A few hours later
A modified aircraft silently cut through the night sky.
The atmosphere inside the cabin was somewhat tense.
Wolverine, Logan, still wore his usual unapproachable expression. He sat with his arms folded, leaning back in his seat, seemingly unconcerned about the operation ahead.
Deadpool, on the other hand, seemed a little excited. He fiddled with his twin swords from time to time, humming an off-key tune.
Cyclops, Ssu Scott Summers, sat in the pilot's seat, focused on flying. Every so often, he glanced through the rearview mirror at Harry Osborn in the cabin.
He hadn't expected the young Mr. Osborn to be so decisive. They'd only reached an agreement an hour ago, and now Harry was already leading the team in person, on his way to the enemy's stronghold.
William Stryker had some connections in the military. More importantly, when it came to dealing with Mutants, the higher-ups needed a spokesman—someone who could deliver tangible results.
And on a global scale, no one could match Stryker in the field of Mutant research.
So, in a sense, the man was "indispensable."
That was why, even though they wanted nothing more than to skin him alive, they had never gone so far as to kill him outright.
It was an unspoken understanding between them and the government's higher-ups...
"All right, time to move~"
Just then, Harry's eyes snapped open. At the same time, the black Symbiote spread across his body as if it were alive.
In an instant, it formed a fearsome, powerful X-Kryonaut...
"******!!"
Even Deadpool, a man who'd seen just about everything, couldn't help swearing.
This thing was so damn cool...
"Let's move, everyone!"
Harry's low voice broke the silence in the cabin.
He rose and walked to the cabin door, then opened it in front of everyone's astonished eyes.
Below them lay a reservoir shrouded in darkness.
Howling wind poured into the cabin.
Then, without hesitation, he leaped out, plummeting toward the seemingly bottomless reservoir like a black meteor.
"Splash!"
A massive spray of water erupted.
Thanks to the Black King's power, he easily absorbed the terrifying impact of the fall.
He climbed ashore and looked toward the heavy metal door in the corner, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
The next moment, he flashed forward like a phantom, charging toward the door.
The kinetic energy he'd absorbed from his fall was released all at once...
"Boom!"
The alloy door burst open under the blow of his Bio-Armor-covered fist, as flimsy as paper!
"[Prometheus I], begin the intrusion."
Harry issued the command in his mind.
"SIR, intruding into the base's main system through the local network..."
"Intrusion successful. Alarm system and surveillance equipment, including cameras, have been disabled."
[Prometheus I] responded swiftly. The Bio-Computer's powerful parallel-processing capabilities, combined with its super AI,
were more than a match for security systems of this level...
Next, Harry's Bio-Armor changed again. Ripples spread across its surface, and then his figure vanished as if it had merged with the air.
It was an invisibility ability he'd extracted from a Mutant's genes and integrated into the X-Kryonaut—perfect for a situation like this.
Deadpool and the others landed in the surrounding area one after another using parachutes.
"Damn, Boss Osborn knows how to get the job done. Clean, efficient, and a real pleasure to watch!"
Once they entered the base, Deadpool saw that their path was completely clear, and that the soldiers sprawled along the way had clearly been taken out in an instant. He whistled and praised Harry sincerely.
"All right, we'll head the other way."
Cyclops, Ssu Scott, was more practical. He glanced at the base's internal layout, which Harry was streaming to his tablet in real time, nodded, and addressed the other two.
They'd divided up their tasks before setting out. Harry would deal with Stryker, while they went to rescue their fellow Mutants, whom Stryker had imprisoned as test subjects.
Logan took a long look toward Stryker's main laboratory, a complicated expression flickering across his face.
Recovering his lost memories was crucial to him, but at that moment, he was a member of the X-Men.
After a brief hesitation, he let out a low growl and followed Cyclops without looking back.
Meanwhile.
Inside the main laboratory, deep within the base,
William Stryker stared feverishly at the strange substance writhing inside a culture tank.
"Perfect! Absolutely perfect!
Soon... Mutants will disappear from this planet..."
A sick light gleamed in William Ssu Stryker's eyes.
The thing in the culture tank was the result of growing cells taken from a Mutant codenamed Leech.
This Mutant could suppress the abilities of other Mutants. By using his cells as raw material, Stryker could mass-produce an inhibitor designed to suppress Mutants!
With the technology he had at his disposal, producing it on a large scale had once seemed all but impossible.
But thanks to the "generous" young Mr. Osborn and the biotechnology he'd provided, Stryker had managed to mass-produce it in an incredibly short time.
All that remained was to make people realize how dangerous Mutants were...
At the thought, Stryker grinned smugly.
According to Lady Deathstrike's report, Harry Osborn had been in a serious car accident and was supposedly still in the hospital "receiving treatment."
The Winter Soldier had carried out the attack. Lady Deathstrike hadn't even had a chance to act before Osborn's car was blown sky-high.
That had been unexpected. According to his original plan, Lady Deathstrike was to brutally murder the hotshot young scientist in front of the world's media at the Global Excellence Award ceremony.
Someone had beaten her to it, but that was good news. S.H.I.E.L.D. would undoubtedly investigate the Winter Soldier, giving him the perfect opportunity to make his move.
He just didn't know why the legendary top Hydra assassin had targeted Harry Osborn...
Did Hydra's remnants want a piece of the action? Or had Osborn threatened their interests?
But none of that mattered for now. All he needed was the fact that Harry Osborn had died at the hands of Mutants...
Next, he'd arrange for Lady Deathstrike to infiltrate the hospital where Harry Osborn was staying.
Then, once the time was right, he'd unleash the media campaign he'd already prepared. At that point, not even the White House or S.H.I.E.L.D. would be able to stop his "great cause"!
"It's been a long time, Mr. Stryker..."
Just as William Stryker was lost in the fantasy of his perfect plan coming to fruition,
a cold, mocking voice suddenly came from the shadows behind him, like a whisper from the Nine Serenities.
Then, a tall figure clad in fearsome black Bio-Armor slowly emerged from the shadows...
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