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Deep within his Oscrop Industries underground lab, Nolan stood before a containment chamber, the remains of Hive suspended in biomagnetic gel.
Hive was dead. Nolan had personally obliterated his fragmented soul using soulcraft magic ensuring no remnants lingered.
What remained now was all he needed: DNA.
And Hive's genetics were… fascinating.
Each of his parasitic fragments carried his entire genome. Each was biologically independent, yet when united, reformed a conscious whole.
A true hive mind.
It wasn't just parasitism, it was a living embodiment of decentralized biology.
To Nolan, each parasite was an independent lifeform. But when their quantum field signatures aligned, they operated as organs in a single organism. Some became the brain. Others, limbs. Some, even glands.
"Now I understand why he was called Hive…"
"Not just for his name. But for the concept collective consciousness born from division."
---
But Nolan had no intention of becoming an insectoid monster.
Still, Hive's genetic design held something more valuable than brute strength: subconscious influence over other Inhumans.
Hive could "awaken" their powers, and more terrifyingly bend their will.
Nolan's goal?
Absorb the essence of this gift, not its flesh.
If he could integrate the core functions of Hive into his own cells, then perhaps…
"Each of my cells could become… me."
It was the concept of cellular resurrection a step beyond regeneration.
"Bloodborne rebirth. Just like those myths."
But unlike Hive's large-scale biological parasites, Nolan aimed to scale this phenomenon to the cellular level.
To do so, he needed to unlock the biological process Hive used to control others.
---
"Interesting… The secret is in his secretions."
Hive's secretions contained enzymatic agents capable of triggering ancestral memory genetic-level instructions buried deep in Inhuman DNA.
These weren't commands.
They were biological instincts. Just like humans fear snakes and spiders without ever being taught Inhumans were programmed to obey Hive.
Nolan leaned back in awe.
"This wasn't magic. It was Kree design."
Hive was the first Inhuman, genetically modified by the Kree. They didn't give him power for combatthey gave him a control key.
Hive's purpose was to unify.
Rather than programming each Inhuman to obey the Kree directly (which had limitations), the Kree gave them an embedded gene trigger that responded to Hive's presence.
A built-in monarch.
A biological king.
"He was a failsafe… not just a weapon."
---
Nolan cracked the secret.
Hive could "enlighten" other Inhumans by awakening genetic memories instinctive recollections of how to wield their powers, passed down from the ancient ones.
No training. No learning.
Just activation.
And now, Nolan intended to mass-produce this awakening process.
He squeezed one of the preserved Hive parasites in his gloved hand.
The secretions oozed into a small dish.
"Once I synthesize this properly and infuse it with refined Terrigen energy, I'll have the key to building an army of empowered, loyal Inhumans."
---
He spoke into a comm:
"Connors, prepare to receive the genetic sample. Begin cloning protocols. Extract all fluid composites."
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Just then, Al's voice echoed through the lab:
"Boss, we've confirmed it the mutants are on the battlefield."
Nolan didn't even look up.
"Send a message to General Ross: I have a new Sentinel design. Immune to Stark tech interference. I'll trade it for the Cradle of Life."
Ross had already deployed Sentinels but they were flawed, incomplete.
Worse, Stark's EMP tech had compromised them.
Nolan had known this day would come.
And now, the trade window had opened.
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Nolan had already studied the metallic cellular architecture of the Sentinels' semi-organic machines made of programmable metal.
But no matter how detailed his scans, he couldn't replicate their source.
"You can't understand protein synthesis if you've never seen the ribosome."
He needed the cradle a synthetic life-forging matrix capable of designing entire lifeforms, not just cells.
And Ross?
Ross was desperate enough to trade anything for victory.
---
"This isn't like the Civil War…" Nolan muttered.
That was politics with costumes.
This?
This was superpowered warfare on a national scale.
In war, every weapon had a counter.
And whoever ran out of counters first—lost.
"Let's begin."
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