34: Vibranium
The work never stops increasing. Peggy looked at the stack of papers on her desk with that thought running through her head. Slowly, she took a sip of her freshly brewed coffee, letting its warmth flow through her body, briefly dispelling the morning chill.
She knew that becoming S.W.O.R.D.'s vice director would take a lot of effort, but she had underestimated just how much. Fortunately, she wasn't doing everything alone, or she'd really have headaches—she was too young for that.
"You seem stressed," at the unexpected question, Peggy went on alert instantly. Her hand immediately moved to the hidden weapon she always kept close by, but before she could draw it and take off the safety, her brain recognized the voice, stopping her movement halfway.
"John!" She stood up in an instant, a big smile on her face.
"I hope not to disturb." John, who had been standing stealthily in a corner, said as he began walking toward her with a mischievous smile on his face; clearly, his words weren't sincere.
"You almost gave me a heart attack." Peggy complained with a slight pout on her face, but that slight annoyance within her faded as she felt John close the distance between them and place his hands on her waist. The warmth of his body on contact had a better effect than the coffee in dispelling the chill of the outside weather.
"It's good to see you again, Agent. I hope you didn't miss me too much." Peggy wanted to say that she hadn't missed him at all, but having him so close made it difficult to deny it. Her traitorous body was too eager to feel his touch again, and John could easily pick up on this. Still, he didn't make the next move, much to Peggy's dissatisfaction, who finally moved closer herself, closing the distance between their faces and pressing her lips to his in a kiss that started off chaste but soon began to turn a bit more heated.
"Should I leave?" The question, asked in an apathetic voice, made Peggy open her eyes and pull away from John in a panic. How had she not realized someone else was there?! Peggy couldn't help but scold herself for being so careless; it seemed her instincts had lost some of their edge from spending so much time in an office.
Seeing the accusing look she was giving him, John shrugged with an "innocent" look on his face. After all, it was Peggy who had initiated things, so it wasn't his fault, right?
For her part, Raven, the one responsible for interrupting the intimate moment between them, couldn't help but find Peggy's embarrassed and mortified expression interesting. It was rare to see such an expression on the usually serious woman's face, and Raven found herself enjoying seeing her break character, even if only for a brief moment.
Maybe it was a bit petty on her part, but she still hadn't forgotten that whole incident in New York, which had robbed her of sleep for several nights. Even if the older woman didn't know about her part in keeping others from finding her and John during their "fun" moment in the office, for Raven, Peggy was still part of that incident. And while she couldn't "get back" at John, that consideration didn't extend to the vice director of S.W.O.R.D., so, in her opinion, if she was going to be embarrassed, then the woman should be too.
"Raven, this isn't…" Peggy wanted to explain the situation but didn't know how. Her relationship with John was supposed to be secret, at least as far as she knew, so the fact that a team member had witnessed this kind of unprofessional behavior on her part made her want to run and bury her face under a pillow.
"If you want, I can give you some privacy, but I'd advise you to take this to one of the rooms on the base. An office… seems like a bit of a risky place for doing these kinds of things. After all, it wouldn't be good if someone found you halfway through, right?" Raven couldn't help but smile maliciously as she watched Peggy step back, her face shifting from deep red to a slightly bluish hue.
"Raven, stop bothering her." John sighed, deciding to interrupt his assistant before she caused Peggy to have a meltdown or something.
"Buzzkill," Raven rolled her eyes upon hearing him but eventually decided to listen and stopped bothering Peggy.
John then had to spend the next fifteen minutes calming Peggy down and assuring her that Raven wouldn't say anything about what had happened before the woman was finally able to return to her usual self.
"Sorry for that embarrassing display, Raven," Peggy, seated once again at her desk, said to Raven with a bit of red still on her cheeks. In response, the girl simply waved her hand dismissively.
"Don't worry, I've seen worse." After saying that, Raven couldn't help but blush and look away from Peggy, who raised an eyebrow, not understanding what the shapeshifter meant.
Deciding to interrupt the conversation before Raven said too much, John wisely changed the subject quickly.
"Let's forget about this. How have things been going at the base?"
Peggy could recognize an olive branch when she saw one, and not wanting to continue the topic either, she quickly began to catch John up and answer his questions.
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Later that same day, in Hank's main laboratory.
When John tasked the scientist with beginning research on the "increase" of matter through Pym particles, Dr. Hank Pym wasted no time and started the project immediately. Likewise, Janet, his assistant and the second person who knew the most about Pym particles, was also involved, contributing her own ideas as well as assisting in the more practical experiments.
After all, to extract Pym particles in a "conventional" way required a long, laborious process that took significant time and resources. Hank was still working on making that process much simpler and more practical, but until he made progress on that front, the best alternative to obtaining large amounts of Pym particles in an "immediate" and safe way was Janet.
In some way that Hank still couldn't understand, Janet's body continually produced substantial amounts of high-concentration Pym particles, which were perfect for accelerating his research and bringing theory to reality sooner than anticipated, making it possible for research that could take years to begin showing results in much less time.
Of course, extracting Pym particles from Janet hadn't been easy, but with his ingenuity, Hank had managed to create a device into which Janet could safely and consistently discharge the particles for later storage. These particles, unlike those he extracted using the conventional method, were a bright yellow color. Hank didn't know why this change occurred—why yellow instead of red? Did it have something to do with concentration and potency? Or was it something else?
There was much he didn't know, and every day the questions seemed to outnumber the answers. For others, this might have been frustrating, but for a scientist like him, it was nothing less than exhilarating.
He was eager to uncover all the mysteries of Pym particles.
"Recharge ready, should we begin?" At Janet's question, Hank came out of his thoughts and nodded toward the girl, who had been recharging the Pym particle supply in the new machine created for the new project.
In truth, Hank was quite pleased that the incident that gave Janet her powers had happened. Sure, at first it had seemed rather disastrous, but time had shown that it had actually been absolutely beneficial.
Whether it was because it allowed him to join S.W.O.R.D. or because it gave him a way to obtain all the Pym particles he would need for his experiments through Janet, no matter how you looked at it, only good things had come from the incident.
Not for the first time, a part of him deep in his mind wondered how difficult it would be to recreate the incident, but as quickly as it came, Hank drowned that thought. Not only was the risk too great, but it also wasn't as if it was necessary. Although he had immense curiosity about the possibilities, Hank was still cautious about human experimentation.
Even if the intended test subject was himself.
'Maybe there's another way that doesn't require me to modify my entire genetic structure.'
Even with that idea starting to take shape inside him, Hank didn't forget what he was doing at the moment.
"Beginning test number 79." Just as he was about to start the machine, the sound of the lab's huge metal doors opening made him stop, his brow starting to furrow. He had explicitly told Vice Director Carter that he didn't want any interruptions during the tests. He hoped it was something important, or he would have serious words with her.
"John!" Janet's cheerful voice made Hank's growing discontent disappear. He quickly turned around to find that, indeed, it was Colonel John who had arrived, along with Vice Director Carter, his blonde assistant, and the head of SWORD's scientific division, Howard Stark.
It seemed it was actually something important.
"Looks like we've come at a bad time," John said, looking curiously at the new machine in the center of the lab. It looked a lot like the one Hank had presented at the science fair, where they had first met, but clearly much more advanced, refined, and probably much safer as well.
"On the contrary, Colonel, I actually think this is a great time!" Although he would have preferred to have more time before John returned, it wasn't as if Hank had nothing to show. In fact, his advancements were significant enough to be presented.
"So this is the secret project I haven't been allowed to get my hands on. I must say I'm quite curious to know what it's about," Howard inspected the lab with interest. Although he had heard some things from Peggy and John, Howard had been quite busy to pay much attention to it.
This was partly because, unlike the other scientists at the base, Hank wasn't under Howard's direct command, even though Howard was the head of SWORD's scientific division. It was a special arrangement that John had given the man as a show of good faith and a guarantee that he could work on his research as he saw fit.
Soon, the entire group gathered with Hank and Janet, and putting the greetings aside, John got straight to the point of why he had come.
"Although not much time has passed and it might be a bit rude of me to ask, I would like to know if there has been any substantial progress in the research." Upon hearing this, Hank smiled confidently and pointed proudly at the new machine.
"The truth is that things have gone much better than expected, and although I would like to take all the credit, the truth is that Miss Van Dyne has been a great help in making everything flow as smoothly as it has up to now." At his words, Janet was a bit surprised. She didn't expect Dr. Pym to give her credit so suddenly. Although she didn't know much about the man, she knew he was quite "proud" of himself and his achievements, so it was something unexpected from him.
Hearing Hank, John raised an eyebrow. Although he had bet that they would work well together, he knew that reality sometimes differed from what he expected. After all, his memories of Hank and Janet were mostly confusing and unclear. Things could have gone wrong, but he was glad they hadn't.
Hank then began to explain how he had used Janet's "powers" to extract large amounts of Pym particles, which he used to begin experimentation and testing at an accelerated pace.
For Howard, who hadn't known much about Pym particles beforehand, it was a great surprise to learn of their true properties and potential. At the same time, he couldn't help but regret not knowing about this earlier.
"So that's why you asked me to bring this," Howard said somewhat bitterly, as he took out a small wooden box made of finely carved oak.
Hank looked at the box curiously, though he suspected what might be inside. That didn't stop him from getting excited when Howard opened it and revealed the contents.
"Raw vibranium, well, crumbs of raw vibranium, actually. Barely a quarter of a gram." When Howard obtained the vibranium, he had kept these small samples as a reminder before proceeding to refine everything else and create John's shield. It was such an insignificant amount that it was good for nothing more than being a simple decorative sample to show off to his scientist friends.
In fact, he had shown it off to John after giving him the shield, which is the reason why the captain knew of its existence.
"Do you really want to do this? Do you know what this could mean, John? How it could change the world?" At his question, John nodded seriously.
"I know what this means, but we don't have any other options, Howard. You've seen what Hydra can do with an imperfect serum, the kind of monsters it has created and the destruction they can cause. If they actually manage to perfect it and create a true army of supersoldiers, the world will fall to them in an instant. Even I would die facing so many enemies, and you know it."
Howard remained silent for a moment. Of course, he understood. Of course, he could see that terrifying future without John having to tell him. But as the person who knew the most about vibranium and its properties, he also understood that its potential could become just as dangerous, or even more so, than a perfected serum.
This could trigger another war in the world, even worse than the one they were fighting now.
"Don't worry too much. I have no intention of letting the vibranium fall into the wrong hands. Doing this is just insurance, just a Plan B in case the worst happens. As long as Hydra is defeated in time, the vibranium will remain for SWORD's exclusive use, and its production will be meticulously controlled." Noticing Howard's doubts, John placed a hand on his shoulder, reassuring him as best he could.
Howard finally nodded. Although he knew that doing this was dangerous, it also represented a great opportunity for humanity and its future. At the same time, he couldn't deny that he was eager to continue his research on the mythical metal. The small amount he had found, despite all his efforts, had left Howard feeling quite frustrated for a long time. But now, those frustrations might be resolved if John's plan succeeded.
In the end, he was a scientist, and his curiosity outweighed even his sense of caution.
"Then let's try it." Having made up his mind, Howard handed the box to Hank, who gladly took it.
"Do you think you can do it, Dr. Pym?" At John's question, Hank looked at the small vibranium samples in the box before nodding slowly.
"At this point, I've managed to increase the size of various test materials with varying degrees of success, and although vibranium is a very special material, it's still matter in the end. The Pym particles should be able to work on it successfully." Hank would have liked to sound more convincing, but the truth was, he couldn't say with complete certainty that they would succeed—not without trying first.
Fortunately, there were four small samples with which he could do just that. He just hoped to succeed at least once.
"Very well, in that case, you have my permission. Do it."
With those words, Hank and Janet got to work at full speed. The previous sample that was going to be used for Test 79 was replaced with one of the raw vibranium fragments, and the machine, which had just been recharged, had to be recalibrated. To be safe, Hank also added four extra "tanks" of Pym particles that had been previously stored.
What happened to matter when it was "enlarged" by Pym particles was that the greater the expected "growth," the more Pym particles were needed. Right now, Hank's machine, although better than its previous version, still wasn't capable of perfect energy conversion. During the transformation process, at least 60% of the Pym particles used were lost into nothingness.
Hank still didn't know where they ended up, but such a waste of valuable material was one of the reasons he was grateful for Janet's existence. At least this way, it didn't hurt as much to lose so many Pym particles during the experiments.
Soon, the preparations were complete, and everyone focused their attention on the central platform where the vibranium sample had been placed.
"Starting the test in three..." Hank took the activation lever firmly with his hand, the sweat starting to drip from his forehead, his mouth feeling dry.
"Two..." he continued the countdown as he began to slowly lower the lever, making the sound of the machine coming to life reverberate through the room with increasing intensity. At the same time, the yellow glow of the Pym particles powering the device began to increase, illuminating the surroundings with its ethereal light.
"One!" With the last number echoing through the room, Hank pulled the lever down all the way. The yellow glow intensified suddenly, and a beam of particles, almost golden, shot toward the central platform at a dizzying speed. The vibrant energy lit up every corner, filling the space with an electric hum as the particles converged in the center with a blinding flash.
Everyone, except for John, had to squint despite the protective goggles they were wearing.
Hank felt his vision flicker; the intensity of the light had been far greater than during the previous 78 tests, which could be a sign that something had gone wrong. The man couldn't help but think the test had been a failure, but before that thought could start to eat away at his mind, a hand rested on his shoulder in a friendly gesture.
"Congratulations, Dr. Pym. It seems that this time everything went perfectly." Hank didn't understand what John meant at first. It wasn't until his eyes stopped seeing vague images and could refocus that the words hit him, sending an excited tremor through his body.
"It's... it's incredible! It really worked!" Howard exclaimed upon seeing the platform, or more precisely, upon seeing the enormous dark "rock" with flashes of blue energy running across its surface and pulsing through its "cracks." What had once been a small fragment, as small as a grain of rice, had now become something as large as a car, causing the platform it was positioned on to nearly fill completely, threatening to make its supports collapse due to the added weight.
"It's really impressive," Peggy said in a whisper. Even if she theoretically knew it was possible, seeing it happen in reality was much more meaningful and impactful. Though also worrying—the task of keeping this hidden from the governments was going to be a pain in the ass; she could already see it.
For her part, while Raven was also amazed, her surprise was much less. After all, she had seen far more "fantastic" things while accompanying John and the team. In fact, she was more excited about the possibilities this would bring for her.
The metahuman hadn't forgotten her concerns about her lack of strength, and although she hadn't managed to talk to John about it as she had wanted, she had heard about his plan to "create" more vibranium on the way to the base, which put her in a much better mood compared to when they left Warsaw.
Although it wasn't exactly what she was looking for, the potential weapons that could be created with the vibranium might be what she needed to return to the front and fight alongside John as she had at the beginning of everything. So, to say she was happy to see that the project had been successful would be an understatement of her current joy.
Sensing the joyful atmosphere surrounding the people in the room, John allowed a smile to form on his face, though inside, he didn't feel so content.
It was something contradictory—this was what he had planned, what he had wanted to happen. So, why wasn't he beaming with joy like everyone else? The reason was simple: the creation of more vibranium undoubtedly couldn't remain hidden forever. Sooner or later, the secret would be exposed, and when that happened, many problems would come to him.
Problems like Wakanda.
'Well, it's not as if it's relevant at the moment. Besides, once Project Ascension succeeds, even if all of Wakanda tries to come against me, it won't matter.' Thinking this, his smile became a bit more genuine.
With this first step completed, it was time to move on to the second and most important one.
But before that, he could well allow himself a celebration. After all, this might be his last "Festivity" in this life.
"I think this calls for a toast—what do you say?!" At his suggestion, Howard laughed and immediately agreed with his plan, ready to fetch one of the best bottles he could find. Hank, who was overstimulated by his unexpected success, also agreed, and though Peggy tried to stop them, she eventually ended up with a glass in her hand.
Later, when everyone had returned to their quarters, she and John resumed their private meeting in her room.
Of course, before leaving, John made sure to put the vibranium in a safe place; even if the size of the raw mineral made it difficult to steal, he wasn't foolish enough to leave something so valuable unattended.
He had learned to be more cautious with his things.
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Note:
As always, pseudoscientific talk is challenging—unfortunate for me, since the next chapter will also have some of that, hahaha.
Remember to leave your comments, critiques, and suggestions. I'll be reading them, and if you notice any mistakes, I'd appreciate a heads-up so I can correct them. See you in the next chapter!
Next chapter: SuperSoldier #35 Ascension.
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