Author's note: Transition chapter, yay.
As Ethan was out shopping for new clothes for his sponsor, he was still musing about his research. He had to admit he hadn't tested out the virus on many humans test subjects yet. He only tested it out a small hand full of people before Carlyle, er, Carl jumped the gun and used it on himself before the serum was perfected. Though now that his boss was young again, Ethan had to wonder if Carl will cut funding now that he got what he wanted. Better do some last-minute testing before meeting up with the sponsor for the follow-up analysis.
Ethan then bought new clothes for Carl, along with some extra clothes for his possible test subjects, and then handed over the clothes for Carl to another secretary. With that done, all that was left to do was plan out his strategy. You see, Carl always provided the test subjects for Ethan, but now he will be recruiting the test subject himself. It was going to be a challenge for the doctor, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Ethan decided to first go after the person who was probably going to be the easiest to convince. That elderly janitor, he couldn't have gone that far. After a bit of searching, the scientist spotted a wet floor sign and then the janitor. Alright, now just to try and convince him.
"Hello, there," Ethan began before looking at the janitor's name tag, "Nolan. Have you ever wanted to return to your prime? Reclaim your youth?" Ugh, that pitch may have sounded too much like what a snake oil salesman would say, Ethan thought to himself. Though it seemed to have worked as the elderly man's eyes just lit up.
"Y-You are you the scientist who's doing the rejuvenation project? There have been talks about that around the building about it. Does it really exist? Can you really make me young again?"
"Well, there hasn't been a subject that my drug hasn't work on. Just swing by my lab, and the receptionist will walk you through what you need to do." Nolan then profusely thanked Ethan, dropped everything he was doing, and headed straight towards the elevator. One down, only two more to go.
Next up, Ethan decided to go and try to convince Gus. Now unlike Nolan, Gus certainly knew about the restoration project. The delivery man delivered messages and packages from Carl to Ethan before. And at 29, Gus would be one of the younger test subjects older than 18 to receive the Chronos Drug, and the data he could give to Ethan would be invaluable. Of course, at 29, it would also be harder to convince him to take that sort of drug, but Ethan had one idea to convince Gus.
"Hey, Gus, how're you doing, man?" Ethan greeted Gus with a firm handshake and a pat on the back.
"Oh, Doctor Dunn. I'm doing good, thanks, but what are you doing here? Do you need something delivered?" Gus asked.
"Well, no, but I do need your help. You know that drug I'm testing, right? Well, I need some more test subjects, and I'd like to know if you were interested in being one. I'll be sure to compensate you for your service, of course."
"Thanks, but I'm fine with my age. I don't need to get any younger." A response that Ethan anticipated. Guess it was time for him to reveal the ace up his sleeve.
"Yeah, but are you fine with your body? I have to thank you for not reading the reports you delivered to Mr. Booth, but if you have, you would have known that test subjects also got healthier and stronger than they were before. I know you took peaks at my body when you thought I wasn't looking. Were you wishing you were as buff as me? Well, here's your chance." Ethan then flexed for Gus to show him what he could have. The way that the doctor's lab coat almost tore made the delivery man gulp. Admittedly there were more reasons why Gus took peaks at Ethan, but he did want to be big and buff. It was just that no matter how much he worked out, he could never put on an ounce of muscle.
"O-Okay, I'll do it," Maybe it was foolish to agree to, but this was Gus' only chance of getting his dream body. "J-just don't make me too young okay?"
"I can't make any promises, this is an experiment after all, but I'll see what I can do." Ethan then gave Gus the same instructions he gave to Nolan and sent him on his way. A muscle growth drug, huh? Perhaps once he's finished perfecting his Chronos Drug.
Right now, though, all he need to do was get David to sign up as a test subject. He will be the hardest to convince since all the doctor knew about him was his ambitious work ethic. There was one way Ethan thought to spin the conversation to convince David to be a test subject, but if it didn't work, he was out of luck. As he walked to his office, Ethan hoped his plan will work.
"Excuse me, are you David?" The doctor asked as he entered David's office.
"Yes, I am," David responded, "Hey, I've seen you visiting Mr. Booth often. Does he need me or something?"
"Well, let me introduce myself first. I'm doctor Ethan Dunn. I assume you heard of the rumors of the restoration project. Well, it's real, and I need more test subjects. We'll be sure to compensate you for your service, of course. Plus, I'm sure Mr. Booth would appreciate you volunteering yourself for science." Surprisingly enough, it didn't take long for David to make a decision. He has been gunning for that promotion for the longest time, so he was willing to do risker stunts to get it. David also didn't care if he got younger in the process. To him, it just gave him more time to get ahead.
"Sure, I'll do it," David began, "But if you don't tell the boss what I did, then I'll kick your ass." Despite being threatened, all Ethan could do was laugh at the absurdity of the situation. The doctor was also pretty sure that David was just half-joking... right?
"Haha, don't worry, I'll make sure that word gets to him. Now come on, let me walk you to my lab."
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A little while later, after all the paperwork and other prerequisites were completed and documented, it was finally time to inject the serum into the test subjects.
"Alright, men," the doctor said as he prepared the three synergies, "It's time for your rebirth."