----
A series of enhanced soldiers burst out of Oscorp Tower each one a product of Phoenix Serum 2.0.
While Version 3.0 did exist, it was classified, expensive, and still undergoing refinement. Mass-producing it would risk exposure and financial collapse.
Version 2.0 was good enough.
As for General Ross, Nolan already had plans to supply him with a "limited-tier" Version 3.0—a weaker strain. The true version… that stayed in-house.
He'd already learned that people's bodies reacted differently to regenerative genes—adaptability varied.
But he possessed the Spirit of Evolution. His body integrated everything with precision.
Surprisingly, Dr. Curt Connors, who once tested the Lizard Serum, adapted better than even Norman Osborn or Harry.
Still, all of them—regardless of tier—were vastly stronger than the early 1.0 and 2.0 test groups.
For Nolan's Undying Corps, Phoenix 2.0 was more than enough.
---
Above the battlefield, Max Dillon wore a pair of high-tech goggles. Through them, he saw every living being's bioelectric signature like glowing silhouettes.
His enhanced vision streamed back to Oscorp's mainframe, feeding targeting data directly to every Undying Soldier in the field.
It didn't matter how good the ninjas were.
The Hand's techniques were built around suppressing sound, heartbeat, and breathing.
But bioelectricity? If you were alive, Max could see you.
---
Inside the Hand's infiltration unit, panic was setting in.
"How do they see us?!"
Their leader growled as waves of Oscorp's enhanced soldiers charged directly toward them, ignoring shadows and stealth.
They fought in coordinated trios, each striking with brutal purpose.
"Thhhhunk!"
Katanas flashed from their sheaths. Cold steel met modern firearms.
But the soldiers didn't flinch—they had trained for this.
With surgical timing, they drew their pistols and fired in unison.
Gunshots lit the battlefield.
Modern gunslinging met ancient swordplay.
"American Iaido" versus "Japanese Iaido."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Bullets deflected off flashing blades, sparks flying.
The Hand's assassins advanced swiftly—one closing the gap to his target, Andy, a lead soldier under Klaw.
Andy wasn't special when he enlisted.
He had cancer. Terminal.
He volunteered for the Phoenix Initiative to escape death.
Now?
He was reborn.
His cancer had reversed. His cells regenerated constantly.
He was stronger, faster, harder to kill.
And he was loyal—because Nolan had given him his life back.
Andy kept firing, aiming for vital points, unflinching as the assassin's katana deflected every shot.
The ninja—Kamigawa Shinjin, one of Madame Gao's elite—closed the distance in a flash.
His blade sliced across Andy's throat, fast and clean.
To him, it was over.
No one survived that strike. No one ever had.
He turned to attack the next soldier—
Click.
"…Going somewhere?"
A massive hand grabbed his shoulder.
Kamigawa turned in horror.
Andy.
Alive.
Not only alive—uninjured.
Blood had barely dried before the wound vanished.
Andy grinned coldly and emptied his pistol into Kamigawa's back.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Each shot blew through muscle and organs. Even the most conditioned Hand warrior couldn't withstand high-caliber bullets and internal trauma.
"Why aren't you dead…?" Kamigawa gasped, collapsing.
"Guess," Andy smiled, touching his now-pristine neck.
"Capture the rest alive!" he shouted. "That's Dr. Nolan's order!"
"Yes, sir!"
---
Inside Oscorp's main lab, Nolan wasn't watching the battle.
He had just injected the Cyclops gene.
His eyes burned. The heat was spreading, radiating from his pupils like furnace coals.
Just then, the lab door opened.
A tall figure stepped inside—shaved head, bullseye tattoo on his forehead.
Bullseye.
"So Fisk is working with the Hand now?" Nolan muttered.
Bullseye smiled. "Call me a mercenary, Doctor. The Hand pays well. Just hand over what you stole, and we'll walk away civil."
"Boss!" a voice called from the surveillance room.
"There's a tank blocking the corridor—bullets bounce off him! Some kind of armored freak!"
Nolan glanced at the screen.
"Rhino? You're all in on this, huh?"
Apparently, the Hand had emptied their checkbook tonight.
Shing!
A throwing knife flashed across the room.
Nolan tilted his head.
Thunk!
It scraped past his ear and embedded in the wall, hard enough to crack reinforced steel.
Bullseye blinked. "You dodged that?"
He was stunned.
No one had ever dodged one of his projectiles.
Not even Daredevil.
"Look at me," Nolan said softly.
Bullseye met his gaze.
His eyes glowed crimson.
FWOOOOOOOSH!!!
Two searing beams of concentrated red energy erupted from Nolan's eyes, vaporizing everything in their path.
Cyclops' optic blasts perfectly replicated.
Superman's heat vision, Marvel style.
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