Nathan charged out of the flaming laboratory, a rifle clutched in one hand and a bloodstained surgical blade in the other.
His eyes—clear and calculating—were locked forward. There was no hesitation, no panic.
Only purpose.
Back in the command center of Research Group 71, the person in charge stared at the surveillance feed in disbelief, his entire body trembling.
He never could have imagined it.
A mere researcher—codename 05—had actually succeeded in developing the Super Soldier Serum.
The same serum that had defeated decades of effort from the U.S. military, S.H.I.E.L.D., and HYDRA alike.
The same formula that had created Captain America—and was thought lost forever.
Yet here it was… recreated not by a genius scientist or battle-hardened commander, but by a young man in his twenties, quiet and unassuming.
The man choked on his words. "How… how is this even possible?"
From another feed, Baron Strucker's voice echoed coldly through the line. "What happened?"
At that same moment, Strucker, seated in a dark, secure facility elsewhere in the world, reopened the surveillance feeds from Research Group 71.
The internal cameras of the lab were already destroyed.
But the hallway footage was intact.
There, caught by the corridor cam, a blood-soaked young man with black hair sprinted through the corridor, rifle strapped over his shoulder, surgical blade gleaming in his grip.
Strucker's eyes narrowed as he leaned closer to the screen.
The man's expression was calm. Controlled. Entirely lucid.
Not the look of a deranged mutant—but that of a predator.
"Is that the one?" Strucker's voice was tight with anticipation. "The man who injected the serum?"
The group leader hesitated, then replied with a tremor in his voice. "Y-yes, my lord Baron!"
Strucker shot to his feet.
"Capture him. Capture this man alive. DO NOT kill him!"
His voice boomed through the call.
"If you succeed, all of your previous failures will be forgiven. I'll see to it personally that you are rewarded!"
For a man like Strucker—always obsessed with replicating Captain America—this was a miracle.
HYDRA's previous super soldiers were flawed at best: unstable, easily enraged, and psychologically broken. Most required freezing or reconditioning to remain usable.
But this?
This was a clean transformation. A real success.
A stable super soldier—one they could study, dissect, and replicate.
The dream of a super soldier army—no longer a fantasy.
Strucker didn't hesitate.
He picked up a second phone. "Deploy an elite task force. Send support immediately to Research Group 71. And send the super soldiers."
"Capture the transformed subject. Asian male. Black hair. Black eyes. Name is Nathan."
---
Back at the Research Group 71 control center, the supervisor was regaining his composure.
"Yes, my lord!" he barked into the communicator.
Then, turning to his guards: "Everyone, listen carefully! You are NOT to kill him!"
"If anyone puts a bullet in him—I'll personally make sure you regret it."
Dozens of security personnel mobilized. Alarms wailed. Boots thundered down the hallways.
---
Nathan heard them coming.
He didn't run.
He waited in the narrow corridor—tight, dark, and unforgiving.
A perfect place for close combat.
The moment the guards turned the corner, he struck.
Using a fallen body as a shield, he barreled forward. The surgical blade danced in his hand, flashing like silver lightning.
Screams tore through the corridor. Gunfire erupted—but it was useless in the tight quarters.
Blood splashed against the walls.
Men dropped like dominos.
Nathan was unstoppable.
He fought like a phantom—swift, silent, and surgical.
By the time the smoke cleared, he was the only one left standing.
The path to the control room lay open.
---
Without pause, Nathan sprinted forward and burst into the command room.
He eliminated the few guards inside within seconds, and dashed to the main terminal.
His fingers flew across the keyboard.
Data flowed like rivers across the screens—classified files, genetic blueprints, HYDRA's black ops logs.
He inserted a high-capacity portable hard drive and began copying everything.
Among the thousands of files, one stood out.
"James Logan."
Wolverine.
Nathan's eyes narrowed.
Wolverine's regeneration was legendary. He was virtually immortal.
That power… was next on Nathan's list.
"I must survive. If I can't die—then I can win."
If Wolverine's abilities could be transferred to others—like how Deadpool received his healing factor—then they could be replicated again.
He would make it his.
---
But that was only step one.
As the data downloaded, Nathan scanned more files—mutant profiles, enhanced beings, old experiments, and failed prototypes.
Each file added another piece to his evolving vision.
A grand plan. An impossible dream.
Nathan no longer dreamed of just being a super soldier.
No.
He wanted to evolve.
To transcend.
To become something like Superman—reborn in the Marvel Universe.
Faster than a speeding bullet. Stronger than ten men. Eyes that could see across the planet. Skin that could withstand nuclear fire.
Flight. Strength. Energy manipulation.
Sunlight-powered invincibility.
"I will become more than human," Nathan whispered. "More than hero. A god among men."
He knew it wouldn't be easy. It wouldn't be fast.
But it was possible.
And now—he had the blueprint.
---
With a final beep, the hard drive completed its copy.
Nathan yanked it from the terminal and tucked it safely into his pocket.
"Now it's time to go."
He glanced through the observation window. More guards were regrouping outside.
He grinned. Blood on his face made the smile look monstrous.
Whoosh!
He burst from the room like a thunderbolt, blade first.
The guards didn't stand a chance.
They fired—missed.
He was too fast. Too strong. Too precise.
They fell one by one.
Nothing could stop him now.
---
Far away, in a HYDRA base deep in Tennessee, reinforcements were already mobilizing.
Military trucks rumbled down roads, each one filled with armed soldiers. They split into more than ten convoys to avoid detection, taking alternate routes.
Inside the trucks—veteran HYDRA operatives, experienced in suppressing threats with deadly efficiency.
In the skies above, an invisible aircraft roared through the clouds, undetected by radar.
Inside it, four super soldiers sat—expressionless, silent, lethal.
They were HYDRA's most dangerous creations.
Their eyes burned with cold menace.
Their bodies were weapons.
Each one had killed before. Each one could do it again.
---
Back in Research Group 71, the man in charge clenched his fists as he watched Nathan cut down squad after squad.
"This man… if I capture him… I'll rise higher than anyone in HYDRA."
He turned and pressed a hidden button beneath the console.
"You didn't think HYDRA relied only on grunts and rifles, did you?"
He smiled cruelly.
Something deep below the facility stirred.