The command chair groaned softly beneath All For One's weight, its worn leather still warm from the life he had ended moments ago. Red emergency lights pulsed through the control room like a heartbeat it was steady, ominous. Monitors blinked with streams of genetic data, security feeds, and biometric readouts from every chamber in the facility.
He leaned forward, fingers steepled beneath his chin.
"Status," he said, his voice calm but absolute.
One of the scientists a thin man with greying temples and a nervous twitch approached the main console, clearing his throat as if afraid it might betray him.
"Y-Yes, my lord. Current test subjects in active containment number eight… not including the ones still sedated during the breach."
All For One didn't move.
The scientist continued, glancing at a readout on the screen. "Subject Zero-One-Seven male. Optic emissions. Can project focused energy beams from his eyes with enough force to shear metal."
All For One hummed. "Unrefined power. Useful with proper focus."
"Next Zero-One-Nine. Female. Carbon-hardened dermal layer… nearly identical to your diamond-form adaptation, though less refined. Limited regenerative capacity, but high resistance to trauma."
A flicker of amusement crossed All For One's face. "Curious. I may speak with her myself."
The scientist gulped. "Zero-Two-One is… unusual. Male. Amphibious physiology. Webbed extremities, enhanced lung capacity. Long-range prehensile tongue, highly adhesive. Rudimentary venom gland. Accelerated healing in aquatic environments."
"A creature," All For One said flatly. "Perhaps more useful than he appears."
He waved for the next.
"Zero-Two-Three. Adolescent female. Cryokinetic ability. Can lower surrounding temperature and produce ice-based constructs. Emotional regulation appears tied to ability control."
"Fear-based mutation," All For One mused. "Fear can be molded."
The scientist hesitated slightly before moving on.
"Zero-Two-Six telepathic resonance, localized to vocal expression. He can emit psychic shockwaves by shouting or screaming. Limited telepathic control over others… but unstable."
All For One's eyes narrowed with interest. "A cousin to my own gifts… I'll observe him closely."
"Zero-Two-Nine," the scientist continued, "Wind generation specifically through high-speed rotational movement. He spins at rapid velocity, creating directional wind force capable of deflecting projectiles or knocking back opponents. Limited flight capability."
"Primitive, but valuable in formation tactics," All For One murmured.
"Next: Zero-Three-Two. Male. Speedster. Accelerated perception, reflexes, and movement. Limited stamina due to poor metabolic control he burns energy too quickly."
"All problems with simple solutions," All For One said. "If he survives the modifications."
The scientist hesitated, then added, "Lastly… there is Subject Zero-Four-Zero. Designation: Sabretooth."
That name earned a pause.
The room seemed to still.
All For One leaned back in the command chair, letting the name settle like dust on stone.
"Ah… Victor Creed."
The scientist nodded nervously. "Formerly contracted by Stryker as a bounty hunter and enforcer. Healing factor, enhanced senses, claws, primal aggression. He was never fully contained preferred loose autonomy in exchange for results."
"I remember," All For One said, his voice low. "The beast who obeys no leash… but hunts for the right price."
He turned toward one of the dark monitors on the far end of the room, as if expecting Sabretooth to appear there in shadow and smoke.
"Where is he now?"
"Unknown," the scientist replied quickly. "He's… not currently in the facility. We believe Stryker had him on a contract missionpossibly tying up loose ends related to Weapon 23 or one of the rogue subjects."
All For One's lips curled into a small, thoughtful smile.
"Then perhaps I'll untie him."
He stood from the chair with slow grace, his armor gleaming beneath the crimson lights.
"Prepare communication channels," he said. "When Sabretooth returns… I want to speak with him directly."
He turned his gaze to the cell displays once more, eyes scanning each flickering window each life trapped in containment.
"So much potential," he murmured. "So many pieces left unshaped. But together…"
He placed his hand upon the console, the screens flickering in response to his touch, as though even the machines bowed to his will.
"…they will become the architects of a new order."
A pause.
"And the world will learn… what happens when its predators stop hunting each other"
His voice dipped into a growl, almost smiling.
"and start hunting everyone else."
The room dimmed further as All For One stepped toward the far wall of the command center. With a wave of his hand, screens aligned, rotating data streams vanishing as a single interface emerged, it was coded, encrypted, and long dormant.
"Establish contact protocol 'Victor-C,'" he ordered.
The lead scientist hesitated. "That… was restricted by Stryker's highest-level clearance. He feared Sabretooth might become unstable if tracked."
All For One didn't turn his head. He simply raised one hand.
The console sparked to life as if obeying a god, bypassing firewalls and encryption in seconds. The screen shifted to an ominous red, a frequency pulsing in low intervals.
Contact initiated.
LOCATION: UNKNOWN SIGNAL: ACQUIRED COMMS ENCRYPTION: OVERRIDDEN
A burst of static hissed through the chamber.
Then… a low growl.
Not over the speakers, but through them. Guttural, animal, unmistakably alive.
Then a voice followed a rough, venomous, familiar.
"If this is Stryker, I already told you that I don't fetch unless I get paid in blood or bodies."
All For One smiled darkly. "He won't be answering. He's... indisposed."
A pause on the line. The sound of metal scraping, perhaps bone cracking. Then laughter. Cold and gravelly.
"That so? Guess someone finally shut the old bastard up." "Who the hell are you?"
All For One took a step closer to the screen, voice smooth, confident. "Someone who values strength. Someone who doesn't leash hounds, but he unleashes them."
"Tch. Sounds like recruitment talk. Don't waste my time."
"I wouldn't," All For One replied. "You're not the kind of creature you lie to. You're the kind that hunts down the lie, rips its throat out, and sleeps in its ribcage."
Silence.
Then, the faint sound of wind whipping through trees. Wherever Sabretooth was, it wasn't civilized.
"…You know me."
"I know what Stryker used you for. I know what he feared. And I know he tried to use you like a tool. Like a cage dog."
"But I see something else."
All For One's voice dropped into a whisper, laced with power.
"A king of beasts without a throne."
"And you think you got one for me?" Sabretooth growled, skeptical. "What's the play here, shadow man?"
"There's a war coming," All For One replied. "Not between humans and mutants. But between those who take power… and those who beg for permission to use it."
"I am building an empire. Not of equals but there are no equals. Only the strong, and those smart enough to follow them."
"You are strong, Victor. A pure predator. I don't need to change that. I just need to aim it."
Another long pause.
The signal crackled, and then Sabretooth's voice returned, but this time quieter. Calculating.
"…You kill Stryker?"
"I crushed him," All For One said. "Like the brittle ideology he served."
"Hmph," Sabretooth muttered. "Alright, then. I'll bite."
"Send me coordinates. You want my claws? I wanna see this 'empire' with my own eyes."
All For One nodded once to the scientist beside him, who began uploading the encrypted coordinates.
"Come to me, Victor Creed," he said, his voice like a promise and a warning. "There is a place at my table. But know this…"
He leaned forward,
He leaned forward, the red light from the monitors cutting across the lines of his mask like veins of molten iron.
"…Know this, Victor Creed," All For One continued, his voice low but resonant, vibrating through the speakers as if the air itself bowed before him. "Those who join me rise above man and mutant alike. Those who refuse to join me become the dust I tread upon."
The line went silent for a moment. Only the faint hum of static filled the space.
Then a laughter. Harsh, guttural, and unrestrained.
"Heh… You've got teeth, I'll give you that," Sabretooth rasped. "Fine then, shadow man. You want a beast, you'll get one."
A predatory pause.
"Just don't think you can cage me."
The transmission clicked dead, leaving only the red glow of the screens and the faint echo of Sabretooth's laugh fading into static.
All For One lingered there, watching the empty feed long after the connection ended. Then slowly he smiled. A dark, knowing thing that never reached his eyes.
"Cage you?" he murmured. "No… I'll simply build the walls high enough that you never realize you're inside."
He turned away, cloak rippling behind him as he strode back toward the command chair. The scientists still stood frozen in silence, their faces pale, their hands trembling over consoles. None dared speak.
"Status report," All For One ordered again, though his tone was softer now measured, deliberate. "Awaken the subjects in sequence."
One of the scientists hesitated. "M-my lord… awaken them? But the containment protocols"
"Are obsolete," he interrupted. "Stryker built this place to enslave power. I will repurpose it to create it."
He approached the central console again, extending one hand over the glass surface. Energy rippled beneath his fingertips; the systems responded instantly, the machinery obeying his will like an extension of himself.
Across the facility, containment pods hissed to life. Monitors flared. Vitals spiked.
Through the glass walls of the observation deck, pale blue mist began to rise from the lower laboratories. The frozen girl Subject Zero-Two-Three stirred first, her breath crystallizing as the cryo fluid drained away. Nearby, the diamond-skinned woman's cocoon of carbon-hardened armor shimmered under the flickering lights.
One by one, the sleepers began to wake.
All For One watched in silence, his mask unreadable, his presence monumental. The air hummed with restrained energy, the tension of something ancient returning to life.
He turned to the lead scientist. "Prepare them for orientation. Begin neural conditioning protocols and recalibration. I want loyalty, not chaos."
The scientist swallowed. "And if they resist?"
All For One glanced toward him, his voice cold and certain. "Then they'll learn resistance is simply a slower form of obedience."
The man nodded shakily and hurried to obey.
As the scientists rushed about, All For One returned to the main window overlooking the facility. Below him, the mutants were stirring in their cells confused, angry, and frightened. The alarms were gone now. The hum of machinery filled the silence like a mechanical pulse. The heart of a new empire… beating for the first time.
All For One's gaze lifted toward the darkness beyond the glass.
"Sabretooth will come," he said quietly. "He will see what Stryker never could. A world not divided by species… but by strength."
He raised his hand, and for a moment the crimson glow of the lights reflected off his diamond-hardened skin cold, perfect, invulnerable.
"And when he arrives," he said, voice deepening into a whisper that filled the room like the echo of thunder, "he will kneel not because he's weak, but because he understands power."
He turned, walking back toward the shadows at the far end of the room. His silhouette disappeared into the dim light, his cloak dragging faintly along the metallic floor.
Behind him, the sound of awakening filled the facility as metal restraints snapping, glass hissing open, the distant growl of something feral stirring within the depths.
Above it all, All For One's final words lingered, a whisper threading through the hum of the machinery:
"The age of masters and servants is over. From this day forth… only predators remain."
The emergency lights flickered one last time before stabilizing, casting the entire control room in deep crimson.
And somewhere far away in a forest choked by mist and moonlight Sabretooth tilted his head toward the wind, catching a scent that made him grin like a wolf.
He started walking, Sabretooth vanished into the trees, a low rumble stirred beneath the earth as mechanical and alive. Back at the facility, deep within the sublevels, a steel door groaned open for the first time in years. Behind it, in the darkness, a single eye blinked open, golden, slitted, and ancient.
A predator older than Creed. Stronger than steel. Forgotten by even Stryker's records.
The lights above flickered once more.
Then, in the silence…
A claw scraped against concrete.
.