Ada Wong's tone was calm, but Lex Williams could hear the warning beneath it.
"Difficult," she repeated, folding her arms. "Not impossible. But Umbrella doesn't guard that place with ordinary troops. Bio-weapons, automated defenses, aerial surveillance… and whatever new monstrosities they've been developing."
The White Queen projected a holographic map of the Kamchatka Peninsula. A red marker blinked over a frozen harbor carved into black rock, surrounded by snowfields and jagged cliffs.
"Satellite data indicates multiple underground levels," the AI said. "Thermal signatures suggest heavy manufacturing, storage silos, and large containment chambers."
Lex studied the map in silence.
If they could seize that base, the payoff would be enormous—materials, equipment, perhaps even information about the origin of the zombie virus. But the risk was equally high. Umbrella didn't lose major facilities easily.
"How many combatants could we field?" he asked.
Ada answered immediately. "Alice's Legion can deploy about forty active fighters. With mechanized support, maybe fifty effective units. More if we arm civilian volunteers, but I don't recommend that."
"Air support?"
"Limited," Ada said. "A few transport aircraft, two gunships. Nothing that could survive sustained anti-air fire."
Lex nodded slowly. Not enough for a frontal assault.
He looked again at the map, then at the White Queen. "What about infiltration?"
"Possible," the AI replied. "But interior layouts are incomplete. Probability of detection remains high."
Lex exhaled. "Everything about Umbrella is high risk."
Ada watched him carefully. "You're thinking about hitting it anyway."
"Yes," he said simply. "Sooner or later we have to cut into them. They're behind too much of what's happening in this world."
He turned away from the hologram and paced slowly across the floor, boots echoing in the cavernous hangar.
"Still," he added, "not yet. We're not ready."
Ada's shoulders relaxed slightly. She had been expecting him to order an immediate assault.
"What's the priority now?" she asked.
"General Zod," Lex replied. "And Superman."
That silenced the room for a moment.
Even among hardened fighters, those two names carried weight.
"The kryptonite mech is ready," Ada said at last, gesturing toward the newly completed armor. "Power output is stable. Radiation shielding is within acceptable limits."
Lex walked toward it.
Up close, the armor looked darker than the original Black Dragon frame, its surface veined with faint green lines where kryptonite energy conduits ran beneath the plating. The air around it felt subtly charged, like the static before a storm.
"Have you tested it in combat conditions?" he asked.
"Not yet," Ada admitted. "But all simulations are promising."
Lex reached out and rested a hand on the metal. The suit responded, panels shifting slightly as if recognizing him.
"This," he said quietly, "might be what decides the next battle."
—
An hour later, Lex stepped back through a portal into his room at the New York shelter.
The air smelled faintly of dust and old concrete. Voices drifted in from the corridor—survivors arguing over rations, someone coughing, a child crying somewhere far off.
For a moment, the ordinary misery of the place felt almost surreal after the cold precision of the underground base.
He sat down and closed his eyes briefly, letting his thoughts settle.
General Zod was active. Superman was roaming unpredictably. Umbrella was consolidating power. And now magic-using zombies were appearing more frequently.
The world was accelerating toward something… a tipping point he could almost feel but not yet see.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Come in," Lex said.
Barbara stepped inside, still in partial tactical gear, her expression curious and slightly nervous.
"Mr. Wayne says he'll be ready by tomorrow morning," she said. "He's preparing equipment."
Lex nodded. "Good."
Barbara hesitated, then asked, "Is it really that dangerous? Fighting someone like Zod?"
"Yes," Lex said plainly. "More dangerous than anything you've seen."
She absorbed that in silence.
"But," he added, "danger doesn't mean impossible."
Barbara gave a small, determined nod. "If there's anything I can do—"
"For now," Lex interrupted gently, "keep learning. That's more important than you think."
She seemed about to argue, then stopped and smiled faintly. "All right."
After she left, Lex leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.
Tomorrow, he would return to Gotham again—this time with Bruce Wayne at his side, and soon after, with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Lex Luthor drawn into the same operation.
General Zod wouldn't know what was coming.
And if things went wrong…
Lex closed his eyes again, feeling the immense strength of the Hulk's power coiled somewhere deep inside him, like a sleeping storm.
Then they would improvise.
....
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