"Maria Gomez and Glenn Arias… So that's what this is all about." Daniel swiftly apprehended the brown-haired woman. As Rebecca anxiously rushed to check on Leon, Daniel took the opportunity to use his double-handed technique to access Maria's memories, uncovering their plans and why they had targeted Rebecca.
Glenn Arias, an arms dealer in the underground world, had significant power and influence, making him a high-priority target for law enforcement. Yet his elusive nature frustrated the FBI, and even a recent attempt by the U.S. government to eliminate him had failed.
During Glenn's wedding, a powerful missile struck the island hosting the ceremony, instantly turning the celebration into a funeral. Everyone on the island perished, except for Glenn, Maria Gomez, and her father, who narrowly escaped death.
Glenn survived due to the protection of his bride, while Maria's father shielded her from the explosion. Her father, a robust man, endured long enough for Glenn to turn him into a bio-weapon, loyal only to Glenn and Maria.
Unfortunately, Glenn's wife wasn't as fortunate. As an ordinary person, she was torn apart in the blast.
After recovering, Glenn launched a campaign of revenge against society and the world at large. His plans led to the recent bio-terror attacks throughout the U.S., most of which could be traced back to Glenn.
While primarily known as an arms dealer, Glenn was also a highly educated scientist with a Ph.D. in biochemistry, among other fields.
Fueled by rage over his wife's death and the loss of friends and family, Glenn began plotting his revenge.
His first target was the general who had authorized the missile strike on his wedding. Although Glenn lacked the means to take down a high-ranking military official directly, his powerful allies—Tricell, Hydra, and remnants of the Umbrella Corporation—assisted him in the act. Indeed, "like a centipede refusing to die," Umbrella had managed to survive against all odds.
"Alex Wesker… So it's another alliance of powerful women." Daniel had assumed Umbrella had been almost entirely consumed by rival corporations like Tricell and Hydra. However, it seemed that Alex Wesker had stabilized what remained of Umbrella, rebuilding it under her leadership.
Alex Wesker and Albert Wesker shared no familial ties. Both were part of a program led by an old scientist who adopted and trained one hundred children worldwide under the Wesker name, ultimately leaving only two survivors—Albert and Alex.
The arrangement was reminiscent of the "candidates" for presidential succession raised by the homunculus in a certain alchemist's world. These "Weskers" were trained in ruthless competition, with the last survivors standing as the victors.
"This woman survived? This world keeps getting more interesting. What was that little girl's name again?" Daniel recalled that Alex had been researching a virus capable of transferring her consciousness. Unlike the Operation Fruit in another world, which allowed easy body-switching, Alex's method had strict requirements. Yet her experiments reportedly succeeded.
This situation was tricky. With Alex actively concealing her new host, Daniel would face considerable difficulty identifying which child now bore Alex's consciousness—assuming she hadn't switched bodies already.
The bio-plotline, by this point, could only serve as a loose reference, as Maria Gomez's memories revealed only a name but no meeting with Alex herself.
Unbeknownst to Daniel, the bio-plot had already fragmented, diverging far from its original form.
Maria and her father had targeted Rebecca to assassinate her, a plan shared for Leon, Chris, and other bio-terrorism combatants, as their interference had foiled many of their past operations. Glenn initially intended to assassinate Rebecca quickly using Maria's father's formidable firepower, but after seeing Rebecca's resemblance to his late wife, he decided instead to capture her—a decision that ultimately led him to Daniel.
"I'm sorry… they took my daughter… please save her." Back at the restaurant, a man whose legs had been shredded by Gatling fire clutched Leon's hand, apologizing repeatedly as he slipped a memory card into Leon's palm.
This man was the one who had betrayed Leon's team, resulting in the deaths of his comrades and leaving Leon as the sole survivor. His betrayal had been coerced by the kidnapping of his daughter. Whether she would share the same fate as Barry Burton's daughter remained uncertain.
Leon's anger toward this man was palpable, yet with the traitor now deceased and the reason for his actions revealed, Leon found himself at a loss.
"I'll take this woman into custody." After a moment of silence, Leon prepared to hand Maria Gomez over to the FBI for interrogation. Daniel and Rebecca offered no objections, acknowledging that Leon held the official authority here, and the incident required a formal response.
"Let me drive her." Daniel quickly interrupted when Leon offered to drive Rebecca, thinking it too dangerous. Entrusting her to Leon's notorious luck with vehicles felt reckless, even though Leon's "vehicle curse" didn't always apply.
"Leon ran into trouble—the prisoner was rescued. We should remain cautious," Daniel remarked as he observed Leon's flipped car in the distance. Leon sat dejectedly on a nearby rock, while the speed of Glenn's intervention took even Daniel by surprise.
"Chris?" Rebecca, having just ended her call with Leon, immediately dialed Chris. She held deep admiration for Chris and Jill, veterans of bio-terror combat who could have easily taken up leadership roles in bio-terror defense.
"Where are you? I need to speak with you."
"You're in town? I'm on my way. Let's meet at the lab," Chris replied.
"Care to join me for a visit with Chris?"
"No need. I've got some things to take care of at the lab." While Daniel had been interested in meeting Chris, Glenn's escape forced him to prioritize Glenn's immediate capture.
From Maria Gomez's memories, Daniel learned of Glenn's plan to transform New York into another Raccoon City or Busan. His preparations were extensive, and he was on the verge of unleashing his scheme.
The Beast Virus—a new strain Glenn had engineered using the T-virus and the Las Plagas parasite, also known as the A-virus—was harmless without a trigger. This allowed Glenn to spread it across New York undetected through a local bottled water company, intending to activate it with a secondary agent.
Daniel couldn't allow Glenn's plan to succeed now that he knew of it. Glenn had intended to wait for broader spread before activating the virus, but now he might strike prematurely.
"Bold move. He probably thinks he's already dead," Daniel thought, noting Glenn's audacity in establishing a base in a New York skyscraper. On paper, it was a legitimate business, but in reality, it served as Glenn's research hub and was filled with controlled zombies.
Years of bio-crises had spurred advances in control technology, allowing not only Tyrants but even zombies to be directed, albeit in a limited capacity.
"Next time, I'll leave a Flying Thunder God marker for backup." Daniel hadn't expected Leon's prisoner to escape. Leon's strength had seemed reliable, as the "One Man Army" capable of taking down entire villages and cults. But what's done was done, and Daniel made a mental note for future precautions.
"Hello there." Daniel materialized suddenly before Glenn and Maria, who reflexively aimed their weapons at him. But before they could fire, chains appeared and ensnared them both.
"Trying to transform? These aren't ordinary chains," Daniel said as Glenn struggled to break free. He had injected himself with the Beast Virus to enhance his strength but found himself helpless against the enchanted restraints.
"So it's already begun," Daniel muttered as he extracted Glenn's memories, learning that he had already instructed his operatives to unleash the virus. Daniel quickly called Stark for help.
"What's he doing?" Daniel muttered as he reached Stark's voicemail and switched to contacting Natasha instead.
"Daniel, you never call," Natasha answered promptly.
"There's trouble," Daniel explained the situation quickly.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Would I joke about this? You need to destroy those tanker trucks before the gas disperses. I'll work on an antidote."
"Understood. Stay on the line." Natasha immediately sounded the base's alarms, and Quicksilver appeared almost instantly—no one in the Avengers could match his speed.
Even among the Inhumans, only one individual could move nearly as fast, though he had to return to his starting point after each burst of speed, severely limiting his utility.
"What's going on?" Soon, Hawkeye, Banner, Stark, Scarlet Witch, and Captain America joined them.
"We're dealing with a bio-terror threat," Natasha briefed them and instructed Daniel to open a Mystic Gateway to New York for the Avengers.
While the Avengers had their speedy Quinjet, the Mystic Gateway was vastly quicker, which was why Natasha had kept the line open.
"Understood," Daniel replied, opening the portal to Glenn's base.
"Stark, Wanda, Pietro—you three destroy the tankers. We'll follow and stay in contact. Natasha, locate every tanker," Captain America ordered as they prepared to move.
Quicksilver was the first to vanish, followed closely by Stark in his nanotech suit and Scarlet Witch flying alongside.
"Banner, you're with me on the antidote."
"And the monsters in here are ours to handle."
"Not a problem."
Glenn's facility housed numerous zombies. Initially, Daniel had intended to handle them alone, but with the Avengers present, he was happy to leave the cleanup to them.
"What a twisted man," Daniel thought, reflecting on Glenn's intentions for Rebecca. Glenn had planned to graft his deceased wife's preserved arm, which still wore her wedding ring, onto Rebecca as a grotesque tribute. He had kept the arm in pristine condition for this very
purpose.
With Captain America's approval, Daniel dealt with Glenn and Maria Gomez before the Avengers arrived, sparing them the moral dilemma of whether to execute Glenn. Daniel couldn't trust American prisons to contain someone like him. Glenn's Beast Virus, with its delayed activation, posed too significant a threat.
Banner, a bio-expert himself, had collaborated with Daniel, and the two quickly synthesized a vaccine from Glenn's research.
"This data should be erased. Not even we need it," Captain America agreed, and Daniel used fire to destroy all the lab's equipment, erasing any trace of the virus.
He then, with Captain America's consent, burned down the entire building to ensure nothing remained.
"This mission would've been impossible without Quicksilver." Pietro's speed had proven essential in dismantling the tankers, his agility unmatched by even Iron Man's suits over short distances.
In the end, the incident was classified as a terror attack, not a bio-terror one.
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