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Dr. Connors's Regeneration Lab was located on the twenty-first floor of the Oscorp building.
The entire space was filled with a dazzling array of complex scientific instruments.
Some of the equipment looked incredibly expensive, even to a casual observer.
But the thing that truly captured Hawk's attention was right in front of him, visible through a large glass window: a strange, dark stone, housed in a transparent, climate-controlled case.
Hawk didn't know what kind of rock it was.
But—
His gut was screaming at him. This was what he had been looking for.
A thought struck him. He turned to Gwen.
"What is that?"
"What?"
Gwen looked up from where Max Dillon was working on the circuitry. She followed Hawk's gaze and then looked back at him.
"Oh, that? It's gamma radiation."
"?"
Gamma Radiation?
A question mark materialized over Hawk's head, and the corner of his mouth twitched. "My physics grades might not be as good as yours, but they're not bad. Since when can gamma radiation be a solid rock?"
Gwen laughed.
She glanced around, making sure none of the other lab techs were listening, then lowered her voice. "Do you remember back in September of '09, when the Hulk tore up Harlem?"
Hawk froze for a second, then nodded. "Of course."
How could he forget?
That day was burned into his memory more than any other since he'd arrived in this world.
It wasn't just because his power had activated that day.
There was another reason too.
He remembered that day with perfect, painful clarity.
Gwen shrugged.
"Then you probably know about the Abomination. He was created using the Hulk's blood."
"Yeah."
Hawk nodded again. Then, a thought occurred to him. He looked at Gwen, a sudden, wild idea in his mind.
"Are you saying that rock is the Abomination?"
"Of course not. Those rocks were brought in from the military base in Quantico."
Gwen explained with a small smile, "The Hulk... Dr. Bruce Banner... he was created in a gamma lab explosion. But something strange happened during that explosion. These rocks were dug out of the wreckage of that lab."
Hawk was floored.
"Then why did you bring up the Abomination?"
"Oh."
Gwen realized her mistake and shrugged. "I just assumed you didn't know the Hulk was Bruce Banner. I mean, you don't have a computer or a phone..."
She trailed off, then another thought struck her. She looked at Hawk. "That phone I gave you. Don't tell me you still haven't gotten a SIM card for it."
Hawk pulled a sleek, iPhone 4-like device from his pocket. "I did."
Gwen had given him the phone on his first day at Oscorp, twenty days ago.
He hadn't wanted to take it, but she'd given him a reason he couldn't refuse.
Every employee had to clock in and out.
Oscorp was no exception.
And she hadn't given him a chance to say no, just shoved the phone into his hand and walked away.
Hawk gave the phone a little shake, then steered the conversation back on topic, his eyes fixed on the strange rock in the glass-walled room.
"What's a rock from Quantico doing here?"
"Because Dr. Connors's research is partially funded by the military."
Gwen explained.
To be more precise, most of Oscorp's major research projects had military backing. Some were even direct partnerships.
Oscorp and the military had always been close.
The company had started out as a herring cannery, but when the wars came, a young Norman Osborn had seen an opportunity. He'd sold off the cannery and converted the factory to produce weapons and ammunition.
These days, Oscorp was out of the arms business, but they still maintained a very cozy relationship with the military.
Take Dr. Connors, for example.
His project was a joint venture between Oscorp and the Department of Defense. The lab was just housed here for convenience.
After all, Dr. Connors had been a military surgeon before coming to Oscorp.
Hawk nodded, finally understanding.
Inside the glass-walled lab, a technician was preparing a vial of an unknown serum. Another was using a robotic arm to carefully lift the so-called "gamma stone."
"What are they doing?"
"A regeneration serum trial."
"The lizard serum?"
It was no secret that Dr. Connors was studying reptiles, trying to unlock the secret of their ability to regrow lost limbs.
His research papers were all publicly available.
But most of the scientific community was skeptical.
There were a lot of reasons why.
Hawk had never bothered to read them in detail. He'd never had any ambition to be a scientist, either before or after awakening his Cosmo.
So, Gwen wasn't surprised that he knew about it. She just nodded. "Dr. Connors thinks that combining the lizard serum with gamma radiation might be the breakthrough he's been looking for."
Hawk nodded slowly, his eyes still on the stone being held by the robotic arm. An idea sparked. He looked at Gwen. "Can I go in and get a closer look?"
He had to be sure.
Gwen remembered seeing him reading that research paper in the library.
"Don't tell me you're actually interested in the stuff that turns people into monsters."
"Not the radiation. The rock."
Hawk said, shaking his head. From a scientific standpoint, gamma radiation couldn't be stored. The moment it was emitted, it was gone.
What's that?
This is the Marvel Universe, and science doesn't apply?
Okay, fair enough.
Gwen thought for a moment. She decided that letting him get a closer look wouldn't spoil any of Dr. Connors's secrets, so she nodded.
A jolt of excitement went through Hawk. As he followed Gwen toward the lab entrance, he called out to Max Dillon. "Max, I'm just going to go check out that amazing rock."
He didn't call him Mr. Dillon. Max had insisted against it. It seemed that just by knowing his name, Hawk had accidentally made a friend.
...
Max looked up from his work, a gentle, good-natured smile on his face. "Okay. I'm almost done here anyway."
Hawk said a quick "thanks" and then followed Gwen as she swiped her keycard and opened the door to the inner lab.
And then.
The moment Hawk stepped across the threshold, the moment his eyes locked onto the gamma stone clutched in the robotic arm...
Instantly.
A message, clear and undeniable, surged through him from the depths of his Cosmo.
That's it.
That's the one.
Gammanium.
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