Balance of Power
Balance of Power
Chapter 2 - ‘In proving foresight may be vain:’
[Second line, Seventh Stanza of the poem “To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest With the Plough, November, 1785” By Robert Burns]
Avengers AU - Spinoff from Half-Life
Characters: Dr Helen Cho; Secretary of State, General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross; Dr Michael Morbius, AKA Morbius the Living Vampire; Colonel Helmut Zemo; Pietro Maximoff
Word Count: 3649
Location: Seoul, Korea - U-Gin Genetics Research Labs
Time Reference: Events here at U-Gin begin around the same time as the dinner date with Tony and Malaki in Chapter 6(T5). Seoul, Korea is 13 hours ahead of New York, US. UTC +9 hours.
Time Clocks Here
Previous Chapters: Prologue | Chapter 1 |
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Out on the floor of the lab, Helen has dismissed the Secretary from her mind so she can focus on the work in front of her. The first order of business is the defrosting of the soldier so they can determine if his body’s ability to survive has remained intact. She also needs to know if Michael - Dr Morbius, she reminds herself to keep it professional out here - will be able to keep up with her team speaking Korean or will she need to interpret for him. The techs, under her watchful eye, get started on cycling the cryogenics in the unit. She has another tech start rigging something that will allow them to transfer the soldier to one of their own units for the rest of the treatment.
Not until after that does she makes her way over to where Michael is in a serious discussion with one of the phlebotomists on the team. He turns to her as she approaches, a look of frustration on his face.
“Ah Dr Cho. Could you please explain to your assistant here that it is necessary to draw my blood for our work today. She seems to think I’m being irrational.”
Helen suppresses a smile. She is pretty sure that Ms Hyung, her top assistant when it comes to handling and processing blood and blood products, hadn’t said Michael was irrational. The woman is too professional for that. Still, this request is out of the ordinary, which even for someone used to working with superheroes can be hard to accept. Watching Michael, she asks him something that has been on her mind for a little while now.
“Are you comfortable with us using your blood as part of the experiment, Dr Morbius? I know it was part of the initial plan, but things have changed since then.” Helen is certain that his blood is indeed necessary for the operations to succeed, but she doesn’t want to coerce him like Ross had intended.
He seems suddenly, inordinately pleased as he pulls a stool over to the counter where the smaller of the two centrifuges sits. “Yes, I am, Dr Cho, thank you for asking. I’ve come to accept the -” he pauses as though to taste the word before he says it, “uniqueness of my blood as well as the many useful properties it contains. I assure you, having my blood drawn is not a new experience for me. I’m just not sure how to convey that to Ms Hyung. Please speak to her for me.”
“Certainly, Dr Morbius.”
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