A Failure And A Success (September 2011)

6 students in lab coats were alone in the the main Oscorp. Lab. Serena Stark sat on a metal stool with her open laptop that sat on the table in front of her. Her team had been working on an algorithm program that would allow them to control the wave intensity of any type of energy, part of their Thesis’s for their Master’s degree in Physics. Today they had been working with a laser but thus far the program just didn’t do what they needed it to do. It was 9:30pm and everyone else had already gone home. Reilly Cash, one of Serena’s lab partners was leaned back onto one of the lab chairs and he tossed a tennis ball up, caught it then tossed it up again. Harper Wright spun around and around on her stool near Serena. Evan Cullen and Adam Hadden had their goggles on and together they adjusted one of the reflectors that changed the intensity of the laser. Madison Bell sat next to Serena and lazily sat with her chin propped on her hand that rested onto the table on her elbow. She was looking at Evan as he worked and sighed.

“No one should look that hot in a lab coat and goggles,” Madison grumbled in near exasperation. She wore her glasses today and her dark hair was pulled back in a long, pony tail. “I’ll say,” Harper said though she was looking at Adam when she said it. “I want to run my fingers through those curls,” she said softly so Reilly wouldn’t hear her. Everyone in their group knew Reilly liked Harper but Harper liked Adam. The problem was that Adam liked Madison and Madison liked Evan. Evan, thus far had not expressed any interest in Madison nor anyone else. He was all business for the most part and like Serena, took their failures on this project to heart. “I could go for a pizza,” Harper said. “What kind?” Madison asked. “Anything with meat on it,” Harper replied. “Any meat in particular or just Adam’s?” Madison said with a snicker. Harper’s face went 2 shades of red at the thought and even Serena, who was trying to focus on the problem at hand had to smile at that. They had been at this for a long time tonight and even she felt her eyes getting tired.

“Ok, lets give it a try, I think we got it this time,” Evan said confidently but Serena had a strong feeling that it wasn’t in the hardware. It was the program but Evan was adamant about the reflectors. Serena had somehow kind of become the leader of their little team and they all looked to her for direction. Everyone except Evan. Evan Cullen was probably one of the hottest guys in college. The thing about that was that he didn’t even know it. Evan was intelligent but he did become surly at times when things went wrong and today every one knew his patience was close to breaking.

The first time Serena ever set foot in a classroom was when she went to college. Up until that point she had only ever had private tutors. Serena had received her father's intelligence, particularly when it came to math, science, and engineering. She had begun tinkering in her father's lab at a young age. She had excelled so quickly in her school work that she graduated from high school two years early. She had then gone to MIT for her undergraduate work and was now at Columbia getting her Master's in Physics. Serena was only 20. Her parents were immensely proud of her.

It had not been easy growing up in the Tower. Her life was not normal in any sense of the word. Her parents were billionaires, her father was a genius, and they were the founding members of The Avengers team. She grew up around mutants and superheroes and her own mutation had appeared when she was just a toddler. She was considered a class 5 mutant but only those closest to her knew about her abilities. She was able to absorb various types of energy, but she could also create energy blasts, orbs, and shields. For the most part her abilities remained under control, but Professor Xavier at the School for Gifted Youngsters knew about her abilities and kept in touch with her.

Serena was frustrated. It was 9:30 p.m. but she was still in the lab with her group trying to get their algorithm program to work. She had the laptop open while Adam and Evan adjusted one of the reflectors. Serena was convinced that it was the program that was the issue, not the hardware, but Evan seemed confident that he had fixed the problem. She was too tired to argue though.

"Alright, let's give it a shot," she said before starting the program again.

“What do you think? Defcon 3 or 4?” Harper said to Madison in barely more than a whisper as Serena punched up the start commands. “Definitely a 4, his heart rate just jumped,” Madison said. She was a mutant, if a low level one. She had acute hearing and vibration sensitivity. Serena looked at Madison and Madison silently and quite slowly shook her head in a warningly way and her face was a frown. Serena hit the ENTER key and the program started before she could stop herself.

The laser shot into the first reflector, then the second. It shot into the third and into the fourth and finally into the target. The program began to adjust its harmonics and the laser began to change in intensity. The target had the sensor disk that Serena had designed built into it and it began to record the data that they needed to move forward. Madison’s face brightened as she saw the data begin to come in. “Oh my god, it’s working,” She said as Harper moved to crowd into them to look at the screen. “No way!” She said and she hugged Serena. It was then that the beam began to waiver. The lights flickered on and off and Serena knew what was going to happen.

As the laser began to draw more power the first circuit breaker toggled off and sparks flew from several of the overhead lights. Evan raised his hands to his head. “No! No, no no no no!” He growled as he pounded on the glass. There was nothing they could do but watch the laser destroy Serena’s sensor disk. Hours and hours of work being burned out and all they could do is watch. Finally the laser’s firing sequence ended and white smoke wafted up from the target. Evan took off his goggles, turned and threw them at the glass as hard as he could. “Fuck!!!” He yelled. Hours and hours of work, mostly by Serena had just burned up. There was no fixing it, there never was. It was a completely new build situation. “Definitely Defcon 4,” Harper said finally. Reilly and Adam said nothing which was probably a good idea as Evan ranted. Adam grabbed the chair just before Evan was able to get hold of it to throw. He calmed down eventually but this was the 4th such failure and this one was a disaster.

“Ok, lets clean it up,” Adam said and everyone got to work except Evan who needed some fresh air.

Serena stood there silently and watched as the laser shot into the first reflector and then the second. It hit the third and the fourth and then hit the target. The program began to adjust its harmonics and the laser changed in intensity. The sensor that she had spent hours working on began to record the data they needed. Serena remained emotionless as the data began to come in. She wasn't going to celebrate just yet and the reason why quickly showed itself. The beam began to waiver and the laser began to draw more power. Serena could only stand there and watch as the laser destroyed the disk she had created. She sighed, but it was Evan that lost control. She flinched as he threw his goggles against the glass. There was nothing they could do now but start over. However, this was science. She had watched her father spend weeks working on something only to have it fail over and over again. Failure was a part of the learning process and her father always took something away from his failures.

While the others started to clean up, Serena stepped outside to find Evan. She slowly walked over to him and stood there a moment before finally breaking the silence. "You know, you're going to give yourself a stroke with that kind of temper."

Evan breathed in and then removed the cigarette from his mouth and breathed out the smoke. “I thought we had this...I really did Serena,” Evan said bitterly. “You work so fucking hard, we all do and it just goes to shit,” He said. “The others still inside?” He asked. When she nodded he took one last drag then stood as he blew out the smoke. He flicked the cigarette away with his fingers then stepped up to her and pulled her toward him into a kiss.

He smelled and tasted like cigarette smoke but he also had that sweet taste he always had when he kissed her. Ever since she met Evan he was like this. Almost elemental in how his mind worked. He had such incredible focus, solid thought like earth and his creative side flowed like water. When he kissed her he was most definitely fire. Evan was a mutant and she was the only one that knew that about him. They only had been dating for a few weeks and so far, they had kept it a secret from the others. She had assembled the perfect team and though they bantered back and forth and talked about getting with one another, they all knew romance was dangerous and would only lead to disaster. Evan was persistent however and eventually she had given in to him, despite her better judgement.

“Lets get out of here,” he said as he pulled back and looked at her. She could see the desire in his eyes and knew what he meant. “You wanna get out of here...go back to my place?” Evan asked as he touched her face and did that thing he did with his fingertips that made her skin tingle. “C’mon Serena, lets get out of here,” He said and the shadows behind him began to shift and coalesce around them.

Serena loved it when Evan kissed her. There was always such a passion behind it. He made her knees almost turn to jelly and the way he looked at her and gently caressed her cheek caused her cheeks to burn with desire. Evan had been persistent in his pursuit of her and though she worried about dating someone she was working with she had finally given in to him. They had both agreed to keep it a secret though for the sake of the project they were working on.

It was late, and Serena had a class in the morning, but she wanted to go with him. She chewed her bottom lip a moment as she glanced back towards the building. "I guess they can clean everything up..."

Evan smiled and took Serena up into his embrace as darkness surrounded them. Unable to see or even hear she felt a ‘shifting’. Evan had done this before. Travel without really moving using shadows. Light suddenly bloomed around her as the veil of shadows lifted and she knew where she was, in Evan’s apartment. She had been here twice before but up to now all they had done was a little bit of studying and a little bit of making out. Evan’s place wasn’t huge, a fairly small studio but it was very nice and very clean. “Want a drink?” He asked but before he could step away from her Serena was all over him. She shoved him fairly hard up against the red brick wall near the kitchen and attacked his lips with her own. Evan was quick to dive into the fray and he rolled off her lab coat and lifted her up so she could wrap her legs around him. He held her up by supporting her butt and he carried her over to the bed then they fell together as he lost his balance and they laughed.

He let her watch him put on the condom but before they got to it he leaned over her and kissed her mouth as he explored her with his fingers. Evan was ready for her and he felt that Serena was very ready for him and so he shifted atop her and made love to her for the first time.

A little while later they laid side by side in his bed and looked up at his dark, painted ceiling. “I still can’t believe who you are sometimes…” He said as he smiled up at the ceiling. “Your so fucking amazing Serena!” he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Evan was not Serena's first. That honor went to Luke Harrington, the lead singer of a very popular rock band. They had met at a party when she was at MIT and they had dated for about a year before they broke up. One of the band's most well known songs was rumored to be about Serena. Serena had then dated a fellow MIT student, but they had only dated for about six months before splitting up. Evan knew what he was doing when it came to making love and Serena was glad he didn't have a roommate who might over hear them.

Sometime later she lay next to him in bed. A thin sheen of sweat covered her body and her heart rate was slowly returning to normal. When Evan shouted out she threw a hand over his mouth and blushed as she laughed. "You're going to wake everyone in the building up!"

“You know I could give a shit,” He chuckled as he sat up and then shifted to stand up. In his nakedness he was well built and had an almost exotic quality about him. He had told her all about his mother who was not exactly human. He moved up to the fridge, removed 2 cokes then turned to bring them back to the bed. He popped one open but then handed her one as he popped his own and took a drink.

“I keep thinking about how we’re attacking this project and I keep wondering if we’re going about it all wrong. You and I we have certain...advantages. I think maybe we should use them instead of trying to do this test conventionally. The question is, can you get the others to agree and to keep quiet about it,” Evan said. She knew what he was suggesting and though her mind saw avenues that might solve some of their issues, it was a quite a gamble and potentially dangerous besides. Her own father took risks and devised work arounds but dark energy was still a mystery for the most part. That and Evan seemed...eager for some reason. When he saw the look on her face though he shook his head.

“No...I know its a bad idea Serena. I’m just...frustrated, you know,” He said as eh took another sip on his drink.

Serena sat up and pulled the sheets up around her body as Evan got up and went to the fridge. She watched him as he moved. He was so handsome...but it went beyond that. There was a quality to him that she couldn't put her finger on. She knew it probably had something to do with the fact that his mother wasn't human. He got out two Cokes and walked back over to her. She waited for him to open hers and then she took it and took a small sip. She looked at Evan as he began to talk about their project again. However, what he began to suggest was not something she became excited about. He suggested that they each use their powers to make the project work. The look on Serena's face told Evan that she didn't think what he was suggesting was a good idea. However, what she was more concerned about was how eager he seemed to try it.

"Evan, to be honest I probably shouldn't have even told you about my powers. I can't tell the others in our group. Besides, using our powers to complete the project wouldn't be fair. We need to figure it out another way."

“I know but getting this to work is just the beginning of our thesis. Then we have all the data to collect and then expounding on our findings, conclusions, the whole bit. I just hate failing...so much,” Evan said then took another drink of his coke.

“You know I’ll never tell anyone about you and I trust you too Serena,” he said as he set his coke can down on his bedside table. “Can you absorb dark energy?” he asked. “I know you can’t expel it, but it is energy,” he said. “Do you wanna try?” He asked as he shifted to face her and crossed his legs. He rested his hands on his thighs as he waited for her to either agree to try or not.

Serena looked at Evan as he asked her if she could absorb dark energy. She had never tried, but, theoretically, she should be able to do it. She could absorb every other type of energy she had tried before. Dark energy scared her a little bit though because it wasn't something that scientists knew much about. Her father had told her never to experiment with her powers outside of the Tower and without his supervision, but Serena trusted Evan and so she decided to give it a try. She put down her drink on the bedside table and then turned back to look at him.

"Alright, let's see what happens."

Evan held out his hands for her to take and closed his eyes. When she did the same Evan made a loud screeching noise and felt her jerk back. He laughed and she narrowed her eyes at him and that that wasn’t funny at all. Evan closed his eyes and held out his hands again. When he felt hers take his he leaned down and kissed her hand as if to say that he was sorry for joking around right then.

Evan breathed in and out as he began. He shifted his hands so they were only slightly touching hers by their fingertips. Smokey tendrils of black and violet began to bloom from his hands, they were very small but the moment one of them touched her the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Dark thoughts began to filter through her mind. And a very unpleasant memory came to the surface…

The man that they had called ‘Ghost’ was trying to kill everyone in the tower. Serena was only 13 at the time and the man was using her to draw out her father. She was on her stomach and his boot was on the small of her back. He had a Katana and the tip of it was pressed into her shoulder. Blood trickled down onto the floor from where it pierced her and in that moment she felt as if she was going to die. Her, her mother and her father. Steve and Logan weren’t there that night and Kate had been knocked unconscious...or so Ghost thought. When her father moved closer Ghost knelt down and took hold of her hair and pulled her head back. She felt the cold steel of his blade across her neck and the horror in her mother’s face.

In the end Kate had saved her by using her powers on Ghost. He had been able to phase through the ceiling as she threw him but she threw him so hard he fell to his death from the tower. As she began to absorb the energy from him she suddenly felt as if she were being watched, and not in a good way. Like the energy itself granted her a conduit into the mind of something evil and unclean.

Serena jerked back when Evan suddenly let out a screeching noise and she looked at him in horror. However, when he started to laugh her face went from surprised to angry in the span of only a few seconds. She shook her head and sighed, but placed her hands back in his. When she felt him kiss her hand a small smile did tug at the corner of her lips. She couldn't stay angry at him for very long.

Serena hadn't known what to expect with this experiment. Her eyes were closed so she did not see the smokey tendrils of black and violet. However, she did feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Dark, unpleasant thoughts began to filter through her mind and a memory she had wanted to forget forever resurfaced. She had tried to forget the events of that night with Ghost. That had been the only time she had ever truly thought she and her parents were going to die. She had felt utterly helpless and if Kate hadn't been there she likely would have been killed. She didn't know why this memory suddenly came back to her, but she didn't like it. Serena felt like she was being watched suddenly and she felt uneasy and unclean. The feeling became too much and she pulled her hands back and stopped the flow of energy into her body. When Evan's eyes opened he would see that she was trembling and her face had gone pale.

“Why’d you…” Evan began but then he saw her face. “Oh baby, I’m sorry!” He exclaimed and shifted forward to comfort her. Oddly he knew what was wrong, it always felt like that to him but living this long with it he took it all in stride. Serena had not lived with it so he could guess that she was feeling the effects from the dark energy. He kissed her cheek and enveloped her into his arms as he tilted them to laying down onto the bed. He covered her with his blanket and murmured soothing sounds into her ear. It took several minutes for the fear to draw away from her but he didn’t let her go though and let her rest her head on his arm. He lightly stroked her long, dark hair.

“I would say that was a success but I think maybe we don’t try that again,” Evan said. He was glad that Serena stayed with him for a little while longer. Working with her and not being able to be affectionate was not easy. He coaxed her into letting him make love to her again before he accompanied her back to her place and he kissed her goodnight.

The next evening they were back at it, all 6 of them trying to recover and move past the devastating failure the night before. They were at the large chalk board again and Serena would think the parallel kind of funny. ‘Back to the ole chalkboard’ her father used to say and his father before that. Evan and Madison were talking together as Serena, Adam and Harper conferred at the chalkboard on a new direction. Madison giggled at something Evan said and she touched his arm. It appeared innocent but Serena felt a jealous rage suddenly spike up into her mind.

That night Serena did not sleep. Evan has walked her back to her place and kissed her goodnight, but as she lay there in bed she just stared up at the ceiling thinking about how that Dark Energy had made her feel. She still felt unclean and finally got up and went to take a shower. While in the shower she felt thinking that someone was watching her and she didn’t get much sleep that night.

The next night their group was back together. They were starting the project over once again. Serena was trying to keep her mind clear and sharp but odd feeling kept surfacing. She heard giggling that irritated her and looked over and saw Madison sitting with Evan. When Madison touched his arm she felt a jealous rage. It was so strong and so sudden that it startled her and she dropped the piece of chalk in her hand. She fumbled for it and then realized she was nearly hyperventilating. Without a word she suddenly left the room and walked out into the hallway.

Madison was an intelligent woman and she heard as well as felt Serena’s quickened heart rate. She suspected that something might be going on between Evan and Serena but she wasn’t at all certain about anything. That and she liked Evan so much that it blinded her to a degree that he acted like someone who was either already taken or not interested in her romantically. She followed Serena out into the hall.

“Serena, your heart is racing, are you alright?” Madison asked.

Meanwhile Evan got up to talk to the others when his foot crunched on the chalk that Serena had dropped. It had broken into 3 pieces and when his foot came down on them they made blue marks on the white tile of the floor. 3 wavy lines all converging upon one another. He frowned as he paused to look at the marks as he shifted to pick up one of the chalk board erasers. But then an idea came to him about how they could better control the energy flow.

Serena was trying to regulate her breathing. She had her eyes closed as she leaned her back against a wall. She breathed in slowly through her nose and then out through her mouth several times. When she heard someone approach she opened her eyes and looked over to see Madison there.

“Oh, I’m fine,” she lied. “I think I’m just overly tired. I’ll be fine.”

Madison frowned and her dark eyes took on a look of concern. “Can I get you something from the vending machines?” She asked as she shifted to hold Serena’s upper arms. It was then that Reilly came out. “C’mon guys, Evan thinks he’s onto something,” he said excitedly. The others were at the chalkboard as Evan began to sketch out the idea that the chalk had brought him. What he didn’t know was that it wasn’t entirely by chance. Ironically though it was the randomness of chaos that broke the chalk into 3 pieces and it was also random how Evan stepped on them just so.

Evan drew 3 lines that nearly met in the center. He drew a circle in the middle of them. He then began to write the formula that they had initially used to govern the power output on their laser. His hands worked extremely fast as he wrote. The formula was only half finished but Adam and Harper both nodded as understanding of what his idea was suddenly hit them at the same time.

Serena shook her head when Madison offered to her her something from the vending machine. “I appreciate it, but I’m fine...really.” Suddenly, Reilly came out. He seemed very excited as he told them that Evan was on to something. Serena and Madison both rushed in and she stood back as she examined what Evan was writing on the board. When he looked back at her she smiled at him and nodded. “I think we’ve figured it out.”

The 6 budding scientists spent the next few days with the chalkboard and Serena’s laptop. Getting her program to work with 3 connected lasers was not easy. That and getting the formulas to equal out mathematically was difficult. But they were all inspired by Evan’s own inspiration and they all were focused on solving these problems.

For the most part Serena, Madison and Reilly worked on the Program while the other 3 worked on the hardware design and the math. Dr. Osborn has been intrigued by the concept and though the project was going to cost significantly more he bought into it having every confidence in them.

It was late and Serena and Evan had gone out for a burger and a beer but had gone back to his place. This had become somewhat of the norm lately and Evan cleared out a whole dresser for Serena so she could keep some things at his place should she decide to sleepover. It wasn’t every night certainly but they arrived together enough that the others had a strong suspicion that they were together.

Evan had a string of large, orange Christmas tree lights over his bed along the ceiling. The soft glow of the lights made Serena’s flesh look tan as Evan kissed her softly between her breasts. He was being unusually gentle tonight. And he had gone down on her for the first time since they had been dating. He needed a little guidance by her but once he found her spot it wasn’t a minute later that she was covering her face with her pillow to stop herself from making too much noise.

“Do you think you’ll return to Stark Tower and become an Avenger like your parents?” Even asked softly between his kisses. But he stopped and shifted up so he could look into her eyes. “I’m asking because...I’m in love with you Serena Stark. And I don’t want what we have to end here,” Evan said. His face was very serious as he spoke. His deep blue eyes looked thoughtful but also worried as well. Worried that he was just her boyfriend for here and now and that she intended to move on and leave him behind.

Serena suspected that the others knew that she and Evan were together. She had begun spending more and more time together and she spent most nights at his place now. That meant that they often arrived at Osborn Corp together and left together. None of the others had said anything to them, but Serena did notice that Madison stopped trying to get Evan’s attention.

Serena was happy with Evan. He made her laugh and smile and he believed in her. He supported her and valued her opinion. When she noticed that he had cleared out a drawer for her to use at his place she couldn’t help but smile. Things were working out well between them and she had no intention of this ending any time soon.

Serena lightly ran her fingers through Evan’s hair as he kissed her. She was quite content and blissfully happy. What he asked her though made her pause and she looked at him and into his eyed when he told her he was in love with her. She smiled happily at him. “I’m in love with you too Evan. I haven’t made any concrete plans yet. How about you and I figure that out together.”

That night, like always Evan got out a condom but before he put it on Serena took it from him and then tossed it over her shoulder and smiled as she looked at him. Evan smiled as well then proceeded to make love to her passionately like he always did.

The next morning when Serena got back to her apartment to shower and change she was surprised by her mother who had come unannounced for a visit. The chief problem with being so close to her family was that they tended to drop in on her from time to time and with almost no notice if there was any. Isabella eyed her bag on her shoulder and noticed she hadn’t put on any makeup...yet. She stood as Serena came in. “Good morning Serena. I would have called but I didn’t want to wake you...apparently I was in no danger of that…” She said drylky and her voice had that ‘questioning’ tone it always had when she wanted to know more about something. She hugged Serena, a nice, long hug then let her go.

“Norman...Dr. Osborn told your father that you were doing well. Can you blame me if I am missing my only child?” She asked but didn’t pry about what she suspect was happening with Serena. Serena knew though that she’d get to that eventually.

Serena had a paper she needed to work on and she knew she wouldn’t get any work done at Evan’s place so she headed back to her apartment. When she moved in she had given a key to her parents. It was a nice apartment and they had paid for it and furnished it. Serena noticed the door was unlocked when she put her key in and as she walked in she saw her mother there waiting for her. She felt rather embarrassed since she had clearly not spent the night at her place. She put down her overnight bag and returned her mother’s hug. She had missed her parents. She was working so much that she didn’t have time to really visit. She blushed when her mother told her what Dr. Osborn had said about her.

“Well I’m working with a great team. Would you like some tea or coffee?”

“Tea would be lovely,” Isabella said. While it brewed the two women sat down on the couch. Isabella talked about how the tower’s new newlyweds were doing and how Natalya met Malcolm Cross, a professional baseball player and was now in a real relationship with him. “She gets in these sour moods when he’s away and doesn’t call her. It’s like she’s in high school and is pining for a boy that is only half interested in her though I think Malcolm is just as crazy about her. When her phone rings she ‘runs’ to answer it sometimes,” Isabella said as Seena got up to fix their tea.

“So, whose this mystery man that has you ‘sleeping over’? Is he nice? How long have you been together,” she asked.