When I returned to the factory, I expected to have to immediately neutralize Heisenberg. My hand was already on a syringe containing a highly controlled Plagas, ready to be implanted in him. He would obey me, like the others. That was the plan. Calculated.
What I did not plan for… was finding him sitting casually on a metal crate, laughing loudly, arms resting on his knees, his round glasses slipping slightly down his nose. His neatly trimmed beard framed a radiant, almost boyish smile. His leather hat shaded eyes that gleamed with life and mischief.
"HAAHAHAHA!! Damn! I did not see that one coming!" he roared, pounding his fist against the crate. "The pollen trick… seriously, that was straight-up cheating. And I love it."
Donna, standing beside him, kept her gaze on the floor, visibly embarrassed. Hands clasped in front of her, she murmured softly:"Sorry… I thought it would avoid a pointless fight."
Angie, of course, had no intention of letting things calm down."Well, considering the guy's got a two-hundred-meter-long eel stashed under the factory, one spark and you'd have been roasted Texas barbecue style. Even your hat would've melted!"
Heisenberg burst out laughing even harder, leaning back, shoulders shaking."Goddamn… that doll's still as insolent as ever. And you let her talk like that?"
Donna shrugged gently. "She's… a little blunt.""A little?!" Angie huffed, puffing out her cheeks, which made the whole group crack a smile.
That's when Moreau made his entrance. Straighter, more confident than ever. Nothing like the drooling swamp mutant he used to be. His slicked-back black hair, sharp human features, and balanced frame gave him a new sense of elegance.
"So Heisenberg joined the ship too?" he asked, almost cheerfully, stepping forward.
Heisenberg turned his head, squinting. He studied Moreau's face carefully."Who the hell is this guy?"
"The fish face!" Angie chirped before Donna quickly silenced her with a swift hand.
Heisenberg's eyes went wide. He pointed a finger at Moreau, then at Donna, then finally at me."Wait. She's got her face back. He's human again. And now you're all working together?"
I nodded calmly."Correct. And if you want to stay in one piece, you'd better accept the stabilization injection. The Winters blend, specifically tailored to your profile."
He eyed me for a moment… then laughed again."I never really had a chance, huh? Against you or Miranda… I was just a side character with a big hammer." He rose, adjusting his hat with careless elegance. "Alright then. Hit me with your magic shot, boss."
He extended his arm without hesitation. I injected the needle with precision. The iridescent blue liquid seeped into his veins. His body trembled, a magnetic wave sparking faintly around him. Sparks ran down his fingers. His muscles tightened slightly, and his already striking features seemed to smooth out subtly. Younger. Stronger. A high-end version of Heisenberg.
"Feelings?" I asked curiously.
He slowly opened and closed his hand."Feels like my bones are forged steel. My control over metal… smoother. More natural. No stupid overpowered gimmicks, but definitely a solid upgrade. Clean."
Donna studied him for a moment before whispering to Moreau:"Uncle Karl looks younger than you, doesn't he?"
Moreau smirked, amused. "Well, I'm forty-nine. He was barely thirty-eight. And besides… the scruffy look is just his style."
Heisenberg growled, straightening his old hat."It's not scruffy, it's camouflage. Miranda left me alone as long as I looked like a junkyard rat."
The door opened just then, cutting the laughter short.
Alexia entered. Elegant. Coldly charismatic. Her long golden hair framed a face both angelic and merciless. She wore a half-open lab coat over a black technician's uniform, holding a tablet and a scalpel as if they were extensions of her own body.
"Gerald, Marcus wants to see you. He says it's… important."
But it wasn't her words that drew attention. It was her.
Heisenberg stared at her. For a long time. And for the first time, the king of sarcasm seemed to lose his rhythm.
A surge of emotion rippled through the Plagas' shared mental link. Curiosity. Interest. Disquiet. And a hint of genuine admiration.
Angie, of course, pounced on it instantly."Ooooh, look at that. Uncle Karl's heart just went clink clink. Want me to help you forge him a ring?"
Heisenberg snapped his head away, his cheeks just slightly warmer.
"Shut it, doll."Donna chuckled softly, and Moreau burst out laughing."That's the first time I've ever seen you glitch, man."
Alexia had stopped just a few steps from him, a discreet smile tugging at the corner of her lips."…I interest you, don't I?" she asked, half-mocking, half-curious.
Heisenberg grimaced, scratching the back of his head."It's… your radiance. It's… unsettling.""Hm." Her smile widened. "Follow me. Marcus is waiting for you too."
She turned on her heels. Heisenberg followed almost against his will, adjusting his glasses to hide his unease. I watched them leave with a small smile. Even the greatest cynics have their weak spots.
I fell in step behind Alexia and Heisenberg, heading toward Marcus's lab. Donna and Moreau had gone off to explore the north wings of the factory, where Alcina Dimitrescu and her daughters—now fully restored and… invigorated—were spending time getting acquainted with my triplets.
Well… sort of.
Tintin, my loyal behemoth, had fled the scene to cower in the basement like a whipped dog, still visibly traumatized by "the experience." As for the three Jordans… poor boys had slipped into the air vents, drenched in sweat, exhausted, trembling, whispering prayers for eternal rest.
Of course, I had spotted them instantly. And, as a benevolent—or cruel—master, depending on one's perspective, I had handed that information to Alcina and her daughters on a silver platter.
Their grateful smiles and sparkling eyes of appreciation had almost made me regret my decision… almost.
I clapped my hands softly, the sharp sound echoing like a theatrical punctuation as I entered the main laboratory. Alexia walked ahead with her usual steady stride, tablet still in hand. Heisenberg, now far more presentable and still grinning like a fool, followed at an easy pace, throwing curious glances at the equipment.
"So, Marcus?" I said, stepping to the center of the room, my tone half-serious, half-mocking. "What's so important that you had to call me here in person?"
Marcus, hunched over a screen projecting neural schematics and viral structures, barely lifted his eyes. Behind him, Wesker Junior was typing at breakneck speed, while Luis fiddled with a Cadou preserved under glass.
"Thanks to our new friend here…" Marcus said, nodding toward Heisenberg, "…we've finally found a concrete angle of attack. Not just to neutralize Miranda… but the Duke as well."
Heisenberg, who had been inspecting an implant fabrication console, snapped his head toward us, eyebrows raised. He slowly slid his glasses down his nose.
"Miranda, yeah. She's been on my nerves for years, so good riddance. But… the Duke? Seriously?" He stepped closer, a mocking grin on his lips. "You want to take down the chubby guy who sells ammo and roasted pork? He floats, he chuckles, he sells stuff… but he's not exactly a threat, is he?"
I gave Marcus a small nod."Show him."
Marcus activated a secondary screen. A video sequence flickered to life instantly. It was a recording of my previous clash with the Duke. The atmosphere in the room shifted at once.
The footage showed my body being violently thrown back by a seismic wave, followed by massive shards of rock erupting from the ground like blades, forcing me to retreat. The Duke's face—once jovial and soft—was unrecognizable: elongated, gaunt, with black eyes glowing like twin abysses. The sheer power radiating from him was palpable, even through the recording.
Heisenberg stood frozen for several seconds. Then he straightened slowly, letting out a long, low whistle."Holy shit… That's the same guy who sold me shotgun shells and stew recipes?!"
Alexia swiped an array of holographic data into his view."He manipulates minerals in their purest state, including those your magnetism can't touch. He is… far older than Miranda, by our estimates."
"A Primordial," Marcus clarified. "We believe he's connected to the Megamycete… or perhaps even a living fragment of it. An interface."
Heisenberg whistled through his teeth. "And he let you live?"
"That day, yes. But it wasn't a victory. More like… an observation. On his part. As if he was testing my limits."
"Christ. He's got the face of an angel in the field, but in this video… he looks like an old-school demon. The kind they seal away in deep mines and pray never to awaken."
"Now you understand why he's as much a priority as Miranda?" I asked, arms crossed.
Heisenberg nodded slowly, his tone losing some of its sarcasm."Absolutely. And I suppose your solution involves more than just a shotgun…" he added, a mix of mockery and respect in his voice.
"Indeed." Marcus replied calmly, moving to an active holographic projector. He slid his finger across the display, and a series of 3D diagrams appeared, showing a tangled network of filaments, a central vegetative brain, and two humanoid forms at the periphery."Imagine this: Miranda and the Duke are like the tentacles of an octopus. Powerful, autonomous, but linked to a single central body… the Megamycete."
He tapped the central representation—the vast fungal network at the heart of the chart.
"By destroying or conquering this 'mother brain,' we sever the link. And without that link… their abilities, their regenerative faculties, even their biological control over the Cadou would vanish."
I stared at the hologram, arms crossed. My face remained neutral, but the information spun in my mind like a freshly sharpened blade.
"That's all well and good…" I said, fixing my gaze on Marcus. "But I'll be honest: I have two ideas in mind. Two approaches. And frankly, I'm not even sure of the success rate. Or if I'll survive the execution of either."
At that moment, Wesker Junior tore his eyes away from his readouts and slowly turned his head toward me."We've thought about it on our end too," he declared. "Tell us what you're thinking. Maybe if we combine efforts, we'll find a third path… more stable."
Before I could reply, he pivoted toward Heisenberg with a sly smirk."And you, by the way… you screwed up. The clone, I mean."
Karl, still studying the architecture of a pulse cannon on one of the screens, slowly turned his head. His brow arched, but he didn't answer. He waited.
Wesker Junior tapped a key. A holographic display bloomed, showing the clone's biometric recordings: blood composition, brainwave frequencies, and most importantly, a full schematic of his cybernetic implants… which were, in reality, deactivated."He was faking it from the start," Wesker Junior explained. "The implants were never connected. Everything you thought you controlled—he simulated. And he was recording the whole time. You got played."
Karl growled, scratching the back of his neck."Tch. Note to self: never trust a machine with glasses." He sighed, then shrugged. "Guess I'll stick to my field. Science, fighting. Manipulation's not my style."
Alexia, who had been following the conversation while sorting Cadou cells on a touch interface, lifted her eyes briefly. A light, crystalline laugh escaped her."Good. Less competition," she said, stepping closer to Karl and gently taking his arm. "Come. I need someone with steady hands."
For the first time since entering the lab, Karl looked genuinely unsettled. He let himself be pulled toward the research area, glancing back as if searching for an invisible escape route.
"I'm going to have him open Cadou strains with micro-tools. A nice change from his giant magnets," Alexia murmured under her breath, a playful smile tugging at her lips.
"After that, we'll try my ideas. I see too much biology here and too little machinery, when both together could do so much more," Karl declared, regaining some of his usual spark.
I couldn't help but smile as I watched them drift away, before turning back to Marcus, Wesker Junior, and Luis."Alright. Let's refocus. Here are the two ideas I've got. First…"
I snapped my fingers, activating the central holographic interface. Several displays lit up around the room, projecting a 3D representation of the mutated Plant 42. It pulsed with an iridescent green glow, its massive bulbs animated by writhing filaments. Beside it, a model of the Megamycete—vast and fractal—breathed slowly like a fossilized vegetal heart. Between them, lines of data formed, showing absorption rates, cross-cellular responses, and strange energetic fluctuations.
"If we manage to graft several enhanced Plant 42 bulbs directly onto the Megamycete, we could potentially desiccate it from the inside out."
A clip played, simulating combat between my plant-zombies and Heisenberg's cyborgs, highlighting the moment when their roots pierced the mechanical chests, devouring the Cadou like ravenous parasites.
"The logic is the same. The 42 bulbs could act as siphons, draining nutrients, gradually weakening the Megamycete's biological core… and if we're lucky, triggering the total rejection of its psychic extensions: Miranda and the Duke."
Luis tilted his head, visibly fascinated."So basically… you want your plant to eat a semi-divine entity?"
"Yes. With a bit of luck, it digests it. And with a lot of luck, it doesn't mutate into something a thousand times worse."
I ran a hand across my forehead."The problem is, nothing guarantees the process won't backfire. The Megamycete could assimilate the bulbs, study them… and enhance its own absorption capacity to an unprecedented level. It could turn the weapon against us."
Marcus jotted something down on his terminal, his expression focused. Wesker Junior remained silent, eyes fixed sharply on the simulation.
"And the second plan?" he finally asked.
I sighed, my tone dropping to something graver, more grounded."The good old-fashioned bombing run. I can make a call. And in less than six hours, this place will be riddled with next-gen nuclear warheads, dropped with surgical precision from my launchers stationed at the Romanian border."
I brought up the satellite map of the region. Several red crosses appeared around the Megamycete site, each representing a potential impact vector."The strike is simple. Powerful. Radical. But… we don't know if it will be enough. The Megamycete has already survived chemical attacks, fire, bioweapons. This thing has an adaptive memory. And if the strike doesn't completely destroy it, we'll only trigger an evolutionary counterattack."
Luis sighed."So it's a desperation move. The ultimate weapon… with a failure probability of forty to sixty percent, according to our calculations."
"And you?" I asked, crossing my arms. "What are your proposals?"
Marcus finally lifted his eyes from his terminal, his expression grave."Two options. Attrition… or a centralized explosion."
He projected several diagrams onto the holographic interface, illustrating a complex network of roots buried deep underground. Red markers indicated Cadou cores scattered across the biomes controlled by the Megamycete."We wipe out all Cadou-bearing creatures around the root network. In theory, that weakens its hold and reduces its energy influx. Then we strike the roots and the main core. The problem is, this plan requires enormous amounts of time, resources… and manpower. It would be a long, slow… and dangerous siege."
I nodded, acknowledging the flaw in the plan.
Wesker Junior stepped forward, visibly more direct."Now that you've got Heisenberg, you can retrieve the mini-bombs you were going to use to blow up his factory, and instead we'll use them directly on the main body once we find it," he declared.
"Wait—blow up my factory?!" Karl barked, only to get a quick smack on the back of the head.
"Focus, and don't ruin my samples," Alexia ordered.
"Yes, ma'am," Karl muttered, repentant, as he returned to his work.
"If I think of a fusion of both plans," I said slowly, "then the best option would be to detonate the mini-bombs on the Megamycete's body before planting my bulbs. And if things go south… we level the whole area to dust, cutting off any chance of it recovering nutrients."
The three of them nodded at the plan.
"Alright then. Let's get started," I said as I stepped out to retrieve my mini-bombs.
(Author's note: now that's a solid plan ^^ imagine young Heisenberg here)