Astral went to the facility where Project Star was happening. Shivers would fill his spine as he looked into the place where he was drugged and dragged to. He went undercover, quietly sneaking around using his cloaked armor. He wanted to find one person. Anders, wherever she was is where he needed to be. His drones would direct him to Anders, finding him he would be shocked to see him as a dude instead of the small little asian he was accustomed to.
Knocking out Dr. Anders and taking his identity, Astral would ready himself for what was to come. The operation was to be done in five minutes. Walking through the facility to go to the experiment of a lifetime. Alexa would pop up in his eyes, having them glow an extra shade of blue to show Astral what to do. It would seem so simple, yet Astral would fear messing up.
"Alright, Mitch can you please step forward?" Astral would ask this person to step forward. A shorter skinny blonde haired kid would walk forward. His blue eyes sparkled with hope. "Please lay down on the table, face down and prepare for the most exhilarating experience ever." He would hop up onto the table. Face down and relaxing. Astral would take the scalpel and follow the lines shown to him by Alexa. The incision was made and the chip was implanted perfectly. No flaws with his surgery. He would wonder when it would happen.
"Now if you could please stand up, we have to run a couple of tests." Mitch would get up and be excited. "Now, try to lift this object here." Pointing to the weights on the ground. Mitch would go over to the weights and lift them up with ease. "Very good, now we do a couple of speed tests. Starting with the shuttle run. You may begin whenever." Astral would point to the lines on the ground and Mitch would run them quickly. The rest of the death fodder cheered, they all were going to get that strong. Astral smiled. "Congratulations Mitch you seem perfectly healthy. Go over and wait next to everyone else. Next person lie on the table."
Someone clawed their way to the table laying down face first. Astral was giddy with excitement. He backed everyone away, waving them back as they all crowded around Mitch. Astral made the second cut on the next person, the chip was inserted and for a second.
Everything was fine until the two got close to each other. Astral ould run the tests and it seemed to work a lot smoother than before. Once they closed the gap of five feet. They both started to scream. Clawing their eyes out and exploding into a fountain of blood. Melting everyone else inside the room. Astral would smile, taking notes on the reactions to him. They were unaffected, there could be multiple 'Astrals' at any given time. His disguise faded as his armor would glow red from the blood around him. He had what he wanted from this experiment.
Astral looked up to the observatory as the site went into lockdown. It wouldn't affect Astral. Running around at such a fast speed that no one saw him coming, from the guards to the scientists nothing was left alive. They all would flail as they fired at him. None of them would have stood a chance, he would make it to the observatory before leaving, grabbing certain details on the place as well as the schematics. So that next time he could do this while knowing the layout.
Astral set the facility on fire. Dropping napalm in the core of the facility lighting it with a match. There was one person left alive, Doctor Anders to the front entrance.
"What do you want from me, I am an innocent person." Anders would try to struggle and free himself. But to no avail. Astral was holding him by the collar of his shirt.
"Oh it is quite simple. Let Project Star die, do not go chasing this power. I implore you." Astral slowly let him down. "Pass the message on to the government. If they choose not to listen. I will find out." He let go of him. "I have eyes everywhere. I'll be watching you." Astral would disappear into vapor. In reality, he would just activate his invisibility slowly across his armor. Stepping back Anders would start running to the closest town.
Astral would sit and watch the facility burn. This place deserved to be cursed and burned to the ground. He knows the path of where the Astral symbiote will lead. Its not his main goal to study it however. He already has the knowledge of what is needed for it. But not on how each part is executed or how the creature roams.
His drones would pick up each whiff of him and the exploration of the symbiote. They were able to track it with extreme efficiency. Astral would constantly monitor it as he watched. It was highly interesting to watch and see how they dealt with him. Noting that each symbiote had one strange or remarkable ability for each of them.
Each one of them would turn into the dark mist as they died, the drones record each instance of their deaths. He studied the scenarios as it was absorbed into the body and took over from a point in life.
He would look to compare it all to himself. These abilities that he had, they weren't like theirs. He would have his hunch of a feeling that each one would have something completely different. None of them shared from the past symbiotes either. What he found would be his greatest joy, understanding more about himself.
Astral would go back to where he knows the Astral successor will be. Coming up with many plans for the future, only wanting to do the bare minimum. The studying of the past as he has his baseline would work well. Allowing for the next cycle to be pushed to the point of extreme historical manipulation.