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*****
Before Gwen and the others, a man who had once looked refined and scholarly had completely transformed into a savage beast.
The creature standing before them was three meters tall, its entire body covered in coarse black fur. It possessed a pair of terrifying tusks, making it look exactly like a standing...
"Wild boar?" Gwen muttered, her lips twitching slightly.
She exchanged a quick look with Peter and the other two. They nodded in unison, preparing to strike. But before they could make a move, the boar-monster let out an exhilarated howl and lowered its head, charging straight at them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The beast's heavy steps thundered against the floor, leaving behind cracked, cratered footprints. Thick white steam snorted from its snout as it barreled toward them like a runaway freight train.
Just as the two sides were about to collide, Gwen leaped high into the air while Peter slid past the monster's flank. Multiple strands of webbing erupted from their shooters, weaving into a massive net that descended upon the creature. Luke and Harry grabbed the ends of the webbing mid-slide, digging their heels in and pulling with everything they had alongside Peter and Gwen.
In an instant, the charging boar-monster was jerked to a violent halt.
The beast's raw strength was formidable, but the four of them were no pushovers.
As the monster roared in frustration, Gwen's team exchanged another rapid look. With Harry and Luke anchoring the creature in place, Peter and Gwen lunged forward. They switched their web-shooters to "Net Mode," raining down a barrage of webbing that threatened to bury the beast alive.
"Hahaha!"
The boar-monster let out a manic laugh, and every single hair on its body suddenly stood on end.
Their spider-senses screamed a warning. Gwen and Peter's pupils shrank. "Get back! Now!"
The two of them scrambled away instantly, while Luke and Harry crossed their arms to shield their faces.
In the next second, the long black quills on the monster's back shot out like a hail of bullets.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The hardened black bristles struck Luke and Harry's armored suits with a series of sharp, metallic cracks. Even their reinforced armor, designed to withstand small-arms fire, began to show fine, web-like fractures.
Startled, the two of them dove for cover. The black quills fell like a dense rain, riddling the surrounding area with holes.
Seconds later, the volley stopped. Gwen looked out from her cover to see that the monster had shredded through its webbed restraints. To make matters worse, enemy reinforcements had arrived.
Seeing a dozen more hostiles surrounding them, the team's expressions turned cold.
"We need to end this quickly!" Gwen whispered. But the moment she twitched, the bristles on the monster's back stood up again.
The team ducked back behind their cover immediately.
"Hahaha! A bunch of pathetic bugs!" the boar-monster mocked, his voice a guttural growl.
Luke spoke up, his voice dangerously calm. "I'm going in. I'm going to beat him so hard even his own mother won't recognize him."
"Wait," Gwen paused. "Is he a mutant?"
"My gut tells me... yes!" A cold smirk played on Luke's lips.
After years of training, Luke's ability had evolved. Not only could he control it with precision and over a larger area, but he could also instinctively sense whether someone was a mutant or not.
"Fine, he's yours!" Gwen nodded to Luke from across the room. Her eyes flickered with a competitive spark. "Let's see who takes down the most!"
"Ha! It'll definitely be me!" Harry grinned. He plucked a bomb from his belt and tossed it.
The device skittered across the floor, a red light blinking rapidly on its surface. The boar-monster cursed and scrambled away with his men.
BOOM!
A violent explosion rocked the room. Flames and thick black smoke erupted, splashing across the corridor as if the entire space were being swallowed by an inferno.
In that split second, the four heroes burst through the flames like four lethal arrows.
The boar-monster's eyes narrowed. "Attack!"
His bristles stood up once more, but the guards around him weren't waiting. They reached into their pockets and tossed superpower pills into their mouths. These men were the elite security for the ship; most were compatible with the drugs. As the pills took effect, a variety of strange and dangerous powers began to manifest among the guards.
Luke charged straight for the boar-monster, while Gwen, Peter, and Harry intercepted the guards.
Coldness glinted in Luke's eyes. As he saw the black quills on the monster's back begin to quiver in preparation for another launch, he sneered.
"Purification Field—Activate!"
An invisible force rippled out from him. Although the field was only a few meters in diameter, it was more than enough.
"Huh?"
The boar-monster froze. He felt the raw power in his veins suddenly receding. No—it wasn't just a feeling. It was actually vanishing.
Jasper watched in a daze as the black bristles on his body retracted. His massive, bulging frame, which had been swollen by his power, shrank back down to its original human size. He stood there, completely stunned.
How... how is it gone?
The question had barely formed in Jasper's mind when a massive fist filled his vision and slammed into his eye socket.
"Ah!"
Jasper let out a pained cry, his head snapping back as he stumbled.
"You! You made my power disappear!" Jasper stared at Luke in disbelief. The excitement and fanaticism in his eyes had been replaced by pure, unadulterated fear. Jasper's arrogance only existed when he held the upper hand; with his power gone, his courage evaporated.
"Ha!" Luke sneered, raining punches down on Jasper's face.
"Didn't you call us bugs?"
"Weren't you the big shot?"
"Didn't you have quills to shoot?"
"Shoot them! Charge me! Go on!"
With every sentence, Luke's fist connected with Jasper's face. If Gwen hadn't told Luke not to knock the man out because they needed him for questioning, Jasper would have happily slipped into unconsciousness long ago.
"Help me!" Jasper screamed, blood spraying from his mouth.
He looked around, only to see that Gwen and the others had nearly finished off the rest of the guards. He cursed under his breath, "Useless trash... they should all be sent to the labs. You—GAH!"
Luke's fist caught Jasper right in the mouth, forcing the rest of his words back down his throat. The man collapsed in a heap, his eyes rolling back as he finally passed out.
Luke let out a cold huff. Mentioning the experiments was a mistake; it only reminded Luke of the horrific scene they had witnessed earlier. He sat down heavily on Jasper's back, hearing a muffled groan from the man underneath. He smirked.
Zip!
Gwen and Peter pulled their webbing tight, slamming the last two guards into each other and knocking them cold. The battle was finally over.
But the sound of more footsteps echoing down the hall told them that more enemies were on the way.
Gwen walked over to Jasper and looked at Peter and Luke. "Hold the corridor."
"Got it!" they replied in unison.
Gwen walked up to Jasper. She had Luke hoist the man up before delivering a sharp blow to his gut.
"Gah!"
Jasper's eyes flew open in agony. His gaze was immediately snared by the flickering flames in Gwen's eyes. He stared into them, his body trembling as the pain intensified.
A few seconds later, the blue flames in Gwen's eyes faded.
"Let's go!" she said curtly.
Luke dropped the unconscious Jasper to the floor and tapped several commands into the controller on his forearm.
BOOM!
A violent blast tore a massive hole in the side of the ship's hull. Luke tossed one last bomb into the corridor to slow down the reinforcements, and the four of them leaped out into the night air. They landed perfectly on their waiting flight gliders and sped away.
Two streaks of fire painted brilliant trails across the night sky before descending toward the beach. Once they reached the safety of the van, the vehicle began to move.
Gwen turned to the group. "That man was Jasper, the project lead for the superpower drugs. He works for a massive biotech conglomerate."
"The company developed these drugs with the intent of changing the world. They're currently in a global testing phase. Once the formula is perfected and the mortality rate drops, they plan to sell them publicly—just like common cold medicine."
"Like cold medicine?" Peter and the others were horrified.
"Yes! If they have their way, anyone who wants them can have superpowers," Gwen nodded.
Peter's expression was grim. "That would plunge the entire world into absolute chaos."
Not everyone possessed the moral compass to handle that kind of power. The world would tear itself apart.
"It's worse than that," Gwen added. "Once the drugs are ubiquitous, the company will use them to control the world. Once everyone has experienced that power, no one will want to give it up. They'll be addicted to the strength, and since only that company can produce the drug, they'll effectively rule everyone."
As she spoke, Gwen used her ring to open a portal. This time, they emerged directly at the Kent Academy for Gifted Heroes.
The moment they arrived, Charles sensed their presence. He sent a telepathic message for them to wait and appeared before the van a moment later.
Tap, tap!
Charles knocked on the door with a smile. Gwen threw it open.
"Hey, little ones, good evening—whoa! Don't pull me!"
"Save the small talk! Get in, we're on a clock!" Gwen shouted, dragging Charles inside.
Charles laughed helplessly. "You're just like Erik, always doing everything in such a rush."
"It's called efficiency!" Gwen rolled her eyes. "Once we settle this, you'll have all the time in the world to talk."
Charles chuckled. "Fine. Let's go to Russia." He saw Harry and the others looking at him in shock and smiled gently. "I already know everything from Gwen's mind."
He tapped his temple and looked at Gwen. "Since we're in a hurry, you don't mind, do you?"
Gwen nodded. In the next second, a portal opened just ahead of them. Gwen slammed her foot on the gas. Charles stumbled as the van roared through.
The vehicle emerged from the portal mid-air. Amidst the startled shouts of the passengers, it streaked across the Russian night sky and slammed down onto the roof of a skyscraper.
THUD!
The van groaned as if it were about to fall apart. The teenagers scrambled to grab hold of anything nearby to steady themselves.
"Damn it, Gwen! Where exactly did you set the exit coordinates!?" Charles demanded, looking slightly shaken.
Gwen gave a cheeky grin. "The roof of the target building!"
"You little lunatic! Is this how you drive!?" Charles strode over and poked her in the forehead.
Gwen winced and whispered, "Brother, give me some face in front of my friends!"
Peter and the others couldn't help but laugh at the sibling banter. Charles sighed and gave Gwen's hooded head a firm rub before smiling.
Gwen's eyes narrowed. "Alright, Brother. It's your turn."
"As if you had to tell me," Charles said calmly. "I already took control of everyone in the building the moment we arrived. They're all having very pleasant dreams right now. Otherwise, the noise of that landing would have brought the whole place down on us."
"Wow! A pro as always!" Gwen offered an immediate thumbs-up and a flattery-filled grin.
Charles frowned slightly. "The target is sleeping on the top floor." His expression suggested the scene was perhaps a bit too "adult" for the teenagers.
This skyscraper was the headquarters of the corporation, and the top floor was the owner's private residence. In other words, Charles could take down the entire operation in one fell swoop.
"Wait here," Charles commanded. With a thought, he used his powers to force the target to dress and walk out onto the roof.
A moment later, a middle-aged man as broad and strong as a bear appeared before the van, dressed in silk pajamas.
"Is this him? Andrei Andreivich, the owner of Azara Biotech?" Charles asked Gwen.
Gwen studied the man and nodded. "Yes. That's him. I saw his face in that bastard Jasper's memories."
Charles nodded, his consciousness diving deep into the man's mind. "Confirmed. It's really him, not a body double." He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Gwen, this is even more serious than you thought."
"What do you mean?" Gwen blinked.
"He has four research bases around the world, and experimental sites in over a dozen countries. There are already many influential supporters of the superpower drug. And..." He looked at Andrei with a cold sneer. "He's a remnant of Hydra."
"Hydra?" Gwen asked in shock. "That organization still exists?"
"There are always a few roaches left in the cracks," Charles said dismissively. He tapped his head and looked at Gwen. "I'll handle things from here. You all should go back. It will take some time to dismantle this entire network properly."
The research bases, the distribution channels—everything had to be erased. One night wasn't enough to find and retrieve every pill that had been leaked, but they could at least get most of them. Most importantly, they had to cut off the source.
Furthermore, a drug like this would be coveted by many. The research data needed to be secured or destroyed before morning. With that in mind, Charles immediately ordered Andrei to create a single backup of the data for him and then delete every other copy in existence.
As Andrei turned to obey, Charles smiled at Gwen and her friends.
"Go home and get some sleep. You still have school tomorrow. The Superhero Association will remember your contribution."
"Yes, sir!" the four of them replied happily.
(End of Chapter)