A new chapter is up.
Come in, get comfortable, and let’s see what kind of trouble waits this time ❤️ ✦ “Really?” Nick Fury’s eye narrowed.
Unlike Coulson’s pure excitement, Fury felt something colder beneath the thrill.
If a side mission could hand out a reward like that, then it was obviously only the appetizer.
The real course was still ahead.
What kind of reward would the first-place participant on the Speedrun Ranking receive?
Fury swallowed despite himself.
For once, the man who feared almost nothing hesitated to imagine the answer.
He could not know.
He could not even guess.
But he knew one thing.
That reward had to be under his control.
“All unknown variables need to be held in our hands.” “I…” “We…” “That is how we protect the world.” Fury stared at the names on the ranking list, his single eye carrying a hard, possessive light.
Outside S.H.I.E.L.D., the world was already shifting.
Tony and Black Widow had transformed in quick succession, and the shock did not stop with the superheroes.
Organizations that lived in the shadows had begun reaching for the light.
None of that affected the people inside the invaded world.
After crossing the laser corridor, the team moved fast toward the lowest levels of the underground base.
This place was still far from safe.
They had not forgotten the timer hanging over their heads.
The Main Mission.
If they failed to stop the Red Queen, they would be trapped in this world.
“Trapped here?” Tony smashed a zombie aside with one sweep of his arm, his expression grim.
He had a very enjoyable life waiting for him.
He had no intention of spending it in an apocalypse full of walking corpses.
“Careful!” “More zombies are gathering.
There are Lickers mixed into the horde.
Do not let them grab you!” Shade watched the surroundings with growing tension, clearing infected as he led the way.
His grip kept tightening around his weapon.
Even surrounded by zombies, his thoughts kept racing.
They were about to face the company’s artificial intelligence.
The Red Queen.
Only by shutting her down could the mission be completed.
Shade could almost smell death in the air.
“Something’s wrong.” “The zombies are gathering too quickly.
Their attack rhythm is too coordinated.” His expression drained of color.
“Damn it.” “We’ve been detected.” “The Red Queen found us.
The zombies and Lickers are being driven here by her.” “No wonder they’re harder to deal with than before.” Panic spread across Shade’s face.
“We’re done.
We’re actually done.
The Red Queen really has gone rogue, and she can command those monsters…” Artificial intelligence and zombies were not just an additive threat.
The Red Queen gave the infected an external brain.
Scattered monsters became a connected force, like a mob of raiders suddenly turning into a disciplined army.
Even the ordinary infected were no longer disposable trash.
With machine-guided coordination, they became dangerous enough to slow down Tony after his T-virus Enhancement.
The pressure on the group exploded.
A wet tearing sound cut through the chaos.
One of Shade’s mercenaries was caught and dragged under the horde.
Under the Red Queen’s assault, the situation deteriorated fast.
“Damn it.” Shade clenched his jaw as endless infected poured in from ahead.
“The Red Queen has rebelled.” “Everything we prepared is useless now.” “She’s commanding the zombies.
The monsters are linked together.
We don’t have time to pick them apart.
We have to punch through and physically shut her down.” “Her IT architecture is beyond human standards.
There is no way around it.” “Impossible to fight?
Impossible to stop?” Batman’s mouth tightened.
If he remembered correctly, artificial intelligence was not exclusive to Umbrella.
“Artificial intelligence…” “Who said only you people have one?” Batman shook his head.
The man whose intelligence could stand beside his own would not lose that easily in his strongest field.
“The Red Queen is an artificial intelligence!” “A generational breakthrough!
It has no real flaw and cannot be cracked from the outside.
This is the only way…” Shade’s certainty died in his throat.
For a strange second, the situation felt painfully familiar.
Then it happened.
An invisible shockwave tore across another battlefield.
A torrent of garbage data erupted through the unseen network, crashing toward the Red Queen.
JARVIS had entered the fight.
The clash of machine minds unfolded in a dimension no human eye could see.
Shade could not watch the storm inside the network, but he noticed the zombie horde falter.
“A gap in the Red Queen’s control?” “No.” “Someone is attacking her.” He turned in shock and met Tony’s smug smile.
Tony lifted his chin with a cocky grin that could charm men and women alike.
“That was you?” Shade pointed at him, disbelief written across his face.
“Relax.” “Just a little trick.” Tony’s attempt at subtle bragging lasted about one second.
Then embarrassment flickered across his face.
“Hey, hey, hey!” “Don’t just stand there.
Move!” “This is not a spectator sport.
Use the opening and clean those things out!” His smugness collapsed into urgency.
“That AI really is something.
I can’t control her.
JARVIS can only suppress part of her processing power and keep her too busy to command the zombies.” “Move fast.
Wipe out the monsters now.” JARVIS was an artificial intelligence too, but the Red Queen had an entire underground base supporting her.
Cracking her defenses and taking reverse control was impossible in the short term.
All JARVIS could do was flood her with data and keep her attention divided.
The state would not last.
“Hurry!” Tony barked, still fighting across the network.
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS AuroraVale Thank you for reading.
I hope this chapter pulled you a little deeper into the story.
Stay close, because things are only getting more interesting.