POV William Stryker
"Mr Stryker, we've invested heavily in your research, but we have yet to see the results you promised," said an older man with glasses and a sharp suit.
"I understand what I am asking for is a bit much, but I have run out of samples, and unless I can get ahold of either Weapon X or his brother, research will struggle to progress," I reply calmly.
"I understand why you want the materials, but what I can't understand is why we would help you?" the man says.
"That is an excellent question. Which is why I would like to introduce you to the three successful subjects from my project," I reply.
"Three?" the man says with surprise.
"Yes, three. First is X-21 Lady Deathstrike, who has gone through the Adamantium Binding Process and has inherited the healing factor of Weapon-X. She has been more than capable in her duties, though she has some kinks to work out," I reply while showing the recordings of her abilities.
"Impressive, who's next?" the man says.
"Next is more of a happy accident. X-17 Viper, she has not gone through the Adamantium Binding Process due to her far weaker healing ability, but she has developed far more varied abilities. Extremely lethal venom that she secretes from her mouth. It's strong enough to kill an average human with only a few drops," I explain while showing her profile.
"Hmm, not as impressive, but I suppose it's a start," the man replies.
"Which is why I left the most promising for last. X-23, no codename yet. She has inherited much of her fathers abilites. And in many ways surpassed him. She hasn't undergone the Adamantium Binding Process because she is still a child and has much more time to fully develop. But already she has proven to be extremely lethal," I say with a smile and show off the data I have on her.
"Impressive. Very impressive. Though why hide them from us until now?" the man asks.
"I had to be certain who I was working with," I reply while looking at him closely.
"Oh? And who do you believe we are?" the man asks with a blank stare.
"Hydra," I reply calmly.
"A bold claim. I recall that Hydra was destroyed shortly after the end of the Second World War. But let's humor you, would that be a deal breaker?" the man asks.
"Far from it. Hydra makes sense, and they won't bring up moral considerations in my research. And your resources would be very useful for my goals, and since our goals align, I see no reason to hide my cards," I reply with a fake smile.
"Hmm, very well. You shall have your materials and your support. However, if you want to join Hydra, you'll need to part with X-21 and X-17, do that and I can assure you a high-ranking position, which comes with immense reach and resources," the man replies coldly.
"Deal," I say with some reluctance.
"Good to hear. It was a pleasure, Mr Stryker, I hope to hear good things from you," the man says as he gets up and walks to the door.
Once he leaves, I let the fear and nervousness go and remove my sweat-covered back from my chair. I had lost a bit in the negotiation, but I was still able to secure funding and resources. The loss of X-17 and X-21 was annoying, but since my control over them was dubious at best, I will take what I can get. After all, they still don't know the real cards that I hadn't revealed. And with enough effort, I could turn X-23 into a real weapon.
'All in due time. All in due time.'
POV Shift Nick Fury
"Tell me you have good news," I say, exhaustion no longer concealed.
"Well, I can say that the Xenomorphs have been forced back to their main hive. And our best estimates, but their numbers are under 200k. The Security Council also got you your WMD, though they said this was a one-time thing," Coulson reports.
"Well, that's good enough news," I reply with a slightly relieved tone.
"Yes, sir, but I'm afraid I have bad news," Coulson reports.
"Of course you do, say it," I reply while fighting off a migraine.
"The Navies of the Coalition and their armed forces have retreated. We're on our own now. They've also pulled our resource budget. We've been blocked from filling the large gap in personnel until the Xenomorph situation is resolved. Project Insight has also been shelved for the foreseeable future. News leaked of the massive loss of fossil fuels, and the news spread rapidly. The world economy is in free fall. The UK has officially banned Shield from its borders. Mr Stark is greatly upset that we kept his fathers posession from him, and we've confirmed he no longer suffers from Palladium poisoning, and his chest cavity is also solved, though we have no idea how. There's a war between High Table members in Europe that has weakened our control. The Illuminati struck several of our facilities, and we've lost quite a few agents, further weakening our influence. The Avengers Program has also been shut down due to budget concerns. And lastly, our new budget has come in, and it's... Not good, sir," Coulson reports.
I stare at him with a slack jaw.
"Motherf*cker! Do you have any more bad news you want to drop on me!?" I say with great indignation.
I was practically done with this crap, and I felt I would like to retire right about now.
"Uh, we've discovered a large crater in Wakanda that we don't know the origins of," Coulson reports diligently.
"That wasn't an order! But this is! Get the f*ck out of my office!" I yell.
Coulson retreats swiftly, and I immediately pull out the bottle of vintage Bourbon I had been saving for a special occasion, but I needed a drink, and I needed one now. I was dangerously close to having an aneurysm.
'Sorry, Doc, but I need to self-medicate today.'
POV Shift Bolivar Trask
"Mr Trask, we've succeeded!" Dr Dregan reports.
"Really? We've tested it on the loyal daughters?" I ask with interest.
"Yes, we've tested it on them and confirmed they are no longer contagious. Though we did see a slight decrease in their capabilities. But that's fine since we've done it! We've saved the Human race from a potential Xenomorph-level threat," Dr Dregan reports excitedly.
"Congratulations are in order. But only after we test it on the less cooperative ones. The Queen is vaccinated last. We can't risk her trying another escape attempt," I caution.
"Of course. T-Though, uh..." Dr Dregan says nervously.
"Sigh. I know that monster is dangerous, honestly, she's even more dangerous than the Queen. While it might be hard to vaccinate that monster, as long as we don't try to kill her, it should be possible. Slip it into her food, gas her, I don't care how you do it, just get it done, whatever sacrifices that are required will not be in vain," I order.
"Yes, sir," Dr Dregan replies.
"But still, I'll authorize a major bonus for everyone on the team. And a month-long paid vacation. The next project will be figuring out how to kill that monster and possibly studying the Queen more," I reply with a smile.
"Thank you, Mr Trask. I'm sure everyone on the team will be ecstatic to hear it. But I should get started on the vaccinations," Dr Dregan replies before leaving.
Once he leaves my office, I start to consider where to go from here.
'Three generations of the Trask family, and I'm the one to complete it. Wish you were here to see it, Father.'
The next week was peaceful, with only a loss of 6 personnel when we vaccinated Bloody Mary. That monster was always a pain in the ass to deal with. But with time, I was confident we could finally kill that monster. I would avenge my father. But those thoughts were shattered when I heard the alarms blare, and I checked the security feed.
'Dear God, no! Not her!'
"All personnel, Code RED I repeat CODE RED! Don't let Bloody Mary escape!" I scream over the intercom.
I didn't stick around to see what the result would be, as I knew that whenever a breakout like this happened, I was always the main target. Moreover, anywhere from 70-80% of all personnel on site would perish while we get her back into her containment chamber. As such, I would evacuate alongside much of the research staff to a secondary location until the situation was under control.
Thankfully, it was just as I anticipated. I got away safely, and a much more reasonable 68% of personnel died in the containment breach. Since most of those men were expendable, I couldn't care less about those losses. I could have them replenished in about a month. Once the all clear was sent, I sent the researchers back to work as we still had one last vaccination to do. The Queen. Patient Zero. The very reason my family has spent three generations working on curing a possible crisis to humanity.
I returned to work as well as I had to finalize some final test results, and we needed to make sure that the cure worked against the Queen. She was the origin of the disease, so it was possible that she might not react the same way. Or perhaps she would adapt to it. I'm sure we will see, given that Dr Dregan will be running the scans in person.
"I should add extra security measures just in case something goes awry," I comment to myself.
I did just that and hired some extra last-minute security, though their quality was a bit questionable.
'Whatever, they're expendables anyway.'
It was as I was thinking of that, that I saw the process had begun. First came the gas, then the several tests to ensure she was unconscious. Once they were confident, they began administering the vaccine. I kept a close eye on the results, and they looked very promising. But then the sh*t hit the fan after they had administered the entire vaccine. A guard lost their arm, and it was clear she was awake.
"How!?" I screamed in anger.
I watched as she killed everyone in her chamber, and I had to quickly get myself together. She was trying to escape, and this was the worst time this could happen.
"Attention All Personnel! Code Pink! I repeat CODE PINK! Don't let her escape!" I yell over the intercom.
'I'll deploy those loyal daughters if I have to. She can't be allowed to escape.'