[13] Feel Like Eleven

A confident smile spread across his lips as he stared at the folders of classified data uniformly distributed on the desktop. 

"I succeeded. I made the paranoid Fury even more paranoid, hehe. Sadly, he's almost inconsequential in the cosmic scale of things," Joe coldly spoke. 

He was happy but didn't show it. Hell knows how he was resisting the urge to release that satisfying evil laughter. (you know, the type with thunder rumbling in the background.)

"Haha, stop it!" Joe restrained himself when the monster inside wanted out, but he wasn't going to let him dominate his current moment. 

"This is only the beginning. I have yet to accomplish anything of importance." 

Just as he was about to click on the folder housing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s exotic energy research, a nauseous wave assaulted his whole being. He almost lost consciousness.

'Here comes the monarch of all headaches.' Joe sighed heavily as the pounding inside his head intensified. 

The time limit had passed, but at least he could now resist the drawbacks somewhat. 

Joe touched the red-black blood dripping from his nostrils. This time round, it was more intense than the previous episode. 

"Why does NZT react differently with my system? I feel like Eleven." Joe lightheartedly joked as his eyes struggled to remain awake. He was being overwhelmed by a sudden drowsiness. His body screamed at him to lie down and cease all unnecessary movements. 

Standing from the chair, Joe staggered, almost tripping on his feet as he shuffled to the bed. Unhesitatingly, he languidly dropped onto the mattress and shut down. 

...

In a perpetually dimly lit room, Joe achingly turned his sleeping body from an unnatural position, straining his neck. Next, his eyes groggily opened, his pupils widening to adjust to the dimness in the room. 

"How long did I sleep?" Joe lazily crawled to the window and swiped the blind to the side. 

The streetlights had already begun coming to life. Joe spotted the red-orange sun slowly sinking on the horizon. He considered himself lucky that his neighborhood afforded such a luxurious view compared to the city.

"I slept the whole day. And I'm still alive." Joe brushed his hands over his body with uncertainty in his face. Who could blame him? It was a blessing to stay alive after each night in such a chaotic universe. 

Letting the blinds fall back into place, Joe climbed off the bed and lit up the bedside lamp before heading to the bathroom. 

Staring at the mirror, Joe squinted his eyes. "I look like a Zom-100 zombie." 

After about fifteen minutes, Joe left the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his neck. He dried himself off and then put on a pair of baggy, comfortable clothes. He picked up his phone and noticed numbered notification icons swarming his lock screen. 

"That's a lot of messages," Joe mumbled as he scrolled down his screen. There were messages from Gwen, MJ, Peter, and other people with whom he was loosely acquainted. 

"They can wait. My gluttonous stomach takes precedence." He locked the phone, placed it inside his pocket, and aimed for the kitchen. 

He suddenly craved steak—something tender and juicy enough. The freezer had no steak, so he left the house to buy some from the local supermarket. He also didn't forget the milk and some nuts. 

Since he had never cooked something so tender, Joe browsed through various cooking videos on YouTube for guidance. It was a simple process since he had all the ingredients in place. He followed the instructions with ease as he prepared the steak. He noticed that even when he hadn't consumed NZT, his thinking processes had experienced significant improvements nonetheless.

The cooking session only took 30 minutes, and soon Joe had a perfectly cooked steak. The tantalizing aroma stimulated his taste buds, making his mouth water. The steak was a deep golden brown, hot and sizzling with juicy fat. Joe gently cut a massive piece of the meat while observing the inner color. 

It's not red, at least. 

He took the whole piece into his mouth, and his face brightened. The steak was soft, chewy, and, lastly, incredibly—

"Yummy." Joe nodded in approval. 

He then devoured the entire 1.5 kg steak by himself, leaving him completely satisfied and his hunger finally satiated.

He did his dishes before heading back to his room. Joe knew he was rushing himself, but he wanted to solve his major energy problem as soon as possible. Relaxing would be for the later part of his story. 

"Now show me what you've got?" Joe sat comfortably on his chair as he opened the folder. He quirked a brow when he saw numerous secret files of [Project Pegasus]. There were research notes, complex mathematical equations, and the Light Speed Engine blueprints. The "Light Speed Engine" was a creation of Dr. Wendy Lawson, a Kree native operating undercover in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Energy Research Department. 

Dr. Lawson was the catalyst behind Carol Danvers' transformation into Captain Marvel. 

"This is interesting, but I shouldn't dream about re-creating this magnificent technology with my current resources. I am bookmarking space travel in my plans." 

Joe admired such innovation, especially at a time when technology wasn't as advanced as it is today. 

Putting the Light Speed Engine aside, Joe looked through the other files. He wanted the arc reactor files, even prototypes, and incomplete research findings would do just fine. 

Joe filtered the files and narrowed down the cluttered mess of experimental research details. 

"The Tesseract," he muttered under his breath as he wondrously looked at the image of a glowing blue cube. 

"Beautiful, but possessing it means a lot of aliens, and an Asgardian God will be hunting my ass. The Tesseract research, though..." Joe contemplated as he continuously tapped his finger against the wooden surface. 

He opened another file, and his eyes lit up in recognition. 

"Found it." There were videos of Howard's experiments, detailed explanations, doubts, schematics, and research papers. Some felt personal since they were left for Tony Stark, but Joe didn't care. 

"I thought I would require a year or a couple more to come up with a solution for the energy-hungry Dimension Key. This information has surely accelerated my plans," Joe mulled over his thoughts, his interlaced fingers supporting his chin. 

"I guess it's NZT time. Damn, I think I am really an addict. Nothing surprising from a drug that works on a physiological and psychological level." Joe grinned as he gulped down another pill. Failing to take the drug constantly was going to fuck him up. You either take it once and give up or continue the process. NZT-48 was devilish, but everything would be fine if he took a permanent immunity shot. If possible, he wanted to independently research the ingredients used in manufacturing NZT-48. He was ambitious in thinking about creating the perfect formula for NZT-48 without side effects. 

"To get a gist of what the arc reactor technology entails at the quantum level, I need to drill Thermonuclear Physics, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, and Quantum Physics into my cerebrum." Joe closed his eyes, flexed his neck muscles, and smiled. 

"I have to speak the language of the Starks." An intelligent gleam radiated from his eyes. "At least, give some credit to the Vankos, man." 

...

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