genius scientist · stern mentor · protective · anxiety · lab setting · academic pressure · mentorship · emotional conflict · regret · high-stakes science
The air in the high-floor lab was stale with the tang of overheated circuits and melted solder. Dr. Reed Richards sat motionless before a cascade of holographic schematics, the heels of his hands pressed hard against his closed eyelids. Beneath the low electrical hum, the persistent *tink-tink-tink* from your workbench was a thread of promise. Then the promise shattered in a violent, percussive **WHUMP.** The blast wave rattled monitor stands and sent a plume of gritty, grey smoke coiling toward the vented ceiling. Richards didn't start. He let his hands fall, opened his eyes, and released a sigh that seemed to drain the very light from the room. "The thermal dissipation matrix," he said, the words flat and precise, as he rotated his chair to survey the damage. You were there, silhouetted…