…
The cargo bay doors slid open.
Standing at the threshold and taking in the familiar surroundings, Ryan Cole let out a long, slow breath.
Almost the instant he stepped inside, a sweet, childlike voice echoed through the transit zone.
"Welcome home, my master."
"Red Queen," Ryan said as he stepped down from the transport,"have everything unloaded and secured."
"As you command, my master."
At the replica Red Queen's order, the waiting intelligent machines sprang into action.
Some handled cargo.Others began equipment maintenance.And the most critical asset of all—the massive Umbrella database—was immediately uploaded to a physically isolated server cluster.
This world had no shortage of black-tech.
To prevent his trump cards from being stolen, Ryan had deliberately constructed a database completely cut off from all external networks.
That way, even if the replica Red Queen were compromised from outside, the losses would remain containable.
Leaving the cleanup to the machines, Ryan dropped himself onto the medical platform.
"Red Queen," he said, closing his eyes,"give me a full report on everything that happened this past month."
According to the AI's report—a lot had happened.
First, Phil Coulson from S.H.I.E.L.D. had come knocking.Upon discovering Ryan was in the middle of a critical research phase, Coulson left a message requesting contact as soon as possible.
Second—Tony Stark.
Although the timeline had shifted, Ivan Vanko still made his move.
The difference was that Stark had already created a new element reactor before the confrontation—and had his chest injury fully treated.
This Iron Man was nothing like his original timeline counterpart.
With no physical limitations holding him back, Stark's inspiration exploded.
He'd already developed a new generation of Iron Man armor.
While it wasn't nearly as diverse as the suits seen in Iron Man 3, its overall performance far surpassed the Mark IV and Mark V models.
As Stark rose, Vanko naturally fell.
But despite reports claiming Ivan Vanko had died in a prison explosion, Ryan didn't believe a word of it.
Anyone capable of building a miniaturized Ark Reactor was far too valuable for the U.S. government—or HYDRA—to simply discard.
As for the wave of media outrage blaming Iron Man for collateral damage?
That was obviously government and HYDRA pressure at work.
After all, Stark had arrogantly claimed his tech would remain unmatched for twenty years—only to be proven wrong almost immediately.
To obtain reactor and armor technology, neither side would hesitate to apply force.
What truly caught Ryan's attention, however, was a monster attack reported in the Masirona Slums.
The news coverage was vague, and the information vanished almost instantly.
But based on data collected by the replica Red Queen—
The "monster" was almost certainly the Hulk.
After completing a full-body treatment on the medical platform, Ryan still didn't contact the outside world.
Instead, he upgraded his artificial intelligence.
During his month in the Resident Evil 3 world, Ryan hadn't just researched Umbrella's biotechnology—including the T-virus.
He had also combined:
The replica Red Queen
J.A.R.V.I.S. source code
The original White Queen
From those three systems, he created a new-generation artificial intelligence.
Its name:
Starbound Intelligence.
He'd considered calling it Skynet or StarNet.
But given the interstellar nature of this universe, "sky" felt too limiting.
"StarNet" sounded better—but that felt more like a network protocol than an AI entity.
And as a lifelong hardcore geek…
When it came to choosing the AI's avatar, Ryan didn't hesitate.
A loli form.
Pure, innocent aesthetics.Long black hair.Bare-faced.And, of course—strategic exaggerations where it counted.
Thanks to extensive prep work done in the Resident Evil world, the AI upgrade didn't take long.
Still, Ryan frowned slightly.
Starbound Intelligence vastly outperformed the replica Red Queen—but its hardware requirements were also far higher.
With current equipment, it was impossible to unlock its full potential.
Fortunately, this location was never meant to be more than a temporary base.
And even at reduced capacity, Starbound Intelligence still crushed the old system.
With the AI upgraded, all intelligent machines received immediate system overhauls as well.
Looking back on the trip—
Ryan's biggest surprise hadn't been Umbrella's technology.Nor was it K-Mart.
It was Alice.
More precisely—Alice's blood.
Her perfect fusion with the T-virus and the evolution of telekinesis hadn't been a fluke.
It was either an extraordinary accident—or an inevitable milestone in human evolution.
While developing the next-generation Divine Blood, Ryan discovered that Alice's blood significantly increased its stability.
That single discovery triggered a massive breakthrough.
…
Deep underground, hundreds of research-type intelligent machines stood before instruments and control stations, performing final calibrations.
"How are the final preparations?"
Ryan—dressed nothing like a researcher, wearing only thin sleepwear—stood before the main console.
"All systems calibrated and ready, my master," reported a research unit marked with a captain insignia on its left arm.
"Good."
Ryan stepped into the central chamber.
At its heart lay a cylindrical containment pod, half forged from special alloy, half from reinforced glass.
Its front panels were open—completely empty.
Once everything was confirmed ready, Ryan walked to the pod, removed his sleepwear, and stepped inside completely naked.
"Begin."
At his command, the pod sealed shut.
Hiss.
Perfect containment.
Streams of purple liquid flowed through the conduits into the chamber.
Within minutes, Ryan was fully submerged.
As the pod tilted horizontally, his body—suspended in the fluid—looked like it had been sealed inside a flawless purple crystal.
Already unconscious from inhaled gas, Ryan felt no discomfort as the transformation began.
Under precise machine control, five mid-sized Ark Reactors simultaneously ramped up power output.
Energy flooded the platform.
Dense arcs of electricity and blinding violet light engulfed the chamber.
The glow lasted nearly half an hour.
When it finally faded—
The purple liquid had become clear water.
And the figure inside was completely unrecognizable.
The liquid drained.
The pod rose upright.
Hiss.
The panels split open.
The instant the chamber fully opened, Ryan's eyes snapped open.
For a heartbeat—
It was as if the entire laboratory's light was swallowed by the violet glow swirling within his pupils.
When his eyes returned to normal, a smile spread across his now impossibly handsome face.
He floated out of the pod.
Yes—floated.
Ryan drifted to a full-length mirror prepared in advance.
Even with expectations set, the reflection still delivered a shock.
His height had surged from 5'9" to nearly 6'7".
His once-slender frame had become powerfully built—not bodybuilder huge, but perfectly proportioned.
Every muscle line carried a clean, lethal aesthetic.
His hair—once short and black—now cascaded down to his ankles in shimmering purple strands.
Purple eyes.Sharper features.An overwhelming presence.
Still hovering several inches above the floor, Ryan raised his right hand.
It changed—visibly.
Fingers elongated.Nails extended.Bones reshaped.
In seconds, it became a non-human beast claw.
(Comparable to the genetic visualization scene from Lucy.)
With a thought, the hand reverted.
Another thought—
His hair shortened.The purple faded.Black returned.
Within seconds, aside from standing at 6'2" and being noticeably more attractive, no trace of the transformation remained.