Hydra Base

Xiao Han leaned against the villa's poolside, his fingertips lightly tapping the rim of his wineglass as the red wine glimmered amber beneath the moonlight.

He closed his eyes, and Super Hearing spread out like an invisible radar, the sounds of the entire world flooding into his ears like a tide.

The wail of police sirens on New York streets, subway announcements in Tokyo, debates in London's Parliament, whispers of underground arms deals in Moscow... billions of sounds intertwined into a deafening torrent.

He precisely filtered through the information, searching for fragments of value.

"...Superman, I want a girlfriend..."

"...Hurry up, Mark. Let's hope that Superman doesn't show up tonight..."

"...Sir, tomorrow's meeting..."

Countless pieces of information were filtered and sorted through Xiao Han's ears.

Suddenly, a faint voice caught his attention.

"If there really is a Superman... then please come save me..."

The voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, yet it carried heartbreaking despair.

Xiao Han suddenly opened his eyes. His Super-Sight pierced through layer after layer of obstacles and locked onto a Hydra base deep within the mountains somewhere in Eastern Europe.

Inside a transparent cylindrical glass chamber sat a red-haired girl.

She looked around nineteen or twenty. Her skin was pale and delicate, while pain and hope flickered in her red eyes.

Scarlet energy flowed around her like a living thing, occasionally crashing into the glass chamber and making the equipment outside emit piercing alarms.

He set down his wineglass and slowly rose to his feet. Water droplets slid along the contours of his muscles, glimmering faintly in the moonlight.

He got dressed and picked up the watch beside him.

With the hum of nanomachines, the multifunctional watch on Xiao Han's wrist instantly disintegrated. Countless black particles spread up his arm like living creatures.

In less than a second, pitch-black armor covered his entire body, the golden S emblem on his chest faintly flashing beneath the moonlight.

Xiao Han walked onto the villa's terrace as the night breeze swept across the armor's surface.

He closed his eyes again, using Super Hearing to precisely lock onto that faint cry for help.

Somewhere in Eastern Europe, in a Hydra base hidden deep underground, a red-haired girl whispered in despair.

"Found you."

He raised his right hand, golden magical energy glowing at his fingertips.

With a smooth circling motion, fine golden sparks appeared in the air and quickly expanded into a portal two meters in diameter.

On the other side of the portal, a dim laboratory could faintly be seen, along with the red-haired girl suspended inside the glass chamber.

Xiao Han did not hesitate. He stepped through the portal.

The golden sparks slowly died out behind him, and the villa returned to silence. Only the pool water rippled faintly, as if telling the tale of what had just happened.

Half an hour earlier.

Eastern Europe.

Hydra Secret Base.

Laboratory.

Wanda curled up inside the glass chamber, hugging her knees as she stared fixedly at the operating table in the middle of the laboratory.

A frail boy lay there, no older than fifteen. His pale wrists were secured by metal shackles, and his bare chest was covered in electrode pads.

His pupils were unfocused, his lips trembling with fear, yet he could not make a sound. Hydra's neural suppressant had stripped him even of the right to scream.

"Test Subject 47. X-Gene activation test, ninth attempt."

A researcher wearing a gas mask coldly recorded the data.

Another held a syringe filled with a dark green liquid. Drops falling from the needle tip glimmered eerily beneath the operating lamp.

"Raise the serum concentration to eighty percent. Add the new catalyst."

Wanda's nails dug deeply into her palms. She had seen this kind of experiment far too many times.

And failure meant death.

The needle pierced the boy's neck, and the drug was slowly injected. At first, nothing happened.

Then—

The boy's muscles suddenly convulsed, his back arching as a hoarse whimper squeezed from his throat.

His skin began to redden, veins writhing beneath it as though countless snakes were slithering through his body.

"Vital signs are surging! Heart rate, 220!" The researcher's voice carried a trace of excitement.

The boy's bones crackled horribly. His arms twisted and warped, his knuckles elongating as his nails hardened into jet-black claws.

His pupils narrowed into beastlike slits, and a low growl rolled from his throat.

"Did it work?" someone asked quietly.

The next second—

Splurt!

The boy's chest suddenly burst open. A bone spike punched through flesh and skin, blood splattering across the sterile floor.

His scream finally burst from his throat, wrenching and heartrending.

"He's out of control! Suppress him!"

The alarm blared sharply. Soldiers raised their stun guns, but it was already too late.

The boy's body seemed to be torn apart by an invisible force. His bones turned outward, his muscles swelled, and his skin split apart inch by inch. His skull twisted out of shape, his jaw splitting open to reveal ghastly fangs.

"Kill him! Now!"

High-voltage currents struck the boy's back, but only made him more frenzied.

He broke free from the shackles and tore apart the nearest soldier with one swipe. Blood splashed across the operating lights, staining the entire laboratory crimson.

Wanda clamped a hand over her mouth as Chaos Magic flickered uncontrollably at her fingertips.

She looked at the boy. No, that was no longer human.

He pounced on the second researcher, his teeth crushing the man's throat.

"Activate the incineration protocol!"

The nozzles in the ceiling opened, pouring down blazing white flames.

The boy wailed in the fire, his skin charring and peeling away, yet he still struggled.

His gaze suddenly met Wanda's. Within those eyes remained a trace of human despair.

"Save... me..."

His lips moved in a silent plea.

Then—

Boom!

The laboratory's blast doors opened, and a heavily armed squad stormed in, firing energy rifles in unison.

The boy's body was blasted into pieces, charred limbs scattered across the floor.

The flames died out, leaving behind only the pungent stench of burning flesh and flashing alarm lights.

"Test Subject 47, failed. Record: Uncontrollable mutation after X-Gene activation. Recommend reducing serum concentration and adjusting catalyst proportions."

The researcher's voice was as cold as if he were discussing a scrapped machine.

They did not even spare the pile of charred remains another glance, merely waving in cleaning robots to handle it.

"Let's go. Another wasted day," one researcher called to another.

"The Baron said that if there's still no progress tomorrow, we'll all be punished."

"God..."

Wanda's tears silently fell. The red glow of Chaos Magic gathered in her palms, then faded.

She had seen this happen too many times. The only thing she could do was protect herself.

Soon, everyone withdrew, leaving behind only two soldiers on guard.

Under the cold white lights, Wanda Maximoff curled up inside the glass chamber, her slender fingers unconsciously rubbing against the floor.

Once again, she had watched another test subject die in agony. He had only been a boy in his teens.

The two Hydra soldiers outside the glass chamber leaned against the wall, chatting idly out of boredom.

"Did you hear? There's been more news outside lately." The taller soldier fiddled with the energy rifle in his hands.

"That Superman stopped an out-of-control truck in Tokyo with one hand last night. Didn't even scratch the paint."

The shorter soldier snorted. "Been reading too many comics? Superman? At most, he's some superpowered person or mutant."

"It's real!"

The taller soldier lowered his voice and waved his phone. "My friend works in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s logistics department. He said satellites caught him crossing the Pacific at incredible speed. The higher-ups have ordered every base into Level Two alert, terrified that this monster will come knocking."

Wanda's fingertips trembled slightly, the red glow of Chaos Magic flickering in and out of view in her palm.

She held her breath and pressed her ear against the glass.

"If you ask me, the higher-ups should secretly use the Tesseract to make an anti-Superman weapon." The shorter soldier kicked the shackles at his feet.

"All these mutant freaks..."

"Shut up!"

The taller soldier suddenly scanned the laboratory warily. "Do you want Baron Skla to turn you into a reptile?"

The two fell silent, but Wanda's heart began pounding violently.

Superman?

Her gaze fell upon her trembling hands, scarlet energy leaping between her fingers like tiny bolts of lightning.

"If there really is a Superman..." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Please... come save me..."

Then she gave a bitter laugh and shook her head mockingly.

Superman had always been a character from comic books. How could he possibly appear and save her?

Just then, golden sparks crackled in the air.

A golden portal slowly opened.

Wanda abruptly looked up.

A black figure stood on the other side of the portal.

His eyes burned with the light of the sun.