Brooklyn, 2013
Sahil Hamato was ten years old.
To most of the world, he was a prodigy—an unusually gifted child who'd earned degrees in biology, physics, robotics, linguistics, and computer science. But those who knew the truth—Ryota, Karai, and Madame Gao—understood what he really was: a weaponized intellect raised in the dark, now stepping into the light.
That light took center stage at the grand opening ceremony of Hamato LifeTech, a sleek, glass-paneled biotech facility erected on reclaimed industrial grounds in Brooklyn.
Sahil stood at the center of the stage, dressed in a crisp suit custom-tailored for his slight frame. He didn't look ten. He looked inevitable.
His parents, Kenji and Ananya, stood beside him—beaming with pride. Relatives had flown in from across the country. Journalists crowded the edge of the cordoned plaza. Behind Sahil, a holographic banner spun above the doors:
Hamato LifeTech: Innovation That Heals.
Tony Stark, in all his egotistical charm, was already at the mic. "This kid? Scares the hell out of me. That's why I'm investing in him. Also, I'm afraid he'll out-invent me by next year, so I'm hedging my bets."
The crowd laughed. Sahil smiled politely.
To his right, the Fantastic Four stood in support. Mr. Fantastic had personally reviewed the blueprints of Sahil's biotech prototypes and was already collaborating with him on prosthetics that could wirelessly interface with the nervous system. Susan Storm had fast-tracked energy-field stabilizers into the company's rehabilitation tech. Johnny Storm flirted with every intern. Ben Grimm just grunted, arms crossed.
The ribbon was cut. Applause echoed. Cameras flashed.
But beneath the celebration was an entirely different engine.
---
Hamato LifeTech wasn't just a biotech company. It was a front. Its public mission: creating affordable mechanical enhancements for the crippled. Its hidden objective: refining alien bioengineering for high-stress applications, including adaptive armor, deep-field recon units, and targeted neural enhancement.
The Hand had become increasingly aggressive, seeking to expand its influence beyond its traditional strongholds. Their main adversaries were Hydra and AIM. All three organizations were hunting for the same prize: alien technology, bioengineering breakthroughs, and next-generation weapons.
But Sahil wasn't just another pawn in the Hand's growing war machine. He was crafting a different legacy.
Sahil's body armor was the first prototype:
A sleek suit woven from Chitauri bio-resin, layered with nanomaterial cores that formed pocketed, repairable nodes. The armor grew stronger under stress—fractures and pressure triggered the resin's self-hardening capabilities. Damage didn't break it. It evolved it.
His gauntlets were another marvel—integrated with electromagnetic pulse projectors embedded in the palm. Within a 2-meter radius, they could emit controlled bursts strong enough to lift or disable objects up to 100 kilograms. A useful tool for both battlefield utility and delicate operations.
And then there were his weapons:
A custom FN Five-seveN, fitted with recoil stabilizers and smart-targeting optics.
A modified Uzi, compact, silenced, with upgraded capacitors allowing stun or lethal energy options.
---
Over the past year, Sahil had taken dozens of covert missions—shadow ops facilitated by Ryota and sanctioned quietly by The Hand. His targets? Human traffickers, war criminals, rapists—scum carefully filtered from global watchlists.
He never experimented on himself. But he wasn't afraid to dissect those the world would never miss.
The Snake Eyes template surged to 70%. He was now a master of silent kills, terrain camouflage, evasion under surveillance, and psychological warfare.
The Baxter Stockman template climbed to 75%—with Sahil able to redesign alien weapons into scalable human tech, craft viral nanobots, and devise surveillance systems capable of running full-city threat analyses.
But progress demanded power. And power demanded leverage.
Which is why, in a private bunker lab three stories below Hamato LifeTech, Nick Fury stood across from Sahil, arms folded, eye patch glinting.
"Your clan's been busy," Fury said, eyes sharp. "The Hand is taking the fight to Hydra and AIM. That wasn't in our playbook."
Sahil didn't flinch. "You can't stop Hydra with red tape, Director. You need shadows to fight shadows."
"You're selling me black-tech and enhanced biochemistry. Super-soldier-grade formulas. Why?"
"Because it works," Sahil replied. "Because Hydra is adapting faster than you are. And because eventually—when I have enough power—I'm going to separate my clan from The Hand."
Fury raised a brow. "And hand them over?"
" The Hand and Hydra for a mass takedown. You'll have names, locations, archives, caches. All of it."
Fury studied him for a long moment. "You're ten."
"I'm what the world needs," Sahil said. "Or at least what it deserves next."
Fury cracked a thin grin. "Let me know when you're ready."
He left with a secure case containing a prototype of Sahil's modified serum—a molecular stabilizer using bio-resin pathways, capable of granting enhanced strength and regeneration without causing the subject to burn out. It was one of three versions. The others had… side effects.
Sahil watched Fury go, then turned to the holographic display. Hydra and AIM nodes blinked across a digital map of the world—intersecting with The Hand's reach.
"This is a chessboard," Sahil muttered. "And I'm about to flip it."
---
Back upstairs, the afterparty was winding down. His mother was fussing over a photo with Reed Richards. His father was discussing lab safety protocols with Tony Stark—clearly unaware that their son had reverse-engineered Chitauri brainlink tech in the same lab a week ago.
Karai approached, expression unreadable. "You made a promise to Fury."
"I keep my promises."
Karai studied him, then handed him a data drive. "Next mission. We've got a Hydra lab off the coast of Chile. Rumors of stolen Kree tech."
Sahil smiled faintly. "Good. I was getting bored."
He walked to the edge of the balcony, the Brooklyn skyline stretching before him. He had played the child, the student, the genius. But that façade was wearing thin.
Hamato LifeTech was his mask now.
Underneath?
A ten-year-old shadow engineer, cybernetic biologist, and assassin—working toward a future only he could see.
And one day soon, the world would see it.