"..."
"Who is this guy?"
Javier wasn't the only one who was confused. Wesker and William, who were in the secret monitoring room, looked at the Leech Queen Marcus on the screen and murmured in confusion. They didn't recognize the man on the screen either.
The change was too drastic. Who would have thought that the cunning and selfish Marcus would turn into a feminine-looking man with long hair, looking much younger than before? No one would have guessed that this man was the same mentor they had killed ten years ago.
But while Wesker and William didn't recognize him, the Leech Queen Marcus knew them. He had used his special abilities to take control of the cameras in the facility. Under the watchful eyes of the two traitors, he said calmly, "I'm the one who leaked the virus. I'm responsible for the murders in the Arklay Mountains. I even infected the train three miles from here. All of this was my doing. Are you surprised?"
Marcus seemed to know that Wesker and William were watching him through the camera, so he admitted everything without any hesitation. He then slowly waved his hand.
"Shh, shh, shh..."
A strange sound filled the room. To William and Wesker's surprise, a swarm of leeches, covered in mucus, started to appear in the camera's view. Guided by the Leech Queen Marcus, the leeches gathered together and began to form a human shape.
The figure slowly became clearer, revealing a middle-aged man in a suit and tie, a successful-looking man in front of William and Wesker's eyes. It was Dr. James Marcus himself!
Damn it! What is going on? He came back from the dead!
But before William and Wesker could even figure out what was happening, the Leech Queen Marcus began to ask a question.
"You two were involved in the assassination of Dr. Marcus ten years ago, right?"
William and Wesker were shocked. They had a feeling who this man was. It was obvious who he was, looking at the countless leeches. Marcus... the man who died ten years ago, was now back from the dead.
"Damn it, Wesker, what do we do?" William said, panicking. "That old fox is alive again! How has he been alive all this time? With the T-virus? When did he inject the T-virus? Can the T-virus really bring a person back from the dead? This is crazy."
"And Wesker, if we can't deal with that old fox, Spencer will find out, and he won't let us get away with it. What do we do now?" William was a mess. He was the one who had betrayed Marcus and led a team to kill him ten years ago. Now that Marcus was alive and had the power of the Leech Queen, William didn't want to die at his hands.
But unlike William, Wesker remained calm. He was not afraid of the Leech Queen. He had the power of the Progenitor Virus, which was a different class entirely. Besides, it seemed that Marcus's memory had some problems. The old fox didn't remember what happened ten years ago, or else he wouldn't have been asking them questions.
There were two possible reasons for this: either Marcus's memory was messed up because of the T-virus, or the person in front of them wasn't really Marcus. Although he had been revived, his feminine appearance meant that he was a replacement for some kind.
So, Wesker wasn't worried. He had killed Marcus once, and he could do it again!
"..."
"Don't worry, William. I'll deal with him. He's not getting out of here alive. I'm going back to the Raccoon City Police Department to get the S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team to stop him. You stay here and keep watch. If necessary, you can activate the self-destruct mechanism, but make sure you don't blow yourself up."
Wesker put his hand on William's shoulder and looked at Marcus on the monitor. He then turned around and left the room without hesitation, leaving William alone to tremble in fear.
William was terrified of Marcus's revenge. He and Wesker had betrayed Marcus and sided with Spencer. Now that Marcus had returned as the Leech Queen, William was on edge and felt a chill down his spine. He felt as if a swarm of leeches could crawl into the room and eat him alive at any moment.
"Damn it!"
"I can't stay here anymore..."
With that, William slammed his hand on the table and left the room. He walked toward the self-destruct control room. He had to blow this place up to kill that bastard Marcus once and for all.
Meanwhile, Javier and his companions, who were in the main hall of the facility, had discovered many secrets about the place. It was a labyrinth, not a simple research facility. Many of the features, like the portraits and statues, hid various traps. The statue of a goddess with a scale on the wall where Marcus's portrait was hung required two statues to be placed on it to open a new door. Javier was speechless. He couldn't help but wonder if the researchers had to go through all this trouble every time they went in and out. No wonder no one escaped when the virus broke out. They all died here because of these hidden mechanisms and keys!
"Oh, no... this is going to be a pain."