[Aron's first person POV] [Safe base]
I went straight to Stryker's office. According to what I've found from reading his mories, he kept a key and a security card. The key is for a locker in a local bank, where he kept an important data drive containing all the information about the inhumane researches he had carried out till now. Stryker was clever. Who would guess that such important files could be found in a local bank's locker? And it screams of a trap.
Well, I got Phoenix Force. I'll just burn them to ashes.
As for the security card, it can open and override any security asures in his lab and other hidden facilities. As far as I found out, he has six such facilities all over New York, all underground and secured with a biotric scanner. If I want to investigate them, I'll need that card. Maybe one of the labs holds more information about or it could also be on that drive.
Now, so might think why haven't I just read his mind and uncover the information? Well, I did try. I got so information, but the thing is there was a strong ntal barrier protecting his mind from my intrusion, almost like my psionic powers were blocked by an anti-psi shield. It blocked from accessing certain parts of his mories. In other words, he either had an anti-psi chip implanted in his brain or soone created that barrier using power stronger than mine. That was why I had to resort to torture to get the information I wanted.
The thing that worried was his last words. He was trying to reveal the na of the mastermind and he just uttered, 'All' before exploding. Is it All For One? There is a possibility. If I can be reborn in the Marvel world, then there is a possibility that All For One can also be reborn in this world after his death. And my power is sowhat similar to him. Am I his clone or a lab-made human, made using his DNA? Fuck! Anyway, if he's in this world, then I... No, we have the biggest problem on our hands. God knows how many abilities he has sucked out till now.
Sigh!
I took the keys and security card from Stryker's office.
[Manhatten]
Using my super speed, I made my way to the local bank with a weird na written in a language I was unfamiliar with, where the locker was stored, phasing through the exterior walls of the building like a ghost. The place was quiet, the cold fluorescent lights buzzing above. My steps echoed softly as I passed through the vault area, careful not to set off any alarms.
Finding the locker wasn't difficult. Stryker's mories had given all the details I needed. I slid the key into the lock, feeling the familiar click. The locker door swung open.
But inside—it wasn't the data drive I expected.
I froze.
Instead of a data drive, there was a sleek, black mask—the kind worn by the Black Cat. Its glossy surface glead under the dim light. The last ti I heard of her was in the newspaper, around three months ago. She stole a famous piece of art from the NY museum.
I picked up the mask... A small card fell from the locker, landing softly on the floor. I crouched to pick it up, turning it over in my hand. There was a single line of text written on it in elegant handwriting:
"You're not the only one chasing ghosts. Let's play a little longer, shall we? - F"
Felicia Hardy.
I clenched my jaw, resisting the urge to crush the card in my hand. Of course, Black Cat would have gotten involved. If there was anyone capable of slipping into Stryker's hidden vaults undetected, it would be her. She was a master thief, her skills unparalleled. But why would she take the drive? What did she gain from this?
Soone hired her... That one killed Stryker must have known about this and decided to clean up the vault.
I stood up, gripping the mask tightly in my hand. She had left it here on purpose, taunting . A ga of cat and mouse—and right now, I was playing her ga.
But this wasn't over. Not by a long shot.
[Alarm!!]
The second the alarm blared through the bank, my muscles tensed. The high-pitched screech echoed in the vault. Of course, it's a trap. But it didn't matter. I tried to use my psychic power to check outside. Well, there were too many guards rushing toward the vault.
Ard guards—heavily armored and ard to the teeth—rushed in as if they'd been waiting for all along. They were efficient, their movents swift and coordinated. This wasn't just a random bank squad. No, these guys were military-level, likely Stryker's people or soone hired to deal with soone like .
However, my psychic connection got cut out. I tried to turn to vapor, but it didn't work. Damn! I hate mutant suppression devices. Those fuckers are so annoying.
I looked up and saw several of the guards positioning what looked like high-tech rifles, their barrels crackling with blue energy. Anti-mutation devices. Damn it. Whoever set this up wasn't playing around. The entire building was rigged to suppress my abilities, turning this whole bank into a perfect cage.
I adjusted the mask over my face, pulling it tighter, and pulled on my hoodie.
"Surrender, Subject 43," One of the guards stepped forward, his rifle aid at my chest. "Your mutation won't work here. There is no escape."
"Oh," I snapped my fingers, summoning the Phoenix Force. "You sure about that?"
My body burst into flas, burning like a bonfire. The heat emanating from my body made the air around shimr. I raised my arms, feeling the raw power rush through . It was ti to play.
The guards opened fire.
I waved my hand and an invisible force field manifested itself, protecting from the bullets. Sure enough, those devices can only suppress mutants, but Phoenix Force isn't a mutation. It's a cosmic entity. And a cosmic entity cannot be suppressed by any manmade device. I snapped my fingers again and the force field expanded.
The guards were blown away from , crashing against the walls of the vault.
"Die, motherfuckers!" I said unleashing the flas.
The vault erupted in flas as the Phoenix Force surged through , turning the cold, sterile walls into molten tal. The intense heat radiated outward, and within seconds, the floor beneath my feet started to crack and lt, sparks flying in all directions. I felt the power thrumming through my veins, an unstoppable force of destruction.
But, unlike Jean, I was in control.
The guards scread, scrambling for cover as the fire engulfed them. Their high-tech rifles crackled and exploded under the pressure, blue energy fizzling out uselessly. I smirked beneath the mask, feeling no pity for them. Stryker's n or not, they were nothing but pawns in a bigger ga, and I wasn't planning to play fair.
One of them managed to get a shot off, a single beam of energy aid directly at my chest. It hit the force field, but instead of dissipating, it created a brief ripple of energy before the beam was reflected back, striking the guard square in the face. His body crumpled to the floor, the helt's visor shattering as he fell.
"Pathetic," I muttered under my breath, raising my hand again.
With a single thought, the entire building began to tremble. The walls groaned, tal straining against the heat and pressure. I could hear the alarms blaring louder now, a high-pitched wail that mixed with the crackling of flas and the sounds of collapsing infrastructure. It was beautiful chaos, a symphony of destruction.
I let the fire consu everything. The flas curled up the walls, licking the ceiling and spreading faster than any normal fire. In minutes, the bank was nothing more than an inferno. Smoke billowed from the windows, dark and thick, swirling into the night sky. The crackling of burning wood and steel filled the air, punctuated by the occasional explosion of tech equipnt overheating and combusting.
As the last of the guards fell, their screams lost in the roar of the fire, I took a deep breath, allowing the Phoenix Force to cool slightly within . I glanced around at what I had done—total annihilation. The entire building would be reduced to ash by the ti the fire departnt arrived, and by then, I'd be long gone.
But Felicia… she was still out there, playing her little ga.
I clenched my fist, the heat of the Phoenix simring just under the surface. She had taken sothing important, and I wasn't about to let her get away with it. The drive was crucial, not just for my mission but for understanding the deeper mystery behind Stryker's work and possibly my own origins.
Still, as much as I wanted to hunt her down right now, I needed to stay low for the mont. A weird thought has been nagging for so ti now. I need to check it out. I turned to vapor and disappeared from that place.
...
[3rd person POV]
[Location: Classified]
A group of doctors and scientists were busy working on several things. The area was full of high-tech computers, lab equipnt, and various machines. The atmosphere was tense, everyone focused on their respective tasks. A few soldiers patrolled the area, their faces hidden behind tactical masks.
Under that building was a hidden lab and only a handful of people were allowed access. The lab was state-of-the-art, filled with cutting-edge technology and equipnt.
There was a massive glass tube and inside it was a person in so kind of liquid. His face was missing, eyes and nose to be exact, and there was a weird mask over his mouth. A machine was connected to the tube and a man was sitting in front of it, reading the monitor. It was none other than Sebastian Shaw, leader of the Hellfire Club.
"Dr. Essex, how is our guest doing?" He asked, glancing at the man beside him.
The man, Nathaniel Essex, was an expert in genetic research, mutation, and evolution. He was also one of the leading experts in xenobiology. He was wearing a white coat and had a bald head with sharp facial features. His eyes were red and had a creepy smile on his face.
"He's stable for now," Essex replied, adjusting his glasses. "But the procedure is extrely difficult, even for soone like ."
"I see," Shaw said, studying the monitor. "Any chance we can start the next phase of the project?"
"We need the key before we can continue. Find him for and I'll give you what you want."
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[13 advance chapters] [No double billing]
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AN: Yeah, I know, so liked it, so didn't. But I won't be dragging the plot around All For One. He's the antagonist of the first volu that's it.
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