Axel was in Lab 8B-2 with other Researchers. He had a couple of test tubes in hand and was observing the ongoing reaction.
"Compounds XL-4 and R9 lose all color after prolonged contact with the atmosphere." He told the person beside him and she jotted it down.
Axel focused on the test tubes and gently mixed the two compounds together.
At first, a bright red precipitate started to form but midway, the precipitate dissolved and formed a dark green solution that reeked of rotting flesh.
"Shit!!" Axel and his partner cursed before he hauled the test tube to the other side of the lab.
It exploded and let out a dark brown and most likely toxic gas.
The vents immediately hummed to life and sucked out all the gas.
Axel found the closest chair and crashed into it. He was far too tired to continue his experiments for the day.
"Ha! You still haven't found a stable mixture of material X and R? I'm almost disappointed." Judith joked from across the room.
Unlike him, she had been given relatively easier materials to mix.
The materials he has been given always seemed to react negatively with one another, yet he was expected to find a use for the two together.
And to him, it seemed that the two were only good for blowing up when mixed together.
He had tried easily over a hundred different things to get the two to mix together all to no avail.
His partner was almost as tired as he, having had to face the constant threat of explosions and toxic gases.
It seemed that the only thing they did together was to detonate.
'Wait! Could that be it?!' An idea struck Axel.
He picked the shared journal and started highlighting the various key notes that they had taken during their whole experiment.
His partner looked at what he was doing and quickly realized his goal so she started prepping the right materials.
Axel started mixing the last bits of the materials he had into their respective solutions.
His partner, on the other hand, was making a small device.
The two worked quickly and in silence, almost like they had planned it from the start.
Soon, Axel had two test tubes in his hands once more. One was purple and the other was orange.
His partner had what appeared to be a grenade with two pins.
Axel poured out the two solutions into their various compartments in the contraption.
"You ensured that the two compartments are separated completely, right?" He asked to confirm.
She scoffed.
"Of course. Only when the pins are pulled will the two solutions mix and trigger the reaction."
The two looked at each other then they pulled both pins and threw the grenade at the doors.
A loud groan left the doors and they opened to reveal Miss Cayenne.
The grenade exploded and released gas and sent shrapnel flying.
Before the shrapnel could fly far, the gas dissolved it into liquid.
The gas moved to Miss Cayenne and the latter stared at it with nothing but curiosity.
The vents immediately sucked the gas out but Miss Cayenne still looked at where the gas was.
"Mr. Romero. I believe that little 'grenade' belonged to you?" She walked to Axel.
Judith and the other Researchers kept silent and watched from the background.
Axel wanted to speak but Miss Cayenne raised a finger to silence him.
"Rhetorical question." Her eyes flowed back to where the grenade had detonated. Part of the metal from the floor had corroded.
'I gave him those materials knowing full well that they couldn't be effectively used purposefully together.' Her eyes went back to Axel.
'Yet he proved me wrong. Interesting.' A small smirk spread on her face.
She took in a deep breath and dropped something on the table in front of Axel then left.
As soon as the door shut behind her, Axel picked up the thing she dropped.
'An ID card?' He flipped it over and looked at the details and nearly dropped it in shock.
[Axel Romero]
[Current Rank: Yellow]
If he was reading the card correctly, then he had seen an increase in his rank but for what?
As far as he knew, it had to be earned through merit.
'This must be some attempt to build a relationship with me. Manipulate, already? The military doesn't waste time.'