Deadpool floated motionlessly in the transparent green liquid, his body bound tightly by metal wires, leaving him helplessly suspended within the giant glass tank.
Glug… glug…
Submerged completely, even the Merc with a Mouth could no longer spit out his endless stream of nonsense. For the first time, Deadpool was—mercifully—silent.
But then, several oval-shaped objects began drifting out from behind his belt, rising slowly through the viscous liquid. Marcus's eyes widened.
Grenades.
And not just any grenades—every one of them had its safety pin already pulled.
Marcus's heart sank. Deadpool had anticipated this from the start. The moment Marcus had thrown him into the tank, the lunatic had yanked the pins.
"Damn it—!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
A chain of deafening explosions erupted within the tank, shattering it in an instant. A wave of chemical fluid and glass fragments burst outward like a green tsunami. Razor-sharp shards tore through Marcus's skin, riddling his body with bloody holes.
"I knew it wouldn't be that easy!" he growled.
Instead of retreating, Marcus charged through the deadly spray, his body shredded and bleeding, teeth clenched in defiance. With a roar, he lunged at Deadpool.
Tenfold Iron Fist!
His right arm transformed into a gleaming mechanical limb of living metal—similar to the Winter Soldier's cybernetic arm—before slamming into Deadpool's face with the force of a missile.
The impact sent Deadpool flying like a human cannonball, the shockwave warping the air as he crashed toward the far end of the lab.
Marcus's eyes gleamed coldly. "You know what they say—when your body's soaked, your resistance drops to one-fifth of normal."
Deadpool slammed directly into the laboratory's main power conduit.
ZZZZZZT!!!
The result was catastrophic. His body smashed through the armored casing, embedding deep into the electrical hub. Blinding arcs of blue-white lightning erupted across the room, forcing Marcus to shield his eyes. Smoke poured from Deadpool's twitching body as flames ignited along his suit.
"I… ha-hate… electro… therapy…" he managed to croak between convulsions.
The lab's lights flickered wildly as power surged out of control. Machines sputtered and died one after another. Sparks rained down from the ceiling as the entire grid overloaded.
Deadpool's body regenerated only to be destroyed again, trapped in an endless cycle of repair and disintegration. Each jolt fried his cells anew, forcing his healing factor into overdrive—until even it began to falter.
Finally, the overload became too much. The system blew out, plunging the base into semi-darkness. The lightning faded, leaving only the acrid scent of burnt flesh.
Deadpool was charred black, motionless—reduced to little more than a smoking corpse.
Marcus didn't hesitate. His right arm morphed into a clawed weapon, sharp metallic talons piercing deep into Deadpool's chest.
"Let's see how you like this."
Virus Touch—maximum output!
[Zombie virus injected successfully… body takeover failed.]
[Zombie virus injected successfully… body takeover failed.]
[Zombie virus injected successfully… body takeover failed.]
…
[Remaining bio-energy: 50%]
Marcus snarled, driving more and more of the virus into Deadpool's body, forcing it into every regenerating cell. But the healing factor resisted stubbornly, purging the infection as fast as it entered.
"I'm not giving up, you freak!"
He poured in everything he had left, his body trembling under the strain.
[Remaining bio-energy: 20%]
[Warning! Host is being corroded by unknown chemical substance. Virus adaptation error detected…]
[Detected reverse invasion from mutant healing factor. Engaging defensive response…]
"What?"
Marcus looked down. The wounds on his body—where glass shards had pierced him—were turning an unnatural green. The veins around them bulged and darkened, spreading rapidly under his skin like roots of poison ivy.
He could feel it—something was changing inside him.
[Defensive response failed. Mutant healing factor has breached containment.]
"Damn it!" Marcus tore his clawed hand free from Deadpool's chest, but it was already too late. A wave of pain like molten fire ripped through his nerves, nearly knocking him off his feet.
"What the hell is happening!?" he gasped.
Green veins crept across his entire body, pulsing beneath his skin. Deadpool's burnt corpse, meanwhile, suddenly went limp, collapsing lifelessly to the ground.
Marcus's mind raced. 'What did these AIM lunatics create besides the Extremis Virus?'
The veins on his arms throbbed violently, and small lumps began forming beneath the skin—cancerous growths spreading fast. That was it. The healing factor. The "immortality" that made Deadpool unkillable was nothing but an infinite, uncontrolled cellular mutation.
A self-sustaining cancer.
[Unable to halt mutant factor intrusion. Attempting to devour… Devour failed.]
The mutated tissue grew faster and faster. His skin bubbled, his muscles twisted out of shape. If this continued, his entire body would transform into one massive tumor — a grotesque fate beyond recognition.
He could abandon the clone body, of course. Marcus's consciousness could always be transferred. But if he did that now, the mission would fail — Thunder and Winston would be left alone against not only AIM's defenses, but the other two unknown superheroes also hunting for the Extremis Virus.
And in three days, the U.S. Navy's carrier strike groups would launch their full assault. He couldn't afford to lose this battle.
Marcus clenched his jaw. "System—try fusing the damn thing!"
If he couldn't resist it, then he would merge it. The healing factor and the zombie virus—two extremes of regeneration and corruption. He would force them together and see what new power was born from their collision.
[Warning: Fusion attempt will result in unpredictable mutation. Success not guaranteed. Outcome may include catastrophic virus evolution. Proceed? YES / NO]
Marcus didn't hesitate. "YES!"
The moment he shouted, the cancerous growths exploded outward, coating his skin in a layer of writhing green tissue. His vision darkened, strength draining from his limbs.
Then—blackness.
He collapsed, his body twitching once before falling still, as silence reclaimed the ruined laboratory.
__
T/N:
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