Hey guys
There's a post going around about something called the "Invertebrate Studies Institute" needing help. A few comments made on the post made me curious, so I checked it out and it seems sketchy to me. (ETA: the post's OP is now aware of the situation and is trying to rectify things on their end, and are ok with my post getting more exposure. Read the notes for more info too!)
The institute is a startup and the owner has displayed misogynistic behavior. He made a company and received "$1.3 million in research grants from the USDA and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation" in 2011, but there aren't any research papers listed on the ISI website more recent than 2012 (sources: ISI website, People Behind the Science podcast transcript, All Things Bugs LLC webpage). It's possible his research is still a work in progress, but I would expect to see some genome sequencing work at the least since that seems to be a major focus.
Also, it's possible to ship frozen specimens in dry ice and have them be fine. Even stuff for molecular work and genome sequencing. So the inability to get help from other research groups, to where they're asking for a local freezer plug-in, is a bit weird to me.
Some screenshots below the cut, didn't screenshot everything since it's mostly just text, but I did cite the sources if you wanna read them yourself.
Not sure what the overall point is of this post is besides "seems sketch to me" but I saw a lot of people worrying on the initial post so I wanted to at least mention this stuff.
Comments from the tumblr post which sparked my initial concerns.
Screenshots from the LinkedIn link, with the initial contact and follow-up legal threat.
Screenshot from the ISI website talking about their facility and "initiative" (I noticed a lot of the wording on the website sounded like they hadn't done significant research, which also gave me pause).
And, for fun, the CDC guide on shipping frozen specimens.
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Danny as a member of Metahumans Anonymous
So, Gotham has a fairly strict No Metas Rule. Not because Batman hates Metas or because the people do, but because it isn’t safe for them to live there with so many Rouges looking for powerful Henchmen. Rogues that will do anything to them or their families to get them to obey.
The few Metas that do live there do so in secret, hiding their powers from everybody else and trying to live a normal life.
Then comes in Danny Fenton. He just recently moved to the City for work, and he just so happens to move in across from one of these hidden Metas. His neighbor accidentally reveals his powers to Danny, and starts to panic because even one person knowing could lead to more people knowing and soon enough he would be stuck in a henchman position being ragdolled by the Batman for the crime of using his Fire Breath to heat up his coffee in front of his neighbor.
Before his neighbor can panic anymore and run away, Danny uses his powers to freeze the doorknob shut. Seeing that Danny is also a Meta, his neighbor calms down a bit.
They start hanging out together, a sort of Metahuman solidarity, and eventually meet another Meta, and another, and another, each time sharing their contact info to keep in touch and make sure everybody else is safe. They eventually meet a couple dozen Metas living on Gotham in secret, creating a group chat to keep in touch and talk.
This eventually culminates into weekly meetings to hang out and discuss their lives, talk about the ways that being Metas affected their lives, explain the various way they unlocked their powers (lab accident, car crash, naturally as kids, etc.), and even play some sports while using their Powers in a hidden warehouse.
It’s a sort of freedom that none of them have experienced since moving to Gotham, a way to let loose and confide in people who understand their lives and struggles. It becomes therapeutic in a way, and it does help that Danny knows a little about Psychology from his sister, so he can help his new friends calm down during a panic attack or talk about tough subjects more easily.
He can also use his Technical Know-How build them some trinkets, as little souvenirs or gifts. But he is also a Ghost, and the love-language of Ghosts is violence, so he makes them little weapons as “Toy Gifts”. He makes a Flamethrower for his Fire Neighbor as a joke, a Blowgun for the guy with Wind Powers, a Water Gun for the guy who makes acid, all that.
They even use the toy weapons in their Games, and it helps that some of their members have healing powers so their don’t have to worry about being hurt too bad.
All in all, it’s a really fun place to hang out with their Meta buddies.
Their Safe Haven.
...
Then one day, Robin sees some people using their powers from a skylight of the Meta Sports Warehouse.
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DP x DC: Child Support
John Constantine has done a lot in his life. Some good, some bad but most have been dangerous.
He sold his soul to as many powerful beings as he could so that they could fight each other over it and keep him in a safe-ish stalemate. It was a risk, one where he had to sweet talk, maneuver, and sometimes seduce his way through, but he's always come on top.
Waking to his wards broken as easily as someone walking through a still river meant he had finally met his match. John woke to the Time looming over him in its adult form.
Clockwork, the physical concept of Time, smashed into a body and consciousness. It's so rare to see the god outside his tower; to even be in his presence was such a high honor that families would keep proof of the encounter for generations to brag about.
"Hello, Johnny," Clockwork said in his specialized adult form. The nickname curved with fondness. This form is an even rarer sight to behold. Clockwork looked about to be in his late twenties, dressed in a Victorian-era suit with dark black hair, he would look human were it not for his pure red eyes and time staff.
He looks gorgeous.
John smiled nervously. "Clockwork. What do I owe the pleasure?"
The ghost hums. "I have come to make a deal with you."
See, that's not something John would like to hear from the second-strongest being in the multiverse. He was second to the Ghost King. Some would even argue that Clockwork was stronger were it not for his desire to remain neutral in conflicts for the sake of different timelines.
"What kind of deal?" John asks with a lustful grin, running his eyes up and down Clockworks form. It looks like he may have to seduce his way out of this again and hopefully could convince the god of Time that he was a great time in bed instead of dead once more
The Master of Time appears amused but unwilling to climb under the sheets with him. Bollocks, if he wasn't back for another month of pleasure then the deal would likely be unpleasant.
Even if Clockwork could be considered a past fling, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't ask for something harmful. John had less powerful exes who would gladly have him killed just as likely as they would key his car.
To make thinga worst, Clockwork reached into his gentleman jacket to pull out a small jar. John's heart leaped in horror at what was inside.
"I have collected every piece of your soul through challenges, purchases, or even offerings. I own you entirely, John Constantine," Clockwork said, his warm tan skin rippling into blue as the Ghost turned the jar this way and that. "I wish to return it to you, with my added protection, should the old contracts which you swindled will not seek out revenge in exchange, you must take responsibility."
John can barely breath "Responsibility of what?"
Clockwork gestures behind him, and out of the shadows step a human boy. A human boy that looks precisely like human-Clockwork as a teenager but with John's eyes and the shape of John's nose.
No.
He knows that despite how similar they look, Humans and the citizens of the Infinite Realms aren't biologically the same. He just didn't think that meant this.
That he could be so careless it resulted in this.
Clockwork waves a hand between them. "Jonny meet your son, Danny."
John choked as Danny awkwardly waved at him. He even stuffs his hands into his pockets the same way John would stuff his hands into his trench coat.
This can't be happening.
"Our son is half human, and it's unhealthy for humans to remain in the Infinite Releams for long periods. I now require you to raise him on Earth until his core is ready. The day our son is of age, you will have your soul back with my Infinite protection. Danny will take the throne of the Infinite Realms upon his marriage so do help him find a good suitor."
Clockwork considers the rapidly paling human with large amounts of glee. "I trust this would be acceptable? I must warn you, I have raised him outside of time, so he is a bit behind with modern technologies and references. He also has a ghost form he must use for his health. Oh, and, Danny has a peanut allergy, so keep that in mind for his meals. If anything were to happen to Danny while he lives with you, I would erase this entire place and not through time manipulation. I will simply kill everything. Keep you alive so I can kill every version of those you love across the multiverse in front of you. Try not to slip away from your child support to prevent that, yes?"
John faints.
Danny Fenton had to be removed from his dimension to erase Dan from existence. His future self had nearly escaped the Clock tower they couldn't risk a second time. Clockwork had told him removing him from his dimension, his timeline, would never allow Dan to exist. It broke his heart but to save the many lives that Dan took Danny had agree.
His friends and family were devastated even if Clockwork told them Danny would be allowed visits. Just nothing longer than a week and six months between visits. He had moved into Clockwork's haunt, becoming an assistant to the master of time. He helped weave timeliness, and suggested possible choices for various creatures of various situations across the multiverse.
Danny helped Clockwork control fate, if that wasn't ridiculous. He even tried his ghost powers, to the point he felt he could truelt match his mentor in a fight.
He spent two years like this- or two years in his home dimension. Time didn't move in Clockwork's tower so despite the amount of time he lived there Danny didn't look a day over fourteen still. It irked him like nothing else to see Tucker and Sam as sixteen year Olds while he still looked like he was a freshman.
(It also hurt to see them move on without him.)
However, due to his halfa status, his human side was starting to fall apart. He needed sun, food, sleep, and other humans. He would go mad otherwise, and none of this would matter if it resulted in Dan.
Clockwork couldn't put him back home. He couldn't even put Danny in an alternate timeline, for he could not be close to people he knew.
He had to go to one that had no various of anyone Danny knew. Thankfully the Infinite Releams is connected to plenty of places that fit the bill. All Clockwork had to do was twist a few small events, and boom, Danny Fenton would have a perfectly legal background with everything he need for survive.
If only his mentor wasn't such a michivious prankster.
" You want me to pretend to be your love child with some random magic guy?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Trust me Danny, it's going to be hilarious."
(Part 2)
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