2 Getting The Award and Meeting Other Like-Minded People

"...So, for his efforts in eradicating diseases that have plagued humanity for countless decades, and specifically the blood disease that has plagued him, I welcome Dr. Michael Morbius onto the podium to speak!" the presenter for the awards gestured toward me with both his hands, his chemically whitened teeth flaring under the intense lights about us.

I, on the other hand, struck a different image.

With my deathly pale skin, the black bags under my eyes, and the hunched over frame - I didn't look nearly as dazzling as that guy.

Though I still put in as much effort as possible and kept my back as straight as I could, while smiling and trying to look semi-handsome. I dragged my slightly unresponsive feet across the ground and toward the podium and when I finally got in front of the podium, I leaned against it and smiled even brighter seeing some people I knew in the crowd.

"I've suffered with my disease since I was a child," I started, my smile getting smaller, "I was teased and bullied by the other children in my orphanage - and I don't blame them or hate them for it as it's just something kids of that age do to those who are different. But I did make a vow on days like those, to find a cure for myself and others like me. I couldn't stand the thought of others having to go through the same hardships I had to. This determination only grew as I got older," I took a deep breath, watering my throat up with some water on the podium, "And I was lucky enough to be blessed with a mind capable of learning to do what I wanted most; help cure people of their burdens," my smile came back in full force before I chuckled slightly, "I got here through a lot of hard work but I wouldn't have been able to do it without the people behind me who supported me. On that note, I'd like to thank the woman who I see as a sister - Neena - and a colleague of mine who helped me with the cure - Milo - and I'd like to congratulate them both on some fantastic news," I smiled down at Neena who was rapidly going red, shaking her head back and forth, but I continued on anyway, "They've both decided to get married, so can we get a round of applause for that, please?" I smilingly asked and the crowd in front of me broke out in applause, with some whistles here and there from somewhere near the back.

When the applause came to an end, the presenter came over and handed me the Nobel Prize medal for Medicine, and the certificate. Smiling I showed the medal off and the certificate, albeit a bit awkwardly because of my crutches but I succeeded. Leaning over the microphone again, I smile one last time as I spoke, "You may be wondering why I haven't cured myself just yet," I smiled with most of the crowd looking to me with curiosity, obviously having wanted to know the reason to why I hadn't cured myself before I started curing others, "That's because my disease has rapidly started mutating. I'm dying quicker and quicker as each second passes," a collective gasp came from the crowd and Neena stood up while Milo, her fiance, looked equally as worried, but I continued smiling, "This has made curing myself...harder, than I would have liked. But I'm happy to tell you that with the last resource I needed being brought to me, I can finally cure myself of the disease that has plagued me throughout my life. So, if you see me past tonight, I promise you - you'll see an all new Michael Morbius!" I said with an excited tone as I smiled at the crowd who slowly recovered and started clapping.

(A/N - Don't know what a Nobel Prize acceptance speech is like, or if they even have one to begin with, but I just modeled it after, say, an Oscar acceptance speech or whatever.)

I waddled back to my seat as the ceremony continued. Others got their prizes and I clapped for them, overall being in a jolly mood because of the great day I'd been having.

Before long the award ceremony was over and we all went to another room for a bit of an after-party, I would call it, I guess? Usually I wouldn't stick around for such things but right now, in the mood I was in? I wanted to celebrate with others.

As I got down from the stage, Neena and Milo were waiting for me.

Milo was a man of Jamaican Descent, his mom and dad having moved over to America before he was born. He was of a decent height, though still a few inches shorter than me. I'd say he was around 5'11". But despite his more average height, Milo was quite bulky and well-built, being the type of person who liked to keep his body as healthy and active as his mind.

His black hair was styled in dreadlocks and was well kept.

As I appeared, Milo smiled at me, showcasing his bright white teeth that contrasted well with the darkness of his skin. Milo began walking over to me before pulling me into a hug, "I'm proud of you, Mikey!" his said loudly in his deep voice and I chuckled as I hugged him back. Even before he got engaged with Neena, Milo was like a brother to me. Despite looking so ghoulish and gaunt, he never excluded me and always helped when he could.

The two of us worked at a Empire State University, the same place where I got my PhDs.

When Neena went off to join the X-Men, I decided I had to move forward to not get left behind by her. I graduated highschool when I was 14, got my PhD in Biochemistry when I was 15, my PhD in Medicine when I was 17, and finally my PhD in Physiology when I turned 20. With three PhDs the University that I stayed at, easily chose to hire me, and I'd been working there ever since.

My knowledge of medicine, the human body, and biochemistry allowed me to cure a few minor diseases which allowed for me to get funded by the University as they saw my potential and how much good I could do. I had to teach classes, sure, but teaching people who wanted to learn was always fun and I enjoyed teaching. I taught Biochemistry and gave an optional class for the Physiology of the Human body for those who were interested.

Anyway, that's how the two of us knew each other.

"Thank you, Milo," I said as I pulled back from the embrace, "I hope that you'll be coming with Neena to help cure me later, right? Or hasn't she told you yet?" I smiled, looking to Neena who just smiled back, telling me she had.

Milo lightly smacked my shoulder, his smile getting wider on his face, "Of course I'll be there. Wouldn't miss it for the world," he said before going back over to Neena and taking a hold of her hand.

Seeing the public display of affection I smiled, happy for the woman who I saw as a sister and the man who I saw as a brother. "Good, then we can go out for drinks tomorrow. I've never had a drink before because of my disease, so this will be a good occasion to let loose right? Getting cured and your marriage, that is?" I smiled still, the two of them smiling back and Neena actually looking excited.

"Yes!" she quickly agreed, her eyes flickering with excitement, "Finally, I can get my little brother drunk as hell and let him embarrass himself! Prepare yourself Mikey!" she laughed 'evilly' and both me and Milo shared a look, both of us all too used to Neena's personality. "Ah, wait a minute you ass," Neena seemed to remember something and looked toward me with a slightly glare, "You didn't tell either of us that your disease had mutated - why? Why did you hide that and keep it to yourself?" she seemed genuinely upset and even more concerned about me. Milo, getting brought back on track by Neena, also looked at me with a slightly angry gaze.

Seeing this, my smile dampened a little but I still kept eye contact with the two, "I didn't tell you because it would only worry you guys to no end. The worry may have made you make a mistake when you were gathering the last of the materials, Neena, and I really didn't want that to happen. Plus, I inflicted the mutation myself--" I was cut off by Neena practically flashing in front of me and grabbing my collar. Despite our actual height difference, my hunched frame allowed her to lift me up a little, making me grimace slightly in pain.

"What did you just say, Michael?" she asked, her voice sounding calm but her eyes...her eyes were furious, "Did you just say you mutated the disease killing you, and allowed it to kill you faster?" she spoke, her voice subdued, but her actions were already beginning to attract attention.

I just looked at her with calm eyes before I answered her with an even and chilled voice, "The cure I will be taking is different from the others and needs the cells in my body to be slightly unstable. Especially the blood cells. I took a calculated risk and it will pay off. I can count on you and Milo to get me back to the cure before Midnight," I finished and Milo put a hand on Neena's shoulder, trying to calm her.

She bit her lip, her eyes fully conflicted and showing of her desire to shout and scream at me for being an idiot. But as she looked around us, she saw the glances and the looks and sighed before looking to me with a steely gaze, "We're going to talk about this later, and after your cured, I'm gonna kick you ass for lying to me about something so important," she whispered harshly before going back over to Milo.

I could only smiled in a slightly tense way but nodded nonetheless. I knew she'd be angry, but I didn't think she'd be this pissed. Guess even I could be wrong, huh?

Keeping my mental quip to myself, I saw a couple walking toward us. Turning to them, I smiled with surprise evident on my face, "Reed! Sue!" I widely smiled, limping over toward them.

Reed Richards. A college buddy of mine and the only person I knew who was more intelligent than me. We'd met during my first year at Empire State University. Reed was older than me, around 18 or 19, and had many more PhDs than me, yet he seemed to have seen himself in me and befriended me, retailing his experience in college when he was 14 - not many people in college want to hang out with a 14-year-old after all, no matter his mental maturity.

He was a tall and lanky man, around my height, but he walked with much more grace and confidence than I did - I'm sure you can imagine why - and he looked much more healthy, despite his thinness. His hair was brown and despite his young age, he was already showing greying around his temple area. He had eyes that matched his hair in color, having some dark-ish brown eyes, though his eyes were filled with intelligence and shined brightly, unlike what you'd think would be possible for such dark eyes.

Then I turned my attention to Sue, or rather Susan Storm. Another person I met during my first year of college. She was a beautiful blonde around the same age as Reed, with baby blue eyes and a shapely hourglass figure. She was currently in a tight blue dress that hugged her curves and her legs, yet she didn't show any kind of embarrassment and wore the dress proudly, clearly knowing how beautiful she was.

Reed, who was dressed in a simple tuxedo, was smiling as he approached me, "Congratulations, Michael, I knew you'd be able to do it!" he took my hand with his and began to rapidly shake it, his enthusiasm for advancements in science and medicine really being shown through it.

When he let go of my hand, Sue came and gave me a much more gentle hug, which I was thankful for - all this activity was really wearing me out - and returned easily enough.

"I'm so happy for you, Michael!" she smiled, seemingly more outwardly excited than me myself, "I know how long you've worked for this, and yet you still helped others along the way; you've come a long way from the shy 14-year-old I met all those years ago!" she winked as she teased me and I just smiled back, remembering a time when this would have had me blushing like a madman.

"Thank you, Reed, Sue," I nodded my head to the two of them, smiling, "Without your support on some of the project, I wouldn't have been able to complete the project."

This was, of course, a lie, meant to be polite about this and not brag about my own achievements. Even if they hadn't helped, which they would have no matter what, I could have gone to other people for help.

Reed, as intelligent as he was, also knew this and spotted what I was trying to do. But he didn't say anything and l appreciated that he didn't ruin the moment and just took the thanks and gratitude.

...Reed wasn't the best at reading the atmosphere of the room and had a bad habit of making things awkward with that big ol' brain of his.

"Dr. Michael Morbius," a slightly cocky voice spoke from behind me and when I turned to see who it was, I was surprised, but they carried on, "Congratulations on the Nobel Prize. Ready to leave it somewhere where it'll only collect dust?" the man asked, seemingly being harsh, but from the mirth in his tone and the way he said it, I knew he was only joking.

"Tony Stark," I greeted, putting out my hand, which he grabbed and shook, "What is the famous Iron Man doing here? And greeting me, of all things?" I asked, feeling genuinely curious on why he was here.