The laboratory was darker than usual, lit only by the cold, flickering glow of machines humming in rhythm. Vials of glowing liquid bubbled softly in reinforced glass tubes, connected by coiled wires and surgical steel.
Mr. Crow stood silently in front of the main console, arms folded behind his back. His expression was unreadable, but the weight of his presence pressed against the walls like a looming storm.
Three scientists stood near him, their lab coats damp with sweat. One of them nervously tapped a pen against a datapad, then finally spoke.
"We've stabilized the compound, sir. The formula is ready. No side effects… this time."
Mr. Crow's eyes didn't blink. "Dosage?"
"A single vial will enhance physical and mental performance far beyond human levels—for a limited time. Long enough to devastate a city… or conquer one."
"Good," Mr. Crow said calmly. "This is what I wanted."
He turned slightly to the side. Rex stepped forward, his hulking figure casting a shadow across the scientists.
Mr. Crow looked at him and spoke with quiet certainty.
"Prepare yourself, Rex. The war is coming."
Far from the island, back in Devil's Side—
On the rooftop where their journey had begun just days ago, Bunnyman, Lady Tape, and Deadknight gathered beneath the cloudy morning sky.
Lady Tape sat cross-legged, her eyes distant as she adjusted the tape around her wrists, tightening it like a fighter lacing up her gloves.
Deadknight leaned against a metal pipe, inspecting his blade. The dark scuffs and scratches from the last battle still lingered along its edge.
Bunnyman stood at the edge of the rooftop. The bruises on his arms had faded, but the fire in his eyes hadn't.
"We're not ready," he muttered.
Lady Tape looked up. "We'll never be. Not completely."
"That's why we prepare anyway," Deadknight added, voice steady.
They'd been training, mapping the city, planning scenarios, gathering intel. They knew now—Mr. Crow wasn't just a criminal. He was the beginning of something worse. Something calculated.
Bunnyman glanced back at them. "We stop him, no matter what it takes."
Lady Tape smirked slightly. "Now that's the Bunnyman I like hearing."
Back on the island, Rex stood before a row of soldiers—men clad in black tactical armor, their faces covered, their stances rigid. They were more than a gang now. They were a force.
Mr. Crow stood behind them, gazing at a large screen showing a map of Devil's Side. Red marks covered key locations—places of power, chaos, and control.
He raised one hand and placed it on Rex's shoulder.
"This Christmas…" Mr. Crow said slowly, his voice sharp like a blade, "will be a very memorable one for the people of this city."
Rex smiled slightly, the corner of his mouth twitching with anticipation.
The lights in the lab dimmed further.
And somewhere far away, in the silence of snow clouds gathering over Devil's Side, the winds carried only one feeling—
Something terrible was about to begin.