Stark Research Center.
It had become Howard's den of madness.
The air was thick with the smell of coffee.
Complex molecular structures and calculations covered the walls and floors.
Howard's eyes were bloodshot, and his hair was a bird's nest.
Just a little more.
Just one final step!
He was infinitely close to that divine domain!
The miracle Dr. Erskine had created was at his fingertips!
But that crucial peptide chain structure always collapsed at the final step.
"No... that's not right! The stabilizer ratio is correct, and the catalytic effect of the orchid alkaloids is perfect..."
A crazy thought occurred to Howard.
Could the reaction only be completed inside living cells, under the constraints of a living organism's magnetic field?
He glanced at the veins in his arm, a fanatical light flashing in his eyes.
"Howard, you look like you're getting ready to launch yourself to the moon."
Lynn's voice broke through the madness in the lab.
He strolled in carrying a bottle of fine Scotch whisky and two glasses.
"Lynn?"
Howard looked up from the mass of formulas, his bloodshot eyes taking several seconds to focus.
"What are you doing here? I don't have time to drink with you. I'm about to... about to succeed!"
"Really?"
Lynn walked over to the bar and poured two glasses.
"Then why do you look like you're about to use your arm as a test tube?"
Lynn had seen right through him. Irritated, Howard walked over, picked up a glass, and downed more than half the liquor in one gulp.
"I'm stuck."
He scratched his hair in frustration.
"See that node? In theory, it should stabilize the entire structure completely. But every time I run a simulation, the rays tear it apart!"
Lynn looked in the direction he was pointing.
That node was the tiny but fatal deviation he had left in the "forged manuscript" back then.
A trap.
"Maybe... you're trying too hard?"
Lynn watched with interest, glass in hand.
"Trying too hard?"
Howard scoffed.
"This is science, Lynn! Rigorous science! It's not a date with some Hollywood girl!"
"Dr. Erskine once told me about the orchids he grew."
Lynn ignored the question, dipping a finger in his drink and drawing idly on the smooth tabletop.
"He said the structure of some petals looks terribly fragile, yet they can withstand the fiercest monsoons. That's because they don't resist the wind head-on. They guide it along its path and disperse its force."
As if inspired by his own words, he looked up at the projection.
"What if this node isn't a hinge?"
Lynn pointed at it.
"Instead of locking the structure in place, it acts as a buffer, absorbing and converting the excess energy from the Vita Rays, then channeling it into other, more stable structures..."
Howard looked somewhat taken aback.
A hinge?
A buffer?
Channeling?
This... this approach...
Howard's expression shifted from bewilderment to shock, and finally to wild delight!
He rushed to the computer, his hands a blur over the keyboard.
Under his modifications, the molecular structure he had seen as a bottleneck took on a more flexible, more elastic form.
With trembling hands, he pressed the "run simulation" button.
On the screen, the torrent of energy representing the Vita Rays struck.
This time, the modified "hinge" structure did not collapse.
"Hum-"
A soft sound rang out.
A perfect, stable Super Soldier Serum molecular structure, glowing faintly blue, floated quietly in the center of the screen.
"It worked..."
"I... I did it!"
Howard let out an uncontrollable whoop of joy and threw his arms around Lynn, excited as a child.
"Lynn! You're a fucking genius! You're a god of science who wasted his talents in journalism!"
"I have to call Phillips right now! We can create an army of super soldiers! The war is going to end!"
He turned to grab the phone.
"And then what? Watch the doctor's tragedy happen all over again?"
Howard's hand stopped in midair.
"Howard, what we have is both a god's scepter and a devil's key."
Lynn's expression grew more serious than ever.
"We've only finished half the work. Steve was a miracle, a one-in-a-million coincidence. Can you guarantee that the next person injected won't turn into a monster we can't control?"
"This technology must never be handed directly to the military. All those generals can think about is victory. They'll mass-produce it at any cost, until disaster strikes."
Howard remembered Dr. Erskine lying in a pool of blood.
"Then... what should we do?"
"We need checks and balances."
Lynn gave the answer he had prepared long ago.
"This research can't belong solely to Stark Industries, and it can't belong solely to the military either. It needs an independent third party with the highest technical capabilities and security clearance to oversee it and conduct further safety research."
He looked Howard in the eye, speaking each word deliberately.
"My pharmaceutical company just received military authorization to produce penicillin. We have a top-tier biological laboratory and security system certified by the Department of Defense. The military trusts us."
"Let's make this a formal agreement, Howard."
"Foresight Pharmaceuticals will exchange five percent of its shares and priority partnership rights in all future biopharmaceutical projects for a one percent stake in Stark Industries."
"We'll establish a joint project team, with me as its nominal overseer, and provide you with the safest possible environment for your experiments. We'll share the patent for this technology, and we'll share the responsibility as well."
"This is to protect it, and to protect ourselves. To carry out the doctor's final wish."
One would handle the technology, the other security and resources.
To a technical genius like Howard, it sounded excellent.
Not only could he continue his research, he would also have a partner to help him deal with troublesome matters.
At this point, Howard Stark had no idea what a one percent stake in Stark Industries would mean in the future.
"All right!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Howard held out his hand.
"For Dr. Erskine!"
Lynn shook his hand, a sincere smile on his face.
The agreement was signed on the spot.
Howard excitedly brought out the first batch of finished serum, freshly synthesized.
Five vials in all.
"This is the first finished batch."
Howard's voice was full of pride.
"Leave them to me."
Lynn carefully placed the five vials of serum in a specially made refrigerated case.
"I'll take them to Foresight's P4 laboratory in New Jersey for secure storage and stability testing. It's safer than anywhere the military has."
Howard nodded, thoroughly convinced.
Lynn left Stark Industries and got into the car taking him back to New Jersey.
Lynn opened the case and looked at the five vials of faintly glowing blue liquid.
Foresight Pharmaceuticals' P4 laboratory?
No.
That was just a front aboveground.
The secret base three hundred meters beneath the pharmaceutical plant was the true destination for the serums.