Hellfire Club - New York
It took the Black King thirty minutes to process the influx of data.
When his eyes finally focused, the shock was replaced by a hungry grin.
"Ernst," Shaw breathed, flexing his hands.
"Where did you find this? This... architecture? It turns our skin into a kinetic fortress."
"It's not magic, Father," Ernst lied smoothly, avoiding the truth about the Reality Stone.
"It's advanced bio-physics. I ran simulations on our genetic structure. We were leaking energy like a sieve. This technique creates a closed loop, a feedback circuit that reinforces density."
Shaw stood up, pacing the room with newfound energy.
"And the power source? You used electricity."
"It's clean," Ernst explained.
"Nuclear energy is potent, but the radiation degrades cellular bonds over time. Until our mutation evolves to filter isotopes, electricity is the safer fuel. It promotes regeneration."
Shaw nodded, his mind already racing with possibilities.
"I can get you a reactor, Ernst. If you want to push the limits, "
"Not yet," Ernst cut in.
"We build the foundation first."
"Dad," Ernst shifted the topic.
"The guards. Did they suspect anything?"
Shaw frowned.
"No, Emma is telepathically looping their perceptions. They thought you were researching the new material you went to gather. But their Captain... he's stubborn. He demanded to see you two days ago. Schmidt sent an urgent recall order."
"Is Emma alright?"
"She's resting. Holding a illusion for that long is taxing she is too young."
Ernst nodded. Schmidt is desperate. Something broke.
"I have to go," Ernst said, checking his watch.
"If I stall any longer, Schmidt will send a kill squad."
Shaw placed a heavy hand on Ernst's shoulder.
"Go. Play their game. But remember, Ernst, we are the next step in evolution. Time is on our side. Don't rush into a grave."
"I intend to live forever, Father."
The Airfield
The Hydra Captain looked like a man on the way to the gallows.
When he saw Ernst approach, he nearly collapsed with relief.
"Dr. Ernst! Thank God. The General... if I didn't bring you back..."
Ernst adjusted his glasses, looking indifferent.
"I was in the middle of a breakthrough. This better be important."
"It's the Serum," the Captain whispered, looking around nervously.
"It's finished. General Schmidt... he took it himself seven days ago."
Ernst paused. Seven days ago?
Erskine wasn't supposed to be ready for months.
"And?" Ernst asked.
"Something went wrong," the Captain shuddered.
"You'll see."
Hydra Base - The Medical Wing
The flight back was tense.
Upon landing, Ernst wasn't taken to the office, but to the quarantined medical bay.
The air smelled of ozone and burnt flesh.
Ernst walked in, followed by Azazel.
In the center of the room, hooked up to a dozen monitoring machines, sat a figure.
He was no longer Johann Schmidt.
The skin had been flayed from his face, or perhaps retreated, leaving behind a crimson, hairless visage.
His nose was gone, replaced by a nasal slit.
His muscle mass had doubled, straining against his uniform, but his head... his head was a blood-red skull.
Ernst masked his recognition.
He knew this face from the comics, but he had to play the role of the shocked scientist.
"Mein Gott," Ernst whispered, stepping forward.
Schmidt turned. His eyes were burning with a new, terrifying intensity.
"Are you horrified, Doctor?" Schmidt asked, his voice rasping like sandpaper on stone.
"Do not be. This is evolution. This is what a god looks like. I feel... infinite."
Ernst switched gears instantly.
He pulled out a stethoscope and walked right up to the monster, ignoring the aura of malice.
"Horrified? No," Ernst said, his eyes scanning the biometric readouts.
"I am fascinated. Look at your heart rate. Your metabolic output is off the charts. You've shed the inefficiencies of the human form."
He touched Schmidt's red skin with a gloved hand.
"Dermal temperature is 104 degrees. Constant. You are running hot, General."
Schmidt smirked, a gruesome stretching of red tissue.
"You are the only one who sees the beauty in this, Ernst. The others... they tremble."
"They are small men," Ernst scoffed.
"But tell me, why the epidermal loss? The formula shouldn't have caused necrosis."
Schmidt's expression darkened.
He gestured to Dr. Erskine, who was cowering in the corner, looking pale and terrified.
"That is what you must find," Schmidt growled.
"We followed the procedure. But the transformation... took a toll."
"I need the data," Ernst said, turning to Erskine.
Ernst looked at Erskine.
He needed to know if the doctor had sabotaged the batch, or if Schmidt's impatience had simply bypassed the safety protocols he had suggested, specifically, the Vita-Rays.
"Walk me through it," Ernst commanded.
"Step by step."
————
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