my wallet that isn’t gained from illegal extracurricular activities. A couple of hours go by as I leave the tests behind in my corner of the lab and walk over occasionally to help Kirk out and spitball ideas on what he could add to the formula or at least adjust the issue of the DNA not mixing well with the subject.

Even if that is fixed we both agreed that the issues with organ shutdown would still be a thing since it puts a lot of strain on the animal's body to change.

“So what was the inspiration for the compound you made?” I ask watching the chemicals mix in a beaker as I go through the motions showing by trial and error as I stumble across what I already know how to make. 

Kirk, busy looking over the insides of the dissected fly, looks up at me. “Believe it or not it came from a drug used in the recent gang war.” 

I pause at his response as I fully give him my attention. “A drug? What did it do?”

“It was called Med-X. It somehow temporarily turns nerves in the body into pleasure centers. It was something drastically different from how conventional painkillers worked. I managed to… procure some of it and tested it on mice and rats seeing how it worked.”

Slowly digesting that I had unintentionally helped Kirk that much closer to the Manbat formula. That is if it is the path he would need to take to achieve that but we will have to see. A part of me feels proud I had a hand in creating an iconic part of Batman’s rogues gallery…

I’m not letting Kirk fall. 

The man despite needing me to help keep his funding even if I am getting stiffed still didn’t force me nor is he holding me hostage either. He may not like it but would be willing to let me leave if I chose to do so.

The man was kind enough to let me choose and so far has been rather accommodating. Sure it sucks I will have to teach his classes but the man is struggling under a lot of pressure and with how exhausted he is it’s a wonder the man is even able to stand and function.

Despite all the risk of losing everything he has been kind to me and not taking advantage. I outright told him I didn’t have an issue holding classes for him. With my perfect memory and scholarly knowledge of many subjects, it was rather easy to do. That and my fatherly intuition helped in keeping the student’s attention in class and teaching them.

Besides trying to get that medical degree to not only profit off of my creations and make a name for myself I wanted that degree because I always wanted to be a doctor but with how expensive and how long it took it just wasn’t in the cards. It was something I had also hoped to do to make Dad and Furgus proud. 

And I get a chance to be a teacher? At a university no less?! Sign me up. It makes it even easier since it doesn’t take me any time at all to do all of my classwork from the other classes I have. If it does get to become too much I can always have Light and the others do my homework for me.

Not like I can’t glance over the work and memorize it once go through whatever the problems are and figure out how the answer works. 

So it’s not that big of a deal for me. Another reason I want to help Kirk out beside him seemingly appearing to be a genuinely decent person is because he also reminds me of my Dad. Busting his butt and working himself to exhaustion only for those above him to simply make all his efforts futile.

At least back when Dad tried working legitimate jobs only for it to all be for naught. It’s why he turned to the other side to make a living. 

A couple more hours go by as Kirk inquires about what I hope to make and explains what I am hoping to create and do so out of simpler chemicals that can be found in most households. He was impressed by how high I was aiming but also worried that I set the bar too high.

Eventually, we both went our separate ways and he thanked me several times for teaching today's class once he managed to take his mind off of what in his eyes was another setback despite how much progress he had managed to make. 

A ping on my contacts as I stop at a hotdog stand in a safer part of Gotham that the vendors could operate out of enjoying the meaty goodness drowned in ketchup and mustard as I see what it is about. One of the hunters had managed to get a rough estimation of the area Anarky had been hiding in. 

He has been using the sewers and old railroad tunnels near Amusement Mile. Some of them had disguised themselves as homeless and have been sticking to it in hopes of gathering any form of information on where he and his little cult are currently hiding. 

A ghost of a satisfied smile tugs at the edges of my lips as I down the hotdog. Well, we know where the resident Anarchist resides with his army of bums. Now to wait and gather more information to see if they can be of use to me. 

After all, why should I remove a potential tool that can further my goals? 

…

Just after Pamela had left with her new associate Daniel cleaning up the classroom for Dr. Langstrom she knew from the tone of Jason’s voice that he was in a mood the instant she heard him. He was so nice at the beginning she thought to herself, but he must be in a similar situation to Dr. Langstrom.

She could only sigh and move on even though she didn’t mean to overhear his lecture but the part of him talking about prehistoric and older plants that had gone extinct drew her in. It was something she hadn’t learned simply because she was learning more about modern plant species and not ones that had gone extinct some time ago.

As she got closer Jason spotted her and stomped his way over to her with a less-than-pleased look on his face.

“What did I tell you about even going near Langstrom's classroom?” Jason Woodrue said as he tapped his foot and stared down at the wilting form of Pamela Isley. 

The girl who would have amounted to nothing if it wasn’t for Jason taking her in. He showed an interest in her because, unlike the rest of the students at this University, she was the only one that he could find that met his requirements and standards for an assistant. 

So it took just a simple talk with Edgar and he now had a capable assistant that doesn’t ask questions and does as he tells her to do. Of course, she had asked plenty of them before but Woodrue made sure she learned rather quickly she was only told what she needed to know.

One of the few things Jason did tell her enough of was the curriculum for the past two years so she would keep his students occupied while he could focus on his experiments and making progress. 

Pamela had of course helped in some of them when she wasn’t wasting time with class work or whatever drama was going on in her life. The girl has much to learn and go through before he would ever consider her qualified for that test thought Jason.

It had helped that he had managed to get in her good graces by showing her things she hadn’t known before when they had first met and the occasional compliment to her efforts and her appearance.

If it wasn’t for the clothes she prefers to wear and how she holds herself in public she would be far more eye-catching... 

That is for another time Jason thought to himself as he looked at her arranging and cleaning up the lab for him. Another use for her since everything and anything she will accomplish in the field of botany she would owe to him. Every accomplishment would mean nothing without him.

Ignoring the annoyance at her knowing some of it as her boss at her job was an incredible botanist according to Miss Isley which he highly doubted. No random supermarket florist could ever hope to understand or even know as much as he had in his field.

Jason had spent years of his life furthering the field of botany and he would be damned if some random florist thought she knew better than he did. He had to claw and work his way to the position he has now and fight tooth and nail to be taken seriously.

With the numerous breakthroughs he had he managed to get more funding from the school and some time to try and figure out a way to get past the current conundrum blocking him from his destiny!

Nothing and he meant nothing would stop him from achieving his desire. His theories had gotten him laughed out of academic circles about the possibility that all plant life may be connected in some kind of higher consciousness and that they are capable of complex thought processes like animals but it was merely different from most life which is why everyone assumed they were not capable of it.

That didn’t stop them from laughing and making a mockery of him. In the end, he got the last laugh by having his advancements in botany and medicine give him a lot of influence to… make those who thought him a fool have lived rather miserable lives since several others had laughed them out of their respective fields.

He simply played by the rules those in Gotham have always abided by. Money and power talks, or at least having friends with power and money make a lot of someone’s past grievances into something to be happy about knowing the cause will be taken care of.

Despite him getting his retribution it never truly satisfied Woodrue, nothing did anymore. None of the women whether they be students or faculty bring any satisfaction to him anymore, most of the experiments and research he has done to simply keep the money rolling in while removing any rivals barring of course Langstrom but even when those projects show good results Jason doesn’t feel any enjoyment from it anymore.

It is all hollow to him. Sure the women can satisfy physical needs and urges along with the expensive drinks and food that he indulged in but never the core issue in himself. 

That’s why despite the reminder of all the mockery he was subjected to he sought to prove and maybe find a way to connect to this hive mind or whatever the idiotic mouth-breathing masses that waste his air with each breath they take would call it.

He hoped that maybe just maybe he would find what he sought that could fill the growing void in himself. Who knows he may acquire some power for himself, for all that it was nice to have friends in high places it always angered him at his weakness having no power for himself.

Looking over at Pamela as she is bent over wiping down a table as he subtly licks his lips.