A new chapter is up.
Come in, get comfortable, and let’s see what kind of trouble waits this time ❤️ ✦ “Understood.” Black Widow reacted first.
As a top-tier agent, she cut through the chaos almost immediately.
JARVIS had suppressed the Red Queen and bought them a window.
The zombies had lost their central command, and the advantage would not last long.
So they had to race the clock.
They needed to cut through the gathered horde and reach the Red Queen’s server module before JARVIS lost the cyberwar.
If Natasha could destroy the server itself, the mission would end.
“Exactly.” Her eyes brightened as she locked onto the path ahead.
“No holding back.” “Everyone, ignore ammunition costs.
We finish this now or we fail.” “Cover my advance.” Before her words had fully landed, Natasha turned into an afterimage.
“Rokushiki: Soru.” Her foot struck the ground in a burst of rapid steps.
The recoil became propulsion, driving her forward like a fired round.
She flashed through the zombie horde as if teleporting.
She had only just received Rokushiki, but in her body it moved like something she had trained for years.
Every transition flowed into the next.
Her body became a weapon.
The infected in front of her broke apart in rapid sequence, helpless under her speed and precision.
Without the Red Queen’s macro-control, the mindless infected could not stop her.
…
At the Xavier Institute, Storm frowned at the screen.
“Her offense is…
incredible.” Many mutants possessed tremendous power, but those powers were often narrow.
Storm herself could summon tempests, but if Black Widow got close?
Watching Natasha tear through the infected like a living war machine made Storm shiver despite herself.
“Not just offense.” Professor X’s voice came from behind her.
His expression was grave as he watched the broadcast.
“Her defense is extraordinary as well.” Telepathy strengthened his perception to an almost terrifying degree.
Inside the surging horde, Natasha was not untouched.
She was being struck again and again.
But just before every blow landed, a faint sheen passed over her skin.
Even the tongue of a Licker left only pale marks, unable to break through.
“Tougher than steel,” Xavier judged.
The evasive body control of Kami-e needed no explanation either.
“Speed, strength, defense, agility.
It is a complete combat package.” Even Professor X, calm as he usually was, could not remain detached.
Rokushiki had no obvious weakness, and in some ways it was more alarming than many mutant powers.
Unlike Tony’s virus-based transformation, this looked like a teachable set of techniques.
If it spread widely, the already fragile balance between mutants and ordinary humans would shift again.
The thought made Xavier’s heart sink.
…
“Beautiful.” “Good.” While Xavier saw danger, Fury saw opportunity.
The stronger Black Widow looked, the more valuable Rokushiki became.
And the more valuable Rokushiki became, the more S.H.I.E.L.D.
gained.
That alone was enough to satisfy him.
If they could decode and teach even part of those techniques, S.H.I.E.L.D.
would be transformed.
“Hmph.” “Maybe this is how I finally get those old men on the council to stop choking the budget.” “At the very least, we can make them pay for the privilege.” Fury’s mouth curved.
For once, the idea of asking for funding did not irritate him.
The moment did not last.
Coulson’s alarmed voice cut in.
“Director.” “Tony is in danger.
The mission may fail.” Coulson was sweating as he stared at the screen.
Natasha had already disappeared deep into the horde, visible only in scattered flashes.
But the real crisis had come from somewhere else.
“What?” Fury turned sharply, the broadcast now holding all of his attention.
…
Inside the underground base, Natasha was about to break through the final blockade and reach the Red Queen’s server module.
One more step, and she could smash the host apart.
Then the mutation arrived.
“Tony, danger!” Years of living on a knife’s edge made Natasha sense something wrong in the air.
A shadow flashed past the edge of her vision.
Something lunged through the battlefield, leaving only a foul gust behind.
Its target was Tony.
Metal shrieked as it hit.
Tony’s enhanced instincts made him dodge backward at the last instant, and the Iron Man suit took the strike.
When the movement slowed, everyone finally saw the attacker.
It was a mass of warped flesh.
More twisted than a Licker.
It stood on two legs.
Blood vessels bulged across its body.
Its right arm had mutated into a bladed spike, and its skull-like head barely retained any human features.
Its speed and strength eclipsed the Lickers completely.
No doubt remained.
This monster was worse.
“Damn it…” “A Tyrant?” “The Red Queen really rebelled.” “She took the company’s hidden ace bio-weapon and deployed it herself.” Shade stared ahead.
Hope had been right in front of them.
They had been one step from shutting down the Red Queen.
Then reality hit him like ice water.
A Tyrant had stepped between them and victory.
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.