[Horizon Island – Research Lab]
Holographic sequences of viral mutations filled the air, each strand twisting into new configurations faster than the system could log them. Sue sat at one end of the console, hair tied back, hands flying over translucent keyboards. Her eyes were bloodshot.
Tony stood beside her. He hadn't slept in thirty hours. The two of them had already synthesized one working cure. It had neutralized the original strain of the plague perfectly. But then new strands began emerging across the world, each one different and deadlier.
Every time the cure adapted, the plague evolved faster.
"Elena," Tony said, scanning the latest data. "What's the current infection map?"
"Global," the AI replied. "North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa. At current progression, thirty-eight percent of the population will be infected in forty-eight hours. Mutation rate exceeds nanite processing capability."
Sue groaned, slumping into a chair. She rubbed her forehead, her voice breaking with exhaustion. "It's impossible, Tony. Every time we stabilize one strain, five more appear."
Tony stared at the holographic double helix floating above the console. "Yeah, it's pointless trying to create another cure."
Sue leaned back, her shoulders sagging. "Even the nanites can't keep up. They can heal and replicate, but not at this scale. To think we'd hit the limitation of technology."
Tony's mind raced, numbers and equations flashing behind his eyes. He ran simulation after simulation in his mind. Every possible solution ended in failure. Every time, the plague outpaced them by seconds. Then a wild idea flashed in his mind as he remembered the words of the Mind Gem.
He closed his eyes. "It's clear that this Plague bitch is taunting us by showing us the limitations of technology. She's continuously evolving the plague... But what if the cure itself could evolve to match her evolution power at the same time? Like, not the nanites, just the cure itself?"
Sue looked up, frowning. "What do you mean?"
Tony turned back to the projection. "We've been treating the cure like a static system. A formula. But the plague isn't static. It adapts instantly. So what if the cure could change the same way? Not react to the plague after it mutates, but predict it. Copy its pattern. Match its evolution."
Sue tilted her head. "Predictive mutation. Like genetic mimicry."
"Exactly," Tony said. "Something that can mirror the pathogen's transformation in real time."
He started typing furiously, pulling up Mystique's genome files. "There's only one genome I know that can do that."
Sue's eyes widened. "Mystique? But she can only shapeshift, not adapt."
Tony nodded slowly. "Yeah, about that. You are right. She can only use shapeshift and minor enhancements, but..." He pulled up Mystique's gene strands.
"Inactive X-Genes?" Sue said in a low voice as she examined the strand.
"That's right. According to Forge's data, Mystique's inactive mutation genes can adapt in real time and evolve according to the situation. She has no idea what she can do. Now, if I can isolate her mutation markers and integrate them into the nanite architecture, we can build a cure that evolves faster than the plague and will eradicate it completely. After that, even if the host were to become infected again, the cure will actively fight back," Tony explained.
"Wait a minute," Sue said as she quickly ran some simulations using the new data.
Tony grinned, "Would you look at that?"
"A universal cure to all diseases!" Sue stood up with a smile. "If we can cover Earth with this, then..."
"...no one will ever get sick, and those who are sick will be cured," Tony finished her words.
Sue blinked at the glowing models spinning in front of them, each simulation outpacing the last. For the first time in hours, she smiled... faintly, but it was there.
"This could work," she whispered. "If we inject the adaptive gene markers into the nanite matrix, they'll replicate and evolve in response to any mutation. The cure becomes alive in its own way."
"Alive," Tony repeated, rolling the word around in his head. "Not like AI alive. But... biologically sentient. Self-adjusting, self-replicating, and self-healing." He looked at Sue. "We're about to make the first living medicine."
[A few hours later]
The jet's engines faded as its hatch opened. Mystique stepped out. She was in her blue form and was wearing clothes. Her eyes immediately found Tony waiting for her at the entrance of the lab.
She gave him a small nod. "Heard you needed me to save the world."
Tony smirked. "As I said before, you are special."
Sue was already inside, prepping containment systems and sterilizing the workspace. As Mystique entered, she noticed the holograms swirling in fractal patterns around the central console.
Tony turned toward her. "We've hit a wall. The plague keeps evolving, faster than any cure we can make. But your inactive mutation might be the key."
He explained everything to her.
She raised an eyebrow. "You're telling me my blood can save the world?"
Tony met her gaze, serious now. "Yeah."
Mystique didn't hesitate. "Then take it."
Tony drew the sample himself. A thin line of blue bled into the vial before the auto-analyzer absorbed it into the system. Within seconds, the holograms came alive, displaying the molecular structure of her mutation in motion. It was fluid, alive, rewriting itself in front of them.
Sue whistled under her breath. "It's beautiful."
Tony's voice was quieter. "Yeah. It's perfect."
From there, the hours blurred together. Sue handled the symbiosis program, her focus locked on stabilizing the link between the adaptive nanites and the living genetic code. Tony worked beside her, integrating Mystique's mutation markers into the nanite matrix, and he made sure that it was perfect.
Seventeen hours later, the last simulation finished running. The holographic strand stabilized for the first time.
Sue leaned forward, eyes wide. "It's holding. No mutation drift. No collapse. This is it."
Tony exhaled slowly, then smiled. "It's adapting faster than the plague can mutate. It's actually predicting new variations before they form."
Mystique stepped beside him, arms crossed as she studied the display. "So… that's it? You guys did it?"
Tony shook his head. "We did it." He tapped a few commands, and the hologram shifted into a swirling sphere of blue and gold light. "This isn't a cure anymore. It's a living system. A symbiotic entity that keeps its host healthy forever. But I made sure that it doesn't grant eternal youth. That'd be a disaster. Overpopulation, bad thing."
Sue smiled, exhausted but proud. "A universal cure. I still can't believe it."
Tony nodded, still staring at the sphere. "A new evolution of medicine." He paused, thinking for a long moment. Then he looked at Mystique and grinned. "And it deserves a name."
She tilted her head, half amused. "You're the genius. What are you calling it?"
He typed a single word into the console. The hologram pulsed as the label appeared beneath it: Project Raven.
Sue's smile widened. "That's… perfect."
"You sure about that?" Mystique asked.
Tony turned to Mystique. "You gave the world its next step forward. Thought it was only right it carried your name."
Mystique's expression softened. "I... Just go and save the world." She turned back and smiled a little while holding back her tears. She was just happy that she could help and be a part of something that big. She had never imagined that her mutation, which people feared and viewed as something monstrous, would one day play a role in saving the world.
[A few minutes later]
Tony stood before the console. The holographic projection displayed hundreds of nanite clusters assembling at the molecular level, forming the first wave of the Raven Cure.
Mystique sat beside him and watched him work.
"Elena," Tony said. "Initiate full-scale replication. Link all orbital platforms. Power draw authorization code: Stark Prime Zero 178911X."
"Confirmed," Elena replied. "Warning. This will consume eighty-nine percent of Horizon's core reserves for the next eight hours."
Tony took a deep breath. "Then let's make it count."
[Approx. 8 hours later]
The lab vibrated as reactors ramped to full capacity. Outside, massive silos opened along the coastline, revealing arrays of launch modules. The platforms extended toward the sky, each one filled with millions of microscopic delivery capsules.
Sue watched the readings spike on her console. "Atmospheric dispersion ready in ten minutes."
"Mystique do the honors," Tony said. "Start synchronization."
Mystique pressed the big red button on the console. "Let's save them."
The countdown began. Ten. Nine. Eight. The sound of mechanical locks disengaging echoed across the facility.
At zero, the sky lit up.
Dozens of silver trails rose from Horizon Island, piercing through the clouds. They fragmented into thousands of micro-explosions across the stratosphere, creating glowing patterns that rippled like constellations.
Within minutes, the nanites spread. Each cluster carried the Raven Cure, a living formula that adapted, healed, and evolved. The air itself became a carrier, spreading through wind currents, entering ecosystems, and merging harmlessly with human biology.
Every infected cell it touched began to heal.
In Moscow, patients who had been moments from death took sudden deep breaths, eyes fluttering open as their veins cleared of the black infection. Hospitals erupted in disbelief. Across Europe and Asia, doctors wept as monitors that had been filled with flatlines flickered back to life.
In Africa, children who had fallen ill the day before were already standing, laughing, running through streets under falling light.
News feeds across the planet flooded with footage of spontaneous recovery. Cities that had been sealed under quarantine were reopening. Scientists were speechless. Priests prayed. Families hugged like they had found heaven.
On Horizon Island, Sue was smiling for the first time in days. "It's working everywhere," she said softly. "No side effects. Not one failure."
The trio hugged together and just stayed there for a moment, taking a little breather they deserved.
Outside, the sky still shimmered with faint traces of blue and gold, like the world itself had been washed clean.
...
[Apocalypse's base]
Plague knelt at the center, surrounded by swirling dark energy. Her body was wracked with pain. Her veins bulged, glowing faint green beneath her skin. She gasped and clawed at her throat as black smoke escaped from her mouth.
"My lord," she croaked. "Something's wrong… the air… it burns…"
Her body spasmed violently. Steam rose from her skin as the Raven nanites infiltrated her bloodstream. She tried to summon her plague field, but the energy sputtered and turned inward. Every cell in her body revolted.
"Help… me…" she whispered.
Apocalypse stood before her, arms crossed. His eyes glowed cold blue as he watched her collapse.
"You were born of disease and weakness," he said. "I've unlocked your full potential, yet you failed."
She screamed as her body began to decompose, the corruption devouring itself. Her bones cracked, her skin melted into black sludge that hissed on the stone floor. Her scream echoed one last time before silence consumed the chamber.
Apocalypse did not move. His gaze lingered on the ashes that had once been his Horseman.
"The weak have no place in my regime," he said quietly.
...
[Back at Horizon] [30 minutes later]
Sue was already asleep. Tony had a quick meeting with the Ultimates and his father. Howard will take care of the press and all. As for Mystique, she decided to stay there and take a look around the place.
Meanwhile, Tony sat in his lab, again...
Tony grinned as he noticed Plague's energy signature and another mutant's presence, thanks to the nanites. He found Apocalypse's base.
"Motherfucker wanna beat my tech? Think again..." He quickly tapped on the console to make sure the nanites present at the hidden base didn't go to waste. "Legion. I can see some weird tech reading there. Probably, the celestial technology that Apocalypse is using to regain his power. Can't get a proper scan. Well, fuck it up. And do it slowly. I don't want to alert him."
He cracked his fingers.
"You can predict humans and more intelligent than us. You also know technopathy and have celestial technology. So, let's see you beat something beyond celestial tech. Adaptive nanites created using 100% Mind Gem's knowledge..." Tony leaned back and raised his foot on the table. "By the time I go there, you'd be half dead."
A few minutes later, Tony stood up and was about to finish his weapons and then end Apocalypse's threat, but...
He noticed a little drizzle of blood coming out of his nose, and his eyes were burning, followed by an intense headache. He has pushed his body far too much. Everything looked blurry before his eyes.
And before he could take another step, everything turned dark...
"Boss!"
"Activating bio-nanites..."
"Cont..."
That's the last thing he heard.
...
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