In the dark and cloud-covered sky, a golden light flickered fiercely, like a divine sword piercing through the heavens, cast down by a god from above the clouds to impale the earth...
A faint, thunderous roar echoed from the distance.
Inside the corporate high-rise, Yashida Shingen felt a slight tremor, but paid it no mind. His burning gaze was fixed on the leader of the Hand sitting across from him.
"Why me?" His voice was hoarse as he asked.
As the eldest son of the Yashida family, Shingen's life was far from ideal. To outsiders, he was the heir apparent, destined to inherit the family empire and become one of the most powerful figures in the country, standing at the pinnacle of the power pyramid.
But only Shingen himself knew the truth; his aging father still held the reins of power. He was capable of mobilizing vast resources with a single word.
Shingen was little more than a puppet propped up on stage, with every major decision requiring his father's personal approval.
Take, for example, the secret laboratory in Yokohama. Its construction costs alone had exceeded billions of dollars, bankrupting numerous small and medium-sized enterprises under the Yashida name.
Yet Shingen had no power to refuse. All he could do was play the filial son, helping his father conceal financial reports and deceive the board of directors.
He had thought such obedience would earn his father's trust, that the family empire would eventually be passed to him. But in the end, Yashida Ichirō had chosen Mariko instead...
Elektra raised an eyebrow, replying, "You are the most suitable candidate, Mr. Yashida."
She was meeting with the Yashida heir on Sean's behalf, intending to recruit him to their side. The aim was to consolidate power, strengthen the Hand, and carve out a foothold in the Asia-Pacific region.
"Your father clearly doesn't trust you. He favors your daughter, Mariko, while casting you aside. Those hidden financial reports, and the missing funds. If you don't seize control of the conglomerate, once all this comes to light, your fate will be… unfortunate."
Drawing from intelligence gathered by the Hand and information provided by Sean, Elektra methodically chipped away at Shingen's psychological defenses.
"Isn't that why you collaborated with the yakuza? To assassinate Mariko and smoothly take power?"
Elektra met Shingen's shocked gaze with indifference, "Don't look so surprised. The Hand controls eighty percent of Tokyo's underworld. Your dealings with the yakuza couldn't escape our notice."
"Is this a threat?" Shingen straightened his back, attempting to salvage some dignity as the scion of a great family.
"No. This is leverage." Elektra replied coldly.
Her gaze shifted to the window...
Tokyo glittered under the night sky, while in the distance, a massive plume of dust rose into the air. Thick clouds swirled ominously, flashing with streaks of lightning.
Sean must have dealt with the Ghoul by now. Next would be HYDRA's secret lab. As for Ichirō? He was no threat at all.
Truthfully, if they were to choose an ally, the ruthless and cunning Ichirō would have been the ideal candidate. But Sean believed the old man's ambitions were too vast, and his greed insatiable. He wasn't someone who could be easily controlled.
Shingen, on the other hand, was far more manageable. His ambitions were confined to the family business, and his capabilities were mediocre at best... hence why his father had sidelined him in favor of his granddaughter.
"Mariko is in our hands. Ichirō is dead. With the current heir under control, you hold the advantage."
Elektra's tone was calm, but the man across from her was anything but.
His father's heartless actions had severed the last threads of familial affection in his heart.
If eliminating his own daughter would secure his position as the head of Japan's greatest conglomerate, Shingen wouldn't hesitate. In a family like his, blood ties paled in comparison to power and wealth.
"My father–" Shingen hesitated, sensing something amiss.
"The dead don't come back to life. Regardless of how it happened." Elektra cut him off.
She studied the so-called heir with a hint of disdain, recalling Sean's assessment: "Ambitious yet timid, lured by petty gains but lacking resolve."
To win his father's approval, Shingen had hidden financial reports and deceived the board. Yet when he learned Mariko would inherit the family instead, he had resorted to hiring assassins to kill his own daughter.
Such actions revealed Shingen for what he was... a weak-willed mediocre person who is only fierce in appearance. No wonder his father had written him off.
"Centuries ago, the Hand shared a close friendship with the Yashida family. I'd like to see that relationship restored."
Shingen lowered his head. After a long silence, he nodded...
...
~Yokohama, Secret Laboratory~
Viper sat at an ornate desk, conversing with the holographic projection of a man with a monocle and a sinister air.
<...Your operations have grown too conspicuous. S.H.I.E.L.D. may take notice...>
The man's frown deepened:
<...Nick Fury has always been suspicious. After the secret invasion last century, he trusts no one. All critical intel stays locked in his head. I warned you not to touch anyone on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s watchlist...>
His displeasure was palpable.
As one of HYDRA's high-ranking members, Baron Strucker despised losing control. It bred uncertainty, and uncertainty was dangerous.
"You're overreacting, Baron. It's a minor setback. Harry Osborn isn't even on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar." Viper forced a smile.
<...But Sean Cyphers is! Nick Fury has been monitoring him and Umbrella closely, he even assigned Natasha Romanoff to keep tabs on him. That alone proves the man from New York is someone Fury considers significant!..>
Strucker's tone was sharp.
Until HYDRA was ready to reveal itself, he wanted no attention from S.H.I.E.L.D. That would invite endless complications.
"Then what do you suggest?" Viper shot back, "That I abandon everything? I've spent years cultivating ties with the Yashida family. They're our gateway into this nation's elite. The Progenitor Virus research is progressing, the new generation of Tyrant zombies rivals super-soldiers. Our plans are just beginning. I won't retreat now!"
Though both belonged to the same faction within HYDRA, Baron Strucker, whose base of operations was in Eastern Europe, and Madame Hydra(Viper), were clearly at odds.
<...Do not provoke S.H.I.E.L.D. prematurely. Now is not the time to challenge that behemoth. Wait until Alexander has secured his position. Only then will HYDRA take the stage...>
Strucker warned coldly.
While Alexander prioritized super-soldiers and Viper focused on the Progenitor Virus, Strucker (a remnant of the Nazi regime) believed enhanced humans were the future.
""Hail HYDRA!""
The two recited the mantra before cutting the transmission.
Viper's eyes gleamed with contempt...
Men like Strucker, who was holed up in Eastern Europe, and Alexander Pierce, who lurked within S.H.I.E.L.D., were too cautious.
To her, S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't nearly as formidable as they feared. With an army of bio-weapons (Tyrants and perfected Ghouls), she would hold the scepter to conquer the world.
Everything would fall into place...
"Still… who eliminated the ghoul?" The question nagged at her.
That cataclysmic strike had nearly shattered her nerves.
The surveillance feeds had been cut, leaving her with no answers. Perhaps it was a weapon of mass destruction, like the U.S. military's "Rods from God" project, an orbital kinetic bombardment system.
Theorized since 2012, it consisted of satellite platforms armed with tungsten rods, which, when dropped from orbit, could strike with the force of a nuclear warhead, without the radiation...
After consulting her scientists, Madame Viper concluded the golden light had to be some form of orbital weaponry. The idea that a living being could unleash such power was inconceivable.
An entire Tokyo block had been flattened by the shockwave alone.
"Prepare Ichirō for the transformation procedure." she ordered coldly.
Even without Wolverine's healing factor, the Progenitor Virus could achieve similar results.
The cost? Becoming a monster. But for a man desperate to cling to life, that was a small price to pay...
The moment she stepped out of her office, a piercing alarm blared through the steel corridors of the underground facility.
The base was under attack...