Doctor Ethan Dunn was done with the way he was treated by the rest of the scientists.
First they viewed him as a joke on two fronts - one due to his choice of what to pursue in study, the other being his history.
Unlike many of the others back in college, Ethan had been a football jock first and only switched over to scientific studies due to an injury to his knee in the middle of a game. There had been a bit of a stereotype going on that Ethan was brainless and needed help doing even the most basic work in the lab. But Ethan had never exactly been the stereotype either - whereas many of his fellow athletes needed to get their grades boosted or have nerds do their homework, Ethan had always been a straight A student, taking multiple honors classes in fact. He was quite proud of the result - a powerfully muscled body and a studious, well informed mind.
But the people he ended up working with didn't see it that way. They saw the blond, handsome man that came in as just another clueless athlete who probably was only studying there for the sake of a back up plan. Not that Ethan was well informed at all, or that it wasn't a matter of choice. Then came his matter of study.
He preferred to look into the field of regeneration, of restoring youth and vitality, of strength and health. He was viewed as almost stereotypical in that. Of course the jock wanted to look into these topics, the others told themselves. Well, now that Ethan had his resources, a wealthy patron, and time to study, he had done it. Let the others laugh as they wanted, Ethan had his triumph. Soon he would see his name lauded at the front of every scientific paper.
Ethan was as of now 45, but he had stayed - as he had in his youth - in the very pinnacle of fitness. Under that labcoat, button up shirt, shabby dress pants and boots, Ethan was powerfully muscled. Easily 245 lbs of size, his abdominals might not be as toned as they once were, but he was quite proud of the state his body was in. His hair was still blond, but had a few grey hairs in there - though it was admirably thick and full. His face was still robustly lantern jawed and handsome, albeit with a few wrinkles at the edges. He was the only one in this lab, in fact, who needed this size in labcoat for all the right reasons. A celebratory flex saw his bicep easily tent and strain his sleeve. "Of course they all hate me. They're jealous I look THIS good at 45."
As of now, he had managed to complete the tests and completely fused the necessary protein amino-chains to the form of a virus. The fact a virus could spread and bind to DNA was the key to his new understanding of these protein chains. By using these exact linking chains, he was able to construct a virus that it seemed had very interesting effects.
When it bound to the DNA of a person older than 20, it regressed them back to the state of a teenager, most often 18 years old. It also seemed to have an effect to bolster the physical health of those it bound to as it did so, making them healthier than they had been at that age. One of the test subjects had testified saying he had never been that built at 18.
But it was the effects on a younger person that made Ethan tilt his head. Instead of regressing them further, it seemed to have the opposite effect, aging that person directly to 18 or into their twenties in more rare cases. It was certainly a revolutionary breakthrough, and Ethan had never felt more proud of himself. He certainly knew he planned on canvassing the clubs and bars tonight for a good date - and an excellent fuck for tonight.
Even at 45, Ethan enjoyed the bachelor's life - preferring to have sex with women and just leave it at that after a passionate date. Some said he should think of getting married. Ethan for his part politely disagreed. After all, who was he to limit his options?
He looked at his phone and saw a message from his wealthy sponsor. Carlyle Booth was a powerful lobbyist in his eighties who desperately yearned for a means to escape what he saw as coming for him soon. He had sponsored the odd research topic that Ethan enjoyed, gave him all the research material, access to test subjects, and even the laboratory he operated out of now. The man was veritably loaded with cash. All he asked for was a return to his free-wheeling youth, so he could actually enjoy his wealth without having a health incident every two weeks or so.
It looked like Carlyle was asking to make use of the current model of the so called "Age Virus". Seeing as all the tests had been positive in nature. Ethan thought about it for a moment, and decided the risks were minimal with the current model. He picked up a syringe with a sample of it to take to Carlyle's office further up in the building, wondering what the boss would do with his new youth once he had it.
A quick trip up the elevator brought Ethan to Carlyle's office, where he saw the old man seated in his chair, a cane at his side, a sad state for a man to be in with how debilitated and withered he looked. The old man asked in a desperate tone, "You...you have it? You really have it?"
"That I do," Ethan said, "But I'm still not sure about this, honestly. It may need further tests---"
"Damn the tests! Er...let me be the next test." Carlyle looked at the syringe hungrily once it was brought out, "I was a real dynamo in my younger years. Did---Did you know I was a swimmer once upon a time? The ladies loved me, and---and the men wanted to be me. Ah, well, some probably wanted me too."
Carlyle looked down at himself forlornly, "I can't stand to be like this any longer. Please...Ethan, let me have my youth back. I can give you even more money, even more resources..." The man was clearly begging, and Ethan sighed. Call him greedy, but maybe this was for the best. He figured that nothing too bad could happen here. He handed over the syringe, and Carlyle sighed with relief.
"At least let me observe," Ethan commented, "Make sure nothing goes wrong."
Carlyle simply nodded and brought the syringe to his arm to inject himself with this miracle development...