With a flick of the wrist, the hooded figure unleashed hell.
Blue fire erupted across the sterile laboratory like liquid lightning, the flames burning so hot they turned white at the edges. The lab was a nightmare of chrome surgical tables, towering cylindrical pods arranged in neat rows, and enough medical equipment to rebuild a person from scratch.
It was all melting.
Dr. Vega's scream cut through the air as the blaze consumed her, her pristine lab coat turning to tissue paper. The fire created a blazing wall that split the room in half, separating Marcus and the test subjects from the doctor's final moments.
But the remaining guard didn't even blink, not that we could see his face through the helmet.
He walked straight through the wall of flames, his black tactical suit shimmering with some kind of heat-resistant coating. Didn't even look like he had sunburn as he pursued the hooded figure, Rifle in hand.
"Nice light show," the guard called out, voice distorted by his helmet. "Maybe you could warm up my bubble bath after we're done here?"
That's when Marcus saw his eyes glow yellow through the visor.
The guard opened fire, and the lab became a war zone.
Yellow energy bolts screamed through the smoky air while the hooded figure's katana flashed blue, slicing through rounds that could punch holes in buildings. Each deflected shot detonated against the walls, sending chunks of metal and burning debris raining down. The cylindrical pods cracked and sparked, green
Light dissipates from each.
Emergency power shook with every explosion, casting violent yellows and blues. The two fighters moved faster than Marcus's eyes could follow, their battle turning the laboratory into a disco from hell.
"Did you seriously just decapitate those guys?" Marcus called out during a brief lull, his voice higher than he'd intended. "Like, clean off? That's scary, in a cool way though."
The hooded figure deflected another shot, sparks flying from his blade. "You planning to commentate or help?"
Marcus looked around at the remaining pods lining the smoke-filled walls. Right. Other people were dying in here.
He scrambled toward the nearest cylinder, fumbling with release mechanisms while energy blasts seared the air inches from his head. Steam hissed as the pods opened one by one, releasing their occupants. Four people total, including a kid who couldn't be older than twelve.
The hooded figure moved like a lightning bolt made flesh, closing twenty feet in a heartbeat. His katana knocked the rifle from the guard's hands, sending it skittering across the debris-covered floor.
The guard's helmet tilted, and Marcus could practically hear the smirk. "You think I need that toy?"
"Honestly?" the hooded figure replied, sounding bored. "You look pretty helpless without it. "
Mini-guns deployed from the guard's sleeves with mechanical precision, barrels spinning up with a whine that made Marcus's fillings ache. The weapons looked like they belonged on a military drone, not a person.
"Okay, that's just cheating," Marcus muttered.
The guard opened fire on the freed test subjects. The rounds came so fast they looked like solid beams of death, aimed directly at the cluster of confused, weakened people.
The hooded figure threw himself between the shots and the victims, manifesting dozens of blue projectiles from his free hand. The air filled with explosions as plasma met energy rounds, but there were too many shots, too much firepower.
Most of the rounds were stopped. But not all.
Marcus watched in horror as the adult subjects were cut down in seconds, their bodies crumpling like broken dolls. The kid, a scrawny boy with wide, terrified eyes, cowered behind an overturned table, somehow untouched.
The hooded figure staggered, blood streaming from multiple wounds. The explosion from deflecting so many shots had sent him flying into the far wall, and he wasn't getting up fast enough.
"Pathetic," the guard laughed, walking over to the survivors. "Look what your heroics accomplished. All that effort for nothing."
He pointed one of his mini-guns at the cowering boy. "Last chance, kid. Take the pretty blue juice and maybe become something special, or join your friends on the floor."
The boy whimpered, tears streaming down his face.
Marcus stepped forward. "Wait."
The guard's helmet turned toward him. "Something to say, guinea pig?"
"Take me instead." Marcus's voice was steadier than he felt. "I'll take the serum. Just leave the kid alone." No I did not just choose to die for some random kid I'm meeting for the first time, Marcus thought to himself having woken up to reality.
"no…!!!" the hooded figure groaned from across the room, trying to pull himself upright.
Marcus knelt beside the terrified boy, his voice gentle. "Hey, it's gonna be okay,? Sometimes grown-ups have to do scary things so kids don't have to."
The boy nodded weakly.
Marcus stood and faced the guard. "I was dying anyway. Three months, maybe less. If there's a chance this works, I'll take it."
"Smart man." The guard tossed him Dr. Vega's syringe. The blue liquid inside swirled like captured lightning.
Marcus caught it, looked at the needle for a moment, then plunged it into his arm without hesitation.
The effect was immediate and overwhelming.
Power flooded through his veins, his consciousness expanding in ways that defied description. For a moment, he felt like he could touch the stars, bend reality with a thought. His mind reached out, touching something vast and electric.
Then he felt the guard's thoughts.
Confidence. Amusement. The certainty of victory.
Marcus smiled, blood running from his nose. "Hey, tin man."
The guard turned toward him, weapons raised. "What?"
"Stop."
The word came out with weight behind it, pressing against the guard's mind like a physical force. The man's movements became sluggish, his aim wavering as invisible fingers wrapped around his consciousness.
"What the hell?" The guard shook his head violently, trying to break free. "What did you do to me?"
A voice crackled through hidden speakers: "Huegen, health at six percent. Recommend immediate withdrawal or risk unconsciousness."
The hooded figure struggled to his feet, electricity dancing around his katana. "Belive me Jazz I'd personally love nothing more, but my body's got a mind of its own."
"Jazz?" the guard demanded, still fighting against Marcus's mental grip. "Who names an AI Jazz?"
"Someone with taste ," the hooded figure replied, raising his weapon. Lightning erupted along the blade's edge. "Unlike whoever it was designed that rip off Iron man get up."
The electricity arced through the air, drawn by the guard's metal suit like a lightning rod. His tactical gear sparked and smoked as the power coursed through its systems, overloading circuits and frying components. The man convulsed, his yellow eyes flickering behind his visor before going completely dark.
He collapsed with a wet thud and didn't move again.
Marcus felt the power leaving him almost immediately. His skin was already turning gray at the edges, veins becoming visible as his body began to break down from the inside.
The hooded figure pulled off his mask, revealing the college kid from outside the hospital, the one with the perfect teeth and the gold chain.
"The crest took," he said quietly, kneeling beside Marcus. "But your body can't handle it. The radiation damage runs too deep."
Marcus tried to laugh but only managed a wet cough. "Figures. Finally get superpowers and I'm still dying."
"I can try to help—"
"No." Marcus shook his head weakly. "It hurts too much. Please, just... make it quick."
The young man stared down at him with those impossibly blue eyes, katana trembling in his grip. Behind him, the kid was crying quietly, understanding more than any child should.
"I'm sorry," the hooded figure whispered, raising his blade.
The sword came down.
....
Marcus jolted awake, his heart hammering against his ribs.
The lecture hall materialized around him.
tiered seating, holographic whiteboard and swarm of bodies coated in a distinct red.
What the hell? the lab, the screams, the hooded figure it was all gone. And his hands, he stared at them intently. These weren't his hands.
Then he heard it, not through his ears. In his head. Marcus blinked, looking around the ominous lecture hall.
"CHIME" . Blue text materialized in his vision, floating like a hologram but visible only to him:
[SYSTEM INITIALIZING...]
[SYNCHRONIZATION COMPLETE]
[WELCOME, INVESTIGATOR]