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After finishing off Wesker, Jack turned around, ready to hunt down Isaacs—when something slammed into his chest, forcing him back a step.
Not far away, Isaacs stood grinning, a strange gun in his hand, looking pleased with himself as he admired his target.
Jack glanced down. A weird device was clamped tightly against his chest.
"Enjoy this," Isaacs sneered. "Ten thousand volts."
He pulled out a remote-like controller from behind his back and pressed it without hesitation.
The moment his finger hit the button, electricity roared to life. The device on Jack's chest discharged ten thousand volts, flooding every inch of his body.
His whole frame lit up with crackling currents, the heat eating away at his combat suit until it melted, black liquid dripping onto the ground.
"Beautiful," Isaacs whispered, smiling as Jack's body warped and sagged from the electric surge.
Just as he'd predicted—electricity was his weakness.
Isaacs had noticed it earlier, when Jack slaughtered zombies in the Hive's power room but carefully avoided damaging the electrical systems. The surveillance feed had caught everything. Isaacs saw it, made his guess, and built this weapon just for him.
All he had to do now was wait until the creature couldn't move anymore. Then he'd drag it to the lab and dissect every last cell, unlocking all its secrets.
Jack, meanwhile, could feel the heat tearing through his body, disrupting the cohesion of his form and forcing him back into liquid.
Before his body slipped apart completely, he ripped the device off his chest and tossed it aside.
The moment the heat stopped, he regained control. The black liquid on the floor crawled back over him, re-forming his body.
Isaacs' eyes widened. He immediately raised his gun and fired again.
Dozens of claw-like projectiles shot toward Jack, ready to clamp down and hold him the second they made contact.
But Jack snapped his wrist, webbing firing out to knock them all out of the air. He leapt aside, grabbed a piece of furniture, and hurled it straight at Isaacs.
Isaacs barely managed to dodge—only to look up and find a shadow looming over him.
Jack was already there, gripping him in one hand.
"You can predict my moves, sure," Jack said, smiling coldly. "But at the end of the day, you're still just a human."
Isaacs' mind raced. Prediction didn't matter if his body couldn't keep up.
"I can give you anything you want," Isaacs stammered, fear finally showing in his eyes. No one, no matter how ambitious, was fearless in the face of death.
"Sorry," Jack said with a mocking smile. "I don't need anything from you."
His hand tightened. The sound of bones shattering cracked through the air. Blood poured from Isaacs' nose, ears, eyes, and mouth before his body went limp.
Jack tossed the corpse aside and turned to Wesker.
"What… what do you want?" Wesker muttered, staring at the monster in front of him, unsure what game it was playing.
"How about we make a deal?" Jack replied, lips curling into something conspiratorial.
Minutes later, Isaacs walked out of the room with a calm smile. Wesker followed at his side, respectful and obedient.
Of course, it wasn't Isaacs anymore. It was Jack, disguised. He needed this identity now.
As for why Wesker was suddenly following him? Because they'd struck a bargain.
In front of Wesker, Jack had shifted into Isaacs' form. In exchange for Wesker's loyalty, he promised him control of Umbrella itself.
Wesker didn't hesitate long. The offer was too tempting. After a moment of struggle, he agreed.
Together, they returned to the elevator. Jack—still wearing Isaacs' face—entered a code, and the platform slowly rose back to the small room above.
They walked past the computers, crossed the laser corridor, and re-entered the Red Queen's chamber.
From his system space, Jack pulled out the Red Queen's motherboard and slotted it into the mainframe.
The system whirred to life, and a projection flickered on—Red Queen, her cold holographic gaze fixed on him.
"Dr. Isaacs," she said. "Your orders?"
"Open the Hive's gates to the surface," Jack commanded, his voice firm. Inside, he marveled again at his shapeshifting power. Even a super AI like Red Queen was fooled.
Red Queen frowned slightly. "Dr. Isaacs… I hesitate. Opening the Hive will release the virus into the outside world. That is against my core directive."
"I am ordering you," Jack snapped, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"…Understood."
Bound by her programming, she couldn't disobey. The gates began to unlock.
Satisfied, Jack gave another command.
"Wesker will handle Umbrella's remaining operations."
"Command acknowledged," Red Queen said with icy seriousness.
"Now shut down the mainframe. Offline mode. I'll control you manually."
"Understood."
The Red Queen faded as the system powered down. Jack removed the motherboard and slipped it back into his system space.
He turned to Wesker. "Alright. Go carry out your part."
"Yes," Wesker replied with a firm nod before turning to leave.
"....."