With Tony Stark finally subdued — both body and mind broken — Marcus could at last breathe a sigh of relief. It felt like removing a thorn buried deep under his skin. But once the adrenaline faded, he calmly reviewed everything that had led to his current predicament… and realized the true reason he was now surrounded on all sides.
It all went back to those seven lost days — the week he'd spent unconscious after his first battle with Tony.
If everything had gone according to plan, the world's destruction should have unfolded quietly, like a chess game already won before the opponent knew it had begun. Marcus's original strategy had been simple yet devastating: keep the virus's existence hidden, use infected carrion birds to spread it across the globe, and trigger a worldwide outbreak in an instant. Humanity would crumble before it even knew what it was fighting.
But those seven days had changed everything.
Because of Spider-Man and Iron Man's interference, some infected corpses Marcus failed to dispose of properly had started a premature outbreak. That incident exposed the virus to the world — and alerted both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers far too soon. Now, the world's most powerful heroes and armies were united against him. Even his own safety was jeopardized by the psychic abilities of Professor X.
Those seven days had cost him nearly everything. When Marcus awoke, he hadn't returned to battle — he'd woken up already in hell mode.
If this were a game, he thought grimly, it would already be over. But he had no "reload save" option. The only choice left was to adapt — or die.
After leaving Tony with a research assignment — and a sample of Marcus's own infected body to "study" — he shifted his consciousness to his avatar in Queens. Tonight's mission was critical: locate and absorb the Extremis Virus.
Once assimilated, it would trigger the first evolution of the zombie virus — allowing Marcus himself to ascend from a special infected into a true Virus Core.
Because as powerful as the virus had become, it was still far too weak to survive in a world like Marvel's — a world overflowing with gods, monsters, and beings who could shatter cities with a thought.
The Extremis Virus had first appeared in Iron Man 3. It was a bio-weapon created by the scientist Aldrich Killian and his organization, A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics) — a group dedicated to radical human enhancement through experimental science.
The problem was that, in the movie, A.I.M.'s base of operations was never revealed. Until now, Marcus had no way to locate the source of their research — the original strain of the virus itself.
But now he had something he hadn't before: an inside man in the world's most powerful intelligence network.
Hawkeye: Boss, I've located A.I.M.'s exact position — it's in an abandoned factory complex under the New Jersey docks. Aldrich Killian himself is there.
Marcus: As expected. S.H.I.E.L.D. knew about A.I.M. all along, didn't they? Why haven't they shut them down?
Hawkeye: We're stretched thin. A.I.M.'s experiments are illegal, sure, but the body count's still under twenty. The threat level's classified as D-rank. We don't have the manpower for a full-scale raid.
Marcus: D-rank, huh? If you knew what that virus could really do, you wouldn't be so casual about it.
Still, the intel was good news. S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't planning to interfere anytime soon — which meant Marcus could move freely. The last thing he wanted was a swarm of Avengers interrupting him mid-operation.
"Master," said Alex through the mental link, his tone analytical. "If your goal is to consume the Extremis Virus and merge it with your own, merely absorbing infected hosts won't be sufficient. You'll need access to the original viral serum itself — the concentrated strain."
"That won't be a problem," Marcus replied confidently. "If this is their research base, there will be samples. My concern isn't finding it — it's what's guarding it."
A.I.M. wasn't just a research group; it had once been an extension of Hydra itself. Marcus knew the type — ruthless, paranoid, and heavily armed. There was no chance they would let him stroll into their lab unchallenged.
He would have to be ready for a full-scale fight — a battle against an army of Extremis-enhanced soldiers.
And for that, he couldn't rely on his weakened body alone.
"Master," came another voice — calm, feminine, but sharp as glass. "Per your command, Thunder, Winston, and Earthshaker are assembled."
Marcus turned. Standing before him was an extraordinary trio: a statuesque white woman with crackling energy coiling around her fists, a towering black man with muscles like coiled steel, and a massive, intelligent gorilla whose crimson eyes glowed faintly in the dark.
"Good," Marcus said, snapping his fingers. His eyes shifted toward the massive wall encircling Queens. "Then let's begin. Tonight, Operation Extremis commences."
---
Earthshaker — the fifth-ranked of Marcus's mutated lieutenants — was a two-meter-tall brute with ebony skin and a physique that looked carved from granite. His mutation had activated a buried X-gene that granted him an unusual power: Subterranean Drift — the ability to dig through solid earth and create stable tunnels large enough for a platoon to travel through.
It wasn't a flashy combat ability, but for infiltration, it was priceless.
Now, Marcus and his team followed Earthshaker through a rapidly expanding tunnel. The soil parted effortlessly under his hands, the darkness lit faintly by the bioluminescent glow of Marcus's infected aura.
Within minutes, they had slipped beneath the military cordon unnoticed, bypassing the barricades and checkpoints that kept the infected quarantined in Queens.
The tunnel was wide — too wide, Marcus noted. Even the towering gorilla mutant, Winston, could walk upright with room to spare. If they'd brought a tank, it might have fit through.
Soon, Earthshaker halted. He raised his hand, and a set of stairs began to spiral upward, the packed dirt reshaping itself into a smooth path to the surface.
"This is the exit, Master," Earthshaker rumbled.
"Well done," Marcus said. "Now go. You have your orders."
Earthshaker bowed deeply, then vanished back into the tunnel. Marcus didn't plan on bringing him to the fight — the big man's digging skills were far too valuable elsewhere.
---
August 14, 12:01 A.M. — New Jersey Docks
Marcus crouched atop a low rooftop, overlooking a decrepit industrial complex. From a distance, it looked perfectly ordinary — a derelict chemical plant abandoned years ago. Rusted barrels and decaying scaffolds littered the grounds, paint peeling from every wall.
It was an excellent disguise. Without Hawkeye's intel, Marcus doubted even S.H.I.E.L.D. could have located it easily.
But he knew better.
Behind that facade lay a nest of serpents — one that still carried Hydra's venom in its veins.
He smiled faintly, eyes glinting in the moonlight.
"Time to meet the men who tried to play god."
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