Chapter 99: Death Like the Wind, Walking with Destruction
Inside the military base, the sealed door to the underground laboratory suddenly exploded outward with a thunderous crash. Angus, bleeding from his eyes, nose, and mouth with his chest caved in, collapsed against the shattered metal door.
"I—"
The mad scientist Angus tilted his head and died.
After several seconds of silence, two withered bodies crawled out of the laboratory, slowly dragging themselves over Angus's corpse and devouring his flesh with ravenous hunger.
"ROAAAAR!!!!"
One of the creatures threw its head back and bellowed. Its skin, completely devoid of elasticity, tore at the corners of its mouth as it roared, exposing yellowed teeth. Its oversized jaw hung at an unnatural angle.
After consuming Angus's flesh, the creature limped to its feet, its eyes sunken and its face grotesque, instinctively searching for its next victim.
A minute later, the second reanimated corpse—this one missing an arm—also struggled to its feet, shambling behind the first.
By chance, the two horrific creatures stumbled into the elevator. The doors closed slowly as they swayed inside.
The elevator stopped at the ground floor, and with a soft ding, the doors opened.
A passing staff member turned his head and saw two twisted figures in the elevator. One of them wore what looked like remnants of a Captain America uniform—the distinctive star still visible on the tattered chest piece.
The staff member froze in shock.
"Captain America?"
The moment he spoke, the two twisted figures in the elevator immediately snapped their heads toward him.
"AHHHHH!!!"
The hideous, skeletal faces terrified the staff member, and he screamed reflexively.
Before the screams could fade, he was tackled to the ground by both creatures. Red blood sprayed across the floor, accompanied by the sickening sounds of flesh being torn and consumed.
Ryan's residence on Celestial Island.
Taking advantage of Ryan's lunch break, Corvus rushed over with a report tablet.
"Boss, the federal military delivered eleven CIWS close-in weapon systems with 1,000 rounds of ammunition, 467 AIM-series air defense missiles, 322 precision strike missiles, plus a variety of small arms and ammunition. It's enough to arm everyone on Celestial Island."
Ryan asked while picking at his food, "How's progress at the fabrication facility?"
"Within projections. The technology isn't fully mature yet. The vibranium-alloy suits provide excellent protection, but they're somewhat cumbersome to don."
A super-soldier equipped with a vibranium-alloy suit and weapons would be absolutely formidable. While they might struggle against top-tier opponents, they would dominate against regular combatants.
Ryan nodded, set down his utensils, and took the last sip of his beer. "Anything else?"
"No, sir."
RING! RING! RING!
A cell phone rang sharply. Corvus pulled out his phone, checked the caller ID, and said, "Boss, it's the Pentagon."
Ryan nodded, indicating he should answer.
Corvus listened for several seconds after connecting the call, then looked at Ryan with a shocked expression.
"Boss, the New Jersey military base has fallen. Nearby cities like Trenton and Philadelphia also fell ten minutes ago. An unknown force has split into two groups heading toward New York and Washington D.C."
Ryan was stunned. He found the news completely unbelievable, but Corvus didn't appear to be joking.
"How is that possible? The federal government itself has fallen? Are the Avengers staging a full rebellion?"
Ryan couldn't imagine any other force capable of such devastation. But the Avengers were heroes, not terrorists. While they might attack military installations, they certainly wouldn't massacre civilians in cities.
"Boss, the Pentagon is requesting assistance. Should we—"
Ryan was silent for a moment. "Anthony is still on the mainland. Dispatch a team of super-soldiers to provide support. Bring the fabricated vibranium gear. Also, tell Anthony to report back immediately if anything develops."
"Understood, Boss. I'll arrange it right away."
Corvus immediately left to relay Ryan's orders.
Ryan wondered if this sudden crisis was a diversionary tactic by the Avengers, or if some other faction was exploiting the conflict between the Avengers and Celestial Island to create chaos.
Even if the entire federal government collapsed, Ryan wouldn't commit all of Celestial Island's forces to support it.
If the Avengers seized the opportunity, he'd have nowhere to turn.
At the same time Ryan received the news, the covert S.H.I.E.L.D. remnants and the Avengers also learned of the military base's fall.
Inside the New Asgard war room, Nick Fury looked at the assembled superheroes and asked, "What do you all think? Speak up."
"We're heroes. This is our responsibility."
"But the federal government labeled us terrorists and traitors to humanity."
"Does that mean we should ignore this crisis just because of how they treated us?"
"Of course not. I'm asking what we should do about Ryan. Celestial Island is consolidating power. If we don't act now, the consequences will be catastrophic."
Unsurprisingly, opinions diverged. Some believed they should return to the mainland to resolve the crisis, while others insisted Ryan should be dealt with first.
On one side, civilians were being slaughtered. On the other, there was the existential threat of the Destroyer. It seemed that no matter which choice they made, it would be wrong.
Just as the superheroes were debating, a sling ring portal suddenly opened and Doctor Strange stepped through.
"Everyone, a world-ending crisis has arrived!"
Bruce Banner, who had been silent throughout the discussion, suddenly stood. "Doctor Strange, are you saying this incident is related to Ryan?"
Strange shook his head. "I don't know, but I've sensed the power of death emanating from the magical wards protecting the three Sanctums."
"What is the power of death?"
Strange explained grimly, "The power of death is a specific energy signature. When this energy exceeds a critical threshold, it indicates that countless lives are dying or will die soon. Only when a sufficient number of lives have perished can this power dissipate naturally."
Although Strange didn't say it explicitly, since he called it a world-ending crisis, he likely meant all life on Earth was at risk.
"What should we do?"
Strange sighed heavily. "We should have dealt with Ryan sooner. We've missed the optimal window."
Nick Fury stepped forward, speaking firmly. "Thanos's slaughter of half the universe was horrific, but we prevailed. I believe the outcome will be the same this time. As long as we work together, we can resolve this crisis."
It wasn't that Nick Fury didn't trust Strange's assessment, but the superheroes couldn't afford to lose their fighting spirit now. He had to maintain their morale.
Nick Fury took command, directing operations. "Carol, Banner—you two take all available Avengers back to the mainland and contain the situation."
"Valkyrie, please contact General Okoye of Wakanda and mobilize their forces, ready to deploy."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. will provide intelligence support and logistics. We need to bring this under control as quickly as possible."
The assembled superheroes, under Nick Fury's decisive leadership, sprang into action.
Strange opened a portal to the New York Sanctum, and all the superheroes filed through.
However, the situation was far more dire than anyone had imagined.
As the superheroes emerged from the Sanctum, they found the streets gridlocked with abandoned vehicles, and crowds of people screaming in panic, fleeing in one direction.
Fighter jets roared overhead, and from deeper in the city came the rumbling sounds of explosions and towering columns of flame.
"My God, the military is dropping ordnance in the heart of the city! Are they insane?"
The superheroes headed in the opposite direction from the fleeing civilians. Captain Marvel, the fastest among them, rushed ahead to assess the situation. What she found was beyond comprehension.
A dark wave surged through the city streets—and it was composed entirely of humans.
Countless people, packed together and moving as one mass, screamed and charged in a single direction. They were completely devoid of reason, attacking and biting anyone they encountered. It was the most terrifying thing Carol had ever witnessed.
RATATATATAT!
The heavily armed National Guard entered the city, engaging the dark wave in the streets.
However, their weapons had minimal effect. The infected humans, undeterred even when struck by bullets, rapidly closed the distance to the National Guard's defensive positions.
Tank cannons and heavy machine guns barely held them back, blasting the frenzied horde apart temporarily, only to be followed by another wave.
Carol descended from the sky, raising her hands and unleashing photon blasts like a stone thrown into water, creating explosive ripples through the crowd.
After a moment's pause, Carol continued firing, temporarily halting the incoming surge. While holding the line, she shouted to the National Guard, "Retreat! Fall back now!"
The National Guard soldiers, equally terrified, quickly recovered after Carol's command, scrambled into their vehicles, and withdrew.
WHOOOOSH!
Two fighter jets screamed past at low altitude, dropping two more bombs into the dense mass of infected.
BOOOM!
Flames shot into the sky, creating a massive blast wave that shattered windows in the surrounding buildings.
Disturbingly, the infected seemed completely unaffected. Even those blown apart, with broken limbs and shattered bodies, continued their relentless advance by crawling.
"Oh my God! What the hell are these things?"
The Avengers who arrived moments later stared in horror at the frenzied horde.
Hulk grabbed one of the infected—a grotesque, savage-looking humanoid—and hurled it forward with tremendous force.
It slammed into a streetlight, the metal pole bending completely under the impact.
As everyone watched, the creature's utterly mangled body twitched several times before somehow struggling back to its feet and resuming its shambling pursuit.
"This can't be human anymore!"
Doctor Strange spoke gravely. "It's a Death Plague."
He conjured an Eldritch whip, binding one of the infected and pulling it closer for examination.
The creature's facial features leaked black ichor, its mouth agape in a hideous expression. Even bound by magical restraints, it craned its neck forward and roared, completely devoid of any trace of humanity or reason.
To the others, this deranged being looked diseased and mad, but to Strange's mystically-attuned perception, a faint black mist enveloped it entirely.
He raised his hand and made a grasping motion toward the creature's face. A thick black tendril slowly drifted out from its eyes.
As the death energy was extracted, the irrational creature suddenly stopped moving, collapsing like a corpse that had been dead for days.
"We need to contain this immediately," Strange said grimly. "If this spreads beyond the city, it could consume the entire planet within days."
End of Chapter 99
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Review!
P*atreon/Soulforger (50+ advanced chapters)
Buy me coffee - ko-fi*com/soulforger01