“Tower, could you dump a gallon of simian blood on the corpse?”
“Surely it can’t come back from that?” A dubious Grayson eyed the puddle of gunk that lacked any kind of shape—or bones. Wild shit.
“Pretty sure it won’t rejuvenate this time, but a good scientist never assumes.”
Asterion finally emerged, grinning. “Feisty buggers,” he declared.
“I wonder if they’ll react to Big Blue’s death,” she murmured. “Tower, remove the partition.”
The smaller aliens scampered around their containment but skirted the poisoned corpse as if they understood it posed a danger.
On their way through the lab, she stopped by a machine and punched at a screen, which caused a printer to whir and spit out a sheet of paper.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“Chemical composition of the lake water. The analysis finished overnight, meaning we now have a poison recipe,” she added with a wink.
Together, they headed down to Aries’ office and entered to find him cradling his baby.
A single brow rose as Aries said, “Judging by your faces, you have some good news for me.”
“The water worked,” Leila crowed. “And quickly, too. We tested it on a waist-high alien subject. The death was almost instantaneous.”
“That is excellent news!” Aries’ excitement had the baby stirring, and he resumed patting a diaper-clad bottom.
“Don’t get too excited yet. We drenched the remains in blood to see if it revives. Could be it takes longer to recover from a catastrophic injury. I will also note I sprayed it in the face, which might have allowed the poison easier penetration than, say, if it had been splashed on its back or chest.
Grayson cleared his throat. “The hands you spritzed melted right away.”
“Because of the actual spraying of water, or the fact it was already compromised?” she countered.
“Never thought of that,” he murmured.
“Because you’re not a scientist used to having their results challenged. But if it helps, I do believe Lake Natron’s water is so toxic it won’t matter where it touches. Nor does it seem to require much.”
“She sprayed it with a little bottle like a cat,” Grayson confided to Aries, who’d been listening quietly to their exchange.
“This sounds more than promising. How soon could I start arming the warriors with this spray?”
“Soon as we can either figure out a way to load up some cannisters with Lake Natron’s water, or we find a place that can make this recipe en masse.” She handed over the printout. “This is the ratio of chemicals that worked.”
“Let me make a few calls,” Aries offered. “I might know someone who can help with mass production.”
“In the meantime, I’ll run those extra tests and see if we run into any issues or limitations,” Leila stated, and Grayson could already see her mind whirring and planning. Beautiful, smart, and with a work ethic he admired.
“This is the best news I’ve had since we started fighting these things,” Aries declared, waving the sheet of paper. “Good work. If you discover anything with those additional tests, no need to waste time coming down; just send me a message. I doubt I’ll be straying far from the office today.”
They wasted no time returning to the lab. Grayson, along with Asterion, assisted Leila the rest of that day, growing the aliens, separating them, seeing what happened if they got sprayed on the foot.
Death.
Subjected to a single drop.
Death.
If an alien touched the poisoned corpse of another.
Also death.
