The tall Butcher, the haggard Nitro, and the young man named Magnum now stood together in a dimly lit underground passage. The air here tasted stale and recycled, carrying the faint metallic tang of industrial ventilation systems working overtime.
The expressionless Butcher reached behind himself with practiced efficiency, accessing the large tactical backpack secured across his augmented shoulders. He skillfully extracted three high-power flashlights from an equipment pocket, the heavy military-grade lights clearly designed for extended operations in hostile territory.
He distributed them wordlessly, extending one toward each of his companions.
Magnum raised his hand to accept the offered light with a calm expression, his movements controlled and measured. He nodded once in acknowledgment, a gesture of professional courtesy between operatives.
"Thank you."
Nitro, however, turned his head away with obvious disgust twisting his haggard features. His jaw clenched tight, white hair shifting with the sharp movement. He didn't even glance at the proffered flashlight.
Instead, he raised one pale palm deliberately. The skin began glowing with building energy, heat radiating outward in visible waves. Within seconds, orange light pulsed from his hand with increasing intensity, the energy constantly emitting low-level radiation that made the air shimmer.
That eerie orange glow dimly illuminated the nearby metal floor, casting long shadows that danced and shifted with each pulse. The light revealed smooth surfaces and precise welds, clear evidence of professional construction rather than natural formation.
"Magnum," Nitro began, his voice carrying skepticism despite the grudging cooperation, "although there are obvious traces of artificial manufacturing everywhere in these passages, how can you possibly be certain this must be territory belonging to the Guardian of Terra?"
He gestured at the corridor walls with his glowing hand, the motion leaving brief trails of orange light in the air.
"What if this is actually a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. facility? Or perhaps the hideout of some other organization we haven't yet encountered? The intelligence community is vast and layered."
Nitro paused, then continued with pointed emphasis.
"Even our own Leviathan maintains safe houses for emergency hiding all over the world, doesn't it? Dozens of them scattered across every continent. This could be anything."
Magnum, who had been walking steadily deeper into the passage while wielding his high-power flashlight to illuminate the path ahead, responded without bothering to look back. His voice carried absolute certainty.
"That's because the earth elements in the surrounding area have been speaking to me constantly since we entered this neighborhood. They communicate in their own way, conveying information through vibrations and density changes."
His tone took on the quality of someone explaining simple facts to a child.
"Those elements repeatedly told me that the mechanical creations operating throughout this base are quickly transferring various materials and equipment. A full-scale relocation is underway, which suggests both sophistication and urgency."
Magnum's flashlight beam swept across a junction ahead, revealing multiple branching corridors.
"Moreover, an underground facility of this scale, this extensive, also possesses a large number of advanced mechanical creations working autonomously. robots, automated defense systems, integrated logistics networks. So far, except for the Guardian of Terra specifically, there is probably no other terrorist organization anywhere in the world that commands this level of technological capability!"
His voice carried growing enthusiasm as he continued.
"This is precisely the purpose behind Gemini sending us to North America in the first place. If Leviathan's established intelligence gathering network and operational experience can be combined with the Guardian of Terra's superior technological force and manufacturing capability, then organizations like Hydra or even S.H.I.E.L.D. itself will have to step aside and acknowledge our supremacy!"
Magnum's pace quickened slightly, excitement bleeding into his movements.
"As long as our Leviathan operates properly, employs appropriate diplomatic pressure combined with demonstrations of mutual benefit, it's only a matter of time before we rule the world! We'll control the shadows while presenting a legitimate face to the public."
At this moment, Magnum's grandiose words caused Nitro to fall into brief, uncomfortable silence. The orange glow from his raised palm flickered once, then dimmed slightly as concentration wavered.
Even that glowing, radiating hand subconsciously lowered to hang at his side, forgotten as troubling thoughts consumed his attention.
The current iteration of Leviathan felt increasingly distant from the spy intelligence organization Nitro remembered from his youth. The organization that had recruited him decades ago had possessed ideological purpose, however twisted. They'd believed in something beyond mere power.
Now? Now it felt like simple criminal ambition dressed in revolutionary rhetoric.
But then, after several seconds of troubled contemplation, Nitro took a deep breath that whistled slightly through his teeth. He continued speaking with renewed sarcasm coating every word.
"Are all these other organizations actually stupid enough to cooperate? Will they really listen to Leviathan's so-called 'grand plan' and peacefully merge their resources with ours? That seems... optimistic."
His tone grew more pointed, almost mocking.
"Also, what exactly should we do right now? Are we seriously just going to walk up to their front door and politely knock for a friendly visit? 'Hello, we've infiltrated your secret base, please surrender your technology to our organization'?"
Nitro gestured at Magnum with his dimmed hand.
"You possess abilities that make you effectively immune to most physical damage. Your mud form can disperse and reform. But Butcher and I are still fundamentally flesh and blood underneath our powers! We can be injured. We can die. Bullets still kill us if they hit the right places."
Nitro's voice had barely finished echoing through the passage when Magnum, who had been walking steadily toward the depths of the underground facility, slowly stopped his advance.
He stood before a heavy metal door, the barrier clearly designed for security rather than convenience. The surface was smooth, featureless except for subtle seams suggesting hydraulic mechanisms.
Magnum first looked around with a serious expression, his enhanced senses searching for threats. He scanned the ceiling, the walls, the corners where surveillance equipment typically hid.
Finding no monitoring devices, no cameras or motion sensors within his detection range, Magnum suddenly raised one palm. He placed it gently against the cold metal door, his skin making contact with the barrier.
Then, in a transformation that remained disturbing no matter how many times one witnessed it, his entire body quickly dissolved. Solid flesh became a pool of sticky brown mud in seconds, mass and volume shifting according to principles that violated conventional physics.
The viscous substance flowed purposefully toward the door. It penetrated through the tight gap beneath the metal barrier bit by bit, squeezing through a space that shouldn't have admitted anything larger than insects.
Buzz buzz buzz...
Soon after, accompanied by a subtle mechanical sound of hydraulic valves turning and pressure equalizing, accompanied by the soft click of disengaging locks, the metal door began moving.
The entrance to the underground base opened smoothly, swinging inward on well-maintained hinges without protest or screech. Magnum had successfully bypassed the security from inside, manipulating manual release mechanisms with his mud-formed appendages.
Bright light from deeper within the underground passage instantly flooded outward, the sudden illumination harsh after the dimness they'd been navigating. The glow fell across the tall Butcher and the haggard Nitro like a spotlight, making them squint against the intensity.
"According to all intelligence analysis available to Leviathan's database," the sticky mud that had gradually wriggled back out through the door gap began speaking, its voice emerging from nowhere and everywhere simultaneously, "the Guardian of Terra operatives observed during the slum incident relied almost exclusively on mechanical creations to perform their combat tasks."
The mud vaguely condensed into humanoid shape again, Magnum's form rebuilding itself from the formless substance. Features emerged, clothing re-manifested, until he stood whole once more.
"Their leaders and senior personnel are assessed to be scientists focused on research and technological development rather than direct combat specialists. Even if they personally possess enhanced combat capabilities, current profiles suggest they rely primarily on armor similar to Tony Stark's Iron Man."
Magnum's expression grew calculating as he continued in a low, conspiratorial voice directed at Nitro and Butcher, who had just stepped cautiously through the now-open entrance into the passage beyond.
"Let's infiltrate deeper and conduct reconnaissance. Observe their security protocols, identify key personnel, map the facility layout. If the opportunity presents itself favorably, if we identify high-value targets who are isolated or vulnerable, we'll take the opportunity to capture and extract their senior personnel for interrogation and leverage."
His voice hardened with warning emphasis.
"But remember this absolutely: don't cause casualties during the infiltration! No killing, no permanent maiming, no actions that cannot be walked back diplomatically. Otherwise, any possibility of trust and cooperation between Leviathan and the Guardian of Terra will completely collapse before negotiations even begin!"
Magnum turned his gaze specifically toward the muscular figure behind him, fixing Butcher with an intense stare.
"Yes, I'm talking directly to you specifically! Butcher! If you dare to indulge your compulsions and kill people at will again, if you leave even one mutilated corpse..."
However, before Magnum could finish delivering his stern warning, before he could detail the consequences of disobedience, the environment transformed.
The bright lights throughout the underground passage suddenly extinguished completely. Darkness fell like a curtain dropping, absolute and immediate. Emergency lighting failed to engage. Backup systems remained dormant.
Then, cutting through that sudden blackness, a series of deafening heavy footsteps erupted. The sound transmitted instantly to the ears of all three infiltrators, each impact resonating through the metal floor like hammer blows.
DONG. DONG. DONG.
The rhythm was perfectly synchronized, multiple sources moving in absolute unison. Military precision. Professional formation.
The next second, the expressionless Butcher reacted with combat-honed instincts. He immediately rotated his wrist, turning the high-power flashlight he'd been holding at his side. The beam swung up and forward, pointing firmly toward the deeper sections of the underground passage ahead.
Under the shaking illumination of that single beam cutting through darkness, under the harsh white light that created stark shadows and revealed movement, a scene emerged.
A slender figure wearing sleek female-form mechanical armor floated silently in the air perhaps twenty meters ahead. The armor's design was elegant but clearly functional, powered joints humming softly. The woman inside remained perfectly still, suspended without visible support.
And just behind that floating figure, arranged in a disciplined formation that spoke of professional military training, stood rows of much larger warriors.
One after another, sturdy figures wearing heavy full-coverage carapace armor advanced. Each suit bore the scratches and scoring of combat veterans. Each warrior gripped a lasgun with practiced familiarity, the weapons held in firing positions but not yet aimed.
They took uniform, heavy steps forward in perfect synchronization. Their boots struck the metal floor in that thunderous rhythm that had announced their presence. They moved like a single organism, a wall of ceramite and laser weaponry advancing with inexorable purpose.
At this moment, adding to the trio's sudden isolation and vulnerability, the heavy metal door behind them suddenly dropped. Hydraulics engaged with violent force, slamming the barrier down faster than human reflexes could respond.
The door sealed completely, its metallic surface flush with the floor. It actually cut off the last possible retreat route available to the three infiltrators, trapping them between armored warriors ahead and an impenetrable barrier behind.
No escape. No fallback position. Only forward confrontation.
"Happy Halloween...!" A female voice called out, bright and cheerful despite the menace of the situation. "Ignorant boys who don't know when to stay home!"
At this moment, Jessica, who had been hovering motionless in the air, suddenly opened her cold eyes fully. Her gaze fixed on the three intruders with predatory focus.
An extremely brilliant but grim smile spread across her face, all teeth and no warmth whatsoever. She looked like a hunter who'd finally cornered dangerous prey after a long chase.
"I hope you brought candy for trick-or-treating! Otherwise..."
Her smile widened impossibly further, becoming something almost inhuman in its intensity.
"We'll have to give you tricks instead!"
Approximately twenty minutes later, after violence had been applied with professional efficiency and brutal effectiveness, the situation had resolved itself.
Nolan entered the base hall with his usual indifferent expression, his footsteps echoing in the vast space. The lights remained bright here despite the blackout in the passages, emergency power systems keeping this central area illuminated. But everything else was empty, the normal bustle of activity completely absent.
Reditus, driving its anti-gravity engine with enthusiastic bobbing, followed close behind Nolan. The servo skull had decided to come observe the aftermath of combat, planning to analyze whatever interesting developments had occurred.
As Nolan advanced further into the hall, his eyes immediately found the scene David's initial report had described.
Just above the smooth metal floor, arranged with deliberate presentation like trophies or warnings, three figures were displayed.
First: a middle-aged man whose entire body had been completely frozen solid within a thick block of crystal-clear ice. The substance encased him from head to toe, preserving his expression of shock and fear perfectly. Frost patterns decorated the ice's surface in delicate fractals. The man's long white hair was visible through the frozen prison, each strand perfectly preserved.
Second: a muscular man who had been violently bisected by a chainsword's brutal cutting action. Only the upper half of his body remained, the lower portion presumably disposed of or destroyed entirely. The wound was cauterized, flash-burned to prevent bleeding. His augmented skull with its metal plate gleamed dully in the overhead lighting. His eyes stared at nothing, awareness long fled.
Third: a large metal tank, the type once used throughout the facility to contain promethium fuel for flamers and other incendiary weapons. The container was perhaps two meters tall and a meter wide, its surface dented and scarred. It shook slightly with irregular motion, something clearly alive and struggling within its confines.
Standing near this grim display, David's slightly hunched metal form attempted diplomatic intervention. The Man of Iron's posture suggested careful negotiation as he positioned himself between Jessica and the containers.
"Jessica," David's mechanical voice carried unusual strain, "please exercise restraint. Do not approach those human 'ornaments' or the contained entity again. The situation is resolved. Further violence serves no purpose."
"David! Don't try to stop me!" Jessica's voice erupted with barely controlled fury. She held a chainsword in her armored gauntlet, the weapon's teeth still slowly rotating with a soft grinding sound. Blood and worse substances coated the blade.
Her eyes opened impossibly wide, bloodshot and wild, as she stared at the large metal tank that continued its slight shaking. Her entire body trembled with rage barely held in check.
"Let me cut it a few more times! Just a few more strikes to make absolutely sure it can't reform! That mud alien went back on its word!"
She took a step forward despite David's blocking presence, the motion aggressive and threatening.
"It pretended to surrender! Acted like it was cooperating! Then the instant my guard dropped, it ordered its companions to detonate themselves as distractions while it tried using some kind of teleportation technology to escape! The betrayal was calculated!"
Jessica's grip tightened on the chainsword until the weapon's handle creaked under the pressure.
"David, just a hair's breadth! That thing nearly succeeded in its self-destruct plan! If I hadn't taken a few cryo grenades from the armory earlier purely out of curiosity, if I hadn't been experimenting with new equipment..."
Her voice cracked slightly with the horror of what almost happened.
"The massive casualties among the Gang Dogs would have been unavoidable! Dozens dead. Maybe more. Brothers I've trained with for months, gone in an instant because I trusted a lying alien!"
She gestured violently at the shaking container.
"Damn it! Damn alien creature! You have the guts to try that treachery, face me directly! Come out and fight properly instead of hiding in your prison!"
"Jessica! Control your emotions immediately!" Nolan's sharp voice cut across the hall like a whip crack.
He had subconsciously raised his eyebrows at the scene's intensity, but now he quickly moved closer. His expression shifted from neutral observation to command authority.
He yelled directly at Jessica, who still gripped the active chainsword with white-knuckled intensity, volume and tone demanding instant obedience.
"Stand down! That is an order!"
Jessica visibly flinched at the rebuke. She took a deep, shuddering breath, chest heaving as she fought to master the adrenaline and fury coursing through her system.
Her entire emotional state gradually shifted, the anger slowly receding like a tide pulling back from shore. Control reasserted itself through force of will and ingrained discipline.
Within moments, the wild look faded from her eyes. Her breathing steadied. Her posture relaxed incrementally.
"You," Nolan said more quietly but with no less authority, pointing toward the far side of the hall. "Go over there and sit. Reflect carefully on what you did wrong in this engagement. We'll discuss your performance after I have David's full report."
He frowned slightly, disappointed more than angry.
"Dismissed for now."
Jessica nodded once, sharply, acknowledging the command. She deactivated the chainsword with visible reluctance, the teeth spinning down to stillness. Then she walked away from the scene toward the indicated position, boots ringing against metal with each step.
Once she'd moved sufficient distance to be out of immediate earshot, Nolan turned his full attention to David. His expression remained serious, eyes demanding complete honesty.
"David," he said in a deep, controlled voice that carried across the empty hall. "Report. Tell me exactly what happened here from beginning to end."