The blaring alarm jolted everyone in the laboratory awake...
Hundreds of armed personnel grabbed their weapons. These were elite warriors belonging to HYDRA, alongside a contingent of secret swordsmen meticulously trained by the Yashida family...
...
~Just minutes earlier~
Standing at the center of the watchtower, Sean smirked as the elevator doors slid open automatically...
The laboratory's security gates followed suit, as if the entire facility had been left completely unguarded for the intruders.
The breach, triggered the alarm system. Dozens of armed men reacted first, fanning out toward the elevator entrance in a defensive formation.
They saw only two figures; a tall, upright young man and a small girl in a hoodie.
Since this wasn't the large-scale assault they had anticipated, the guards relaxed slightly, holding their fire. Instead, they radioed for instructions from the mistress of the laboratory, Viper, who was in her office on the upper floors.
<...Bring them up–>
Before the high-ranking HYDRA officer could finish her sentence, a bloodbath erupted.
The seemingly harmless hooded girl glanced at Sean. With his permission, her crimson single eye suddenly gleamed, and the ukaku kagune burst from her shoulders.
A streak of scarlet light flashed past, leaving behind a trail of afterimages. In the next instant, the entire space was drenched in blood.
The professionally trained soldiers clutched their throats or chests, their vacant eyes glazing over as they collapsed to the ground.
Sean strolled leisurely into the hall. The blaring alarms echoed through the multi-level steel structure, accompanied by the chaotic sound of footsteps, like a flock of panicked birds.
He made no move to stop Izumi's rampage. This was both an outlet for her pent-up hatred and part of the preordained script.
Skynet had severed all communications from the underground lab. Today, no one would leave unscathed...
The hidden emergency exits were now all sealed. Crowds of researchers and high-ranking officials gathered at the doors, desperately trying to restore power to the locked security gates.
But it was all futile. The laboratory had become an isolated island buried underground, surrounded by jagged rocks and crashing waves. Everyone was trapped, praying for divine mercy.
Everyone except Viper...
The moment the alarms blared, she immediately pulled up the surveillance feed. Realizing the vast disparity in strength, she swiftly gathered the core research data on the Progenitor Virus, along with several critical experimental samples and vials of the pathogen, before hurrying down the elevator.
As a high-ranking HYDRA officer, Viper was well-versed in the art of having multiple escape routes. She had chosen this abandoned island precisely because a Thresher-class submarine was docked beneath it.
In case of emergencies, she could slip away unnoticed.
Carrying a metal case emblazoned with HYDRA's insignia, Viper strode down the lower corridor. As long as the Progenitor Virus remained intact, she would have the means to rise again.
As for Yashida Ichirō and the team of scientists HYDRA had painstakingly cultivated... well, sacrifices had to be made.
"Damn it! What the hell is happening?!" Humiliation burned in Viper's chest.
She had suffered defeats before, but never like this; forced to flee like a stray dog without even knowing who her enemy was.
*BOOM!*
A deafening explosion rocked the underground space.
The ceiling shattered as if struck by artillery fire, and a tall figure landed smoothly, blocking Viper's path.
"Dr. Green, is this how you greet your guests?" Sean smiled, "Yashida Ichirō is still waiting for you to perform his transformation. He dreams of reclaiming his youth and vitality."
"That fool is worthless now." Viper glared coldly at the young man before her.
Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that the mastermind behind all this would be Sean Cyphers, a man who should have been irrelevant...
"Save that look of surprise. Though, I admit, it does bring me some satisfaction. Like every villain in a story, I should probably monologue about my meticulously crafted scheme, not just to give the hero a chance to turn the tables, but because you need someone to share your triumph with. Or to savor the despair on your enemy's face. Isn't that the most delightful thing?"
"But I'm not that kind of person." Sean's face was lit with a gentle smile, "I was enjoying a hard-earned vacation in New York, tangled up with scheming female agents and charming mutants, and then you had to come after me. Dr. Green, with so many paths leading to heaven, why did you have to board that one-way train to hell?"
A flash of realization crossed Viper's mind, "Harry Osborn?"
Sean shrugged, "Abandon that pathetic idea. Using Harry to threaten me? He's currently asleep in a hotel bed. Thankfully, you didn't resort to torture. That would've been hard to explain otherwise..."
Harry was merely in a deep slumber.
Unlike other HYDRA operatives who favored electroshock therapy and pain-based interrogation, Viper specialized in hypnosis and mental coercion.
Had Harry not been so hands-off with his company's affairs, she might have actually extracted useful intel...
"Any last words, Dr. Green?" Sean asked calmly.
Viper's mind raced. She had never faced an opponent like Sean before. What bargaining chip could she offer in exchange for her life?
The submarine was close. If she could just break past this man, she could escape...
"I can offer you the Progenitor Virus–"
"Sorry, I copied all the viral research data days ago."
"I can pledge my loyalty..."
"Not interested. You're not my type."
"I–!" Enraged, Viper suddenly hurled the metal case at Sean.
Her toned legs pushed off the wall, launching her into the air. No matter how strong her opponent was, she refused to suppress her will to survive.
As a high-ranking HYDRA officer, Viper was no slouch in combat. She was proficient in firearms, infiltration, and a seasoned terrorist in her own right.
With explosive force, she reached the edge of the corridor, vaulting over the railing with one hand. The submarine's hatch flew open as she dove inside.
The turbines roared to life, the propellers churning as the water gates below burst open. The submarine plunged into the abyss.
Everything happened in an instant and unexpectedly smoothly, to Viper's surprise. Slumping in the sealed chamber, relief washed over her. She had escaped death...
...
Still holding the metal case, Sean shook his head and muttered softly:
"Farewell, Dr. Green."