Russell moved like a whirlwind, redirecting the halothane gas to the side.
But that was merely a supplementary measure to anesthetize Soldier Boy.
The true knockout punch lay in the nerve agent 'Novichok'—connected directly to the oxygen mask worn by Soldier Boy. Every breath he took released a deadly dose of the toxin, potent enough to cause a massacre if leaked.
Yet even that was only enough to keep him sedated.
With the high-concentration halothane no longer aiding the anesthesia, Soldier Boy began regaining some awareness. His eyes fluttered open, and he saw a tall young man standing in front of him, wearing a mask that covered half his face, hands behind his back, studying him quietly.
His sluggish eyes roamed, noting the youth's casual athletic wear—he looked like a student on a field trip to a museum under a teacher's guidance.
How long had it been? Had Soldier Boy become nothing more than a living museum exhibit for students?
"…No, that can't be right."
A weak spark of thought flickered through his mind as he dismissed the absurd idea.
This kid couldn't possibly be part of the military base. Nor did he look like a visiting official. Could it be that Vought International had finally come to rescue him after all these years?
Soldier Boy didn't have time to dwell on it. Acting on instinct, he tried to remove the gas mask—but his feeble hand was quickly pinned down by another.
"Huh?"
He tried to exert strength, but his weakened state left him unable to overpower the hand holding him down. He stared at the figure in front of him, confused and alarmed.
There were no base personnel nearby. This stranger had broken into a heavily guarded facility and opened this damn container. Wasn't that to rescue him?
BANG!
The next second, a fist slammed into his forehead—perhaps the most direct answer to his question.
"Still conscious?"
A curious voice sounded with surprise.
Soldier Boy's head wobbled. His dulled nerves, numbed by the gas, couldn't keep up with the situation.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A barrage of lightning-fast punches followed. Each blow carried enough force and speed to sink a battleship. In an instant, thousands of punches slammed into his skull within a second.
No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't escape the damn container. He was inevitably knocked unconscious. Just before blacking out, the last thing he saw was the young man lifting the heavy chamber door and fitting it back into place.
Why… why would he do this?
Not even the entire Atlantic could wash away the frustration and rage boiling in Soldier Boy's heart. A storm of f-bombs surged in his mind.
Did this guy really break into a top-secret military base just to open the pod, look at him, beat him up, and then close it again?
Eventually, Soldier Boy's head lolled to the side as he passed out, and the pod was forcibly sealed shut once more.
The halothane gas rapidly filled the chamber again. Barely seconds after regaining consciousness for the first time in over a decade, Soldier Boy was back under anesthesia.
[Soldier Boy Template Acquired]
With his goal accomplished, Russell left, fully satisfied.
Not a single person at the military base realized someone had strolled through the most secure building in their facility. Only during a future inspection might someone notice the faint fingerprints on the warped steel door and realize—too late—that someone had tampered with the pod.
Blasting toward Antarctica at top speed, Russell breathed deeply amidst the blizzard and pulled up his panel, ready to test Soldier Boy's powers.
[Active Template: Soldier Boy]
Abilities: Super Strength, Super Speed, Super Durability, Nuclear Chest Cannon, Enhanced Senses, Stamina, Accelerated Healing, Longevity…
The eternal night of Antarctica was torn open by an eerie green aurora, casting Russell's shadow long and distorted across the frozen plain.
"Speed's noticeably slower than the Red Rush template."
In a flash, his figure stopped abruptly. A hundred meters away stood a towering blue glacier. Russell crouched, gathering strength as the permafrost beneath his feet cracked and shattered.
BOOM!
The ground exploded in a web of cracks twenty meters wide. The shockwave hurled several tons of ice into the air. Like a missile, his body launched upward and streaked toward the glacier in a flash of gray lightning.
The moment his fist connected, the blue-and-white ice mass caved inward—then shattered in an instant.
BOOM!!!
The glacier, hundreds of meters tall, collapsed with a thunderous roar. The impact spread out in a circular shockwave, clearing all the snow within several kilometers.
Like a volcanic eruption, house-sized chunks of ice were hurled skyward, transforming into falling stars as they vanished into the sky.
With one punch, he had flattened an entire mountain. Not a scratch marred his knuckles.
Russell couldn't believe the power now surging through him.
"My strength's increased tenfold—at least!"
Compared to lightning speed, this earth-shattering power was far more exhilarating.
By his estimation, his current strength exceeded that of Mark—and not by a small margin. He was at least 40–50% stronger.
If he fought Mark now, he wouldn't need to rely on dodging attacks with the Red Rush template.
He could overpower Mark head-on.
Without proper training, Mark only had his flight going for him. That was the only thing that let him stay in the fight and avoid defeat.
The red-caped figure flashed through Russell's mind.
His smile faded.
While he might now count as an elite among average Viltrumite soldiers, he was still no match for Omni-Man.
Omni-Man was among the rare elite warriors of the Viltrum Empire.
Still, Russell now had enough power to at least stand his ground against the would-be conqueror of Earth—his uncle.
A great weight lifted from his heart.
At the very least, he wouldn't be beaten into a pulp like Mark had in the original storyline—choked, paralyzed, and dragged through a blood-soaked subway collision.
Helpless to stop the carnage, unable to move, forced to watch as others splattered into pulp against his body.
[Conquest Points: 1482]
"I can still get stronger. I should try to lock in one or two more abilities that Viltrumites don't naturally have."
Russell recalled characters from the story: Himiko with her hyper-regeneration, the laser-eyed baby…
He narrowed his eyes.
Soldier Boy's template also came with accelerated healing—faster than a Viltrumite's. But even then, it would still take a night or more to recover from severe injuries.
Which meant in a drawn-out fight, he could still be temporarily taken out of commission.
"I'd better get another template with flight."
Even if it's slow, using the Soldier Boy template while fighting a powerful enemy would be far more flexible with flight. He wouldn't be stuck on the ground, watching helplessly.
Dusk in New York.
The skyline was painted crimson by the setting sun.
"The timeline hasn't caught up yet."
Himiko hadn't been smuggled in by the terrorist group secretly supported by Homelander. She hadn't visited the hospitals affiliated with 'Embrace of Samaria.' And that laser-eyed baby hadn't been born yet.
After checking around a few times, Russell—having nowhere urgent to be—sat on a bench near Central Square Park, planning his next steps.
"Which superpowered characters in the story have flight?"
Aside from flight, the ability couldn't be too overpowered. Those like Martian Man or Immortal would cost tens of thousands of conquest points to lock in.
And he didn't have nearly enough.
Just then, the giant screen in Central Square lit up again, playing the latest promo from Vought Industries about the new members of the Seven.
.................
[300PS= 1Bonus chapter]
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