A blizzard raged across the frozen wilderness of Yakutia, Russia.
Buried beneath layers of ice and stone stood one of the Hope Organisation's most secure biological research facilities.
Unlike the organization's engineering branches, this laboratory existed for one purpose alone—
To ensure humanity would never fall to biological warfare.
Suddenly, Alexa's gentle voice echoed throughout the entire facility.
"Emergency Directive. Level Omega. Unknown hostile entity detected within facility perimeter. All personnel are ordered to evacuate immediately."
Researchers immediately abandoned their workstations.
Computers remained running.
Experiments were left unfinished.
Years of working under KB had taught them never to ignore Alexa's highest alert.
Within minutes...
The facility was nearly empty.
Nearly.
Deep inside Laboratory Seven...
Dr. Adrian Volkov, twenty-eight years old and regarded as one of Hope Organisation's brightest virologists, remained completely focused on his monitor.
His laboratory was littered with handwritten notes, protein models, and half-finished coffee cups.
For the last six months...
He had dedicated every waking hour to a single project.
Months earlier, intelligence agencies had discovered fragments of information regarding a theoretical airborne biochemical virus capable of spreading across entire nations.
Before governments even recognized the threat...
KB had ordered every Hope Organisation biological division to begin developing a universal countermeasure.
That project became known as...
Project Aegis.
Adrian had devoted himself completely to it.
"...Just one more simulation..."
"If this protein chain stabilizes..."
"We'll finally have the cure."
He smiled.
He never noticed the laboratory door silently opening.
A crimson figure entered.
Alejandro.
He quietly observed the young scientist.
Hope.
Determination.
Selflessness.
Everything he wished to corrupt.
He slowly approached.
A cold hand rested upon Adrian's shoulder.
The scientist turned.
His smile disappeared.
Crimson energy erupted.
Within seconds...
Dr. Adrian Volkov was devoured.
Silence returned.
Alejandro closed his eyes.
Memories flowed into him.
Virology.
Biochemistry.
Research.
Years of sacrifice.
Every formula.
Every failure.
Every success.
A satisfied smile crossed his face.
"Another brilliant soul..."
Without hesitation, he calmly raised one hand.
Scarlet energy spread across the laboratory.
He already knew what would happen.
Countless crimson particles gathered together.
Slowly...
A human figure emerged.
Transparent...
Then solid.
Standing before him once again...
Was Dr. Adrian Volkov.
His laboratory coat remained pristine.
Dark crimson veins spread beneath his skin.
His blue eyes had become crimson.
For a brief moment...
Fragments of his old life resurfaced.
Hope Organisation.
His fellow researchers.
KB encouraging every scientist by saying,
"Hope isn't created by miracles...
It's created by people who refuse to surrender."
His own promise...
To save millions.
"...No..."
His hand trembled.
"I have to finish—"
The crimson corruption pulsed through his soul.
The hesitation vanished.
His breathing steadied.
His expression became calm.
"My research..."
"...continues."
Alejandro nodded.
"You remember everything."
"I do."
"Every formula."
"Every experiment."
"Every security protocol."
"My knowledge remains."
A smile spread across Alejandro's face.
"Excellent."
"The greatest weapon..."
"...has always been knowledge."
Adrian silently approached two reinforced containment chambers.
One contained an emerald liquid.
Project Chimera
Experimental Airborne Biochemical Virus
Beside it rested another.
Project Aegis
Universal Neutralizing Serum
Development Progress: 37%
Adrian carefully examined both.
"The virus is incomplete."
He gently touched the glass.
"But now..."
"I know exactly how to perfect it."
Alejandro chuckled.
"The scientist who devoted his life to protecting humanity..."
"...will now help destroy it."
Adrian carefully removed both containment cylinders.
The plague.
And the cure.
Both now belonged to the Devourer.
At that exact moment...
Alejandro suddenly felt every soul within him resonate.
Crimson energy exploded throughout the laboratory.
His Devouring Trait evolved once more.
One Alejandro became two.
Two became four.
Four became eight.
Until...
Ten identical Alejandros stood together.
Each possessed the same hunger.
The same intelligence.
The same terrifying power.
Alejandro smiled.
New Trait Awakened — Cloning.
He looked toward his copies.
"Spread across the world."
"Destroy every Hope Organisation branch you discover."
"Leave humanity nowhere to hide."
The nine clones disappeared into crimson mist.
Only Alejandro remained.
Beside him...
Walked Adrian Volkov.
Not as Hope Organisation's brightest scientist.
But as the first scientist reborn to destroy the very hope he once created.
Meanwhile...
At the Hope Organisation Northern Spain Headquarters, nestled within the mountains...
KB stood before a large holographic display.
Beside him stood Benjamin, while Natasha and Clint monitored evacuation reports from across Europe.
A secure holographic video conference connected them directly to the Hope Organisation Global Headquarters inside Avengers Tower in New York.
On the other side of the screen sat Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Rhodey, Sam Wilson, Pepper Potts, and Nick Fury.
Dozens of holographic reports floated above the conference table.
Tony was discussing worldwide security upgrades when Alexa interrupted.
"Priority Alert."
Every hologram instantly turned crimson.
"Connection with Yakutia Research Facility has been permanently lost."
Silence filled both rooms.
KB slowly lowered the cup of tea in his hand.
His smile disappeared.
Benjamin immediately noticed.
"...KB?"
Alexa continued.
"Emergency evacuation successful."
A brief pause followed.
"One casualty confirmed."
KB quietly whispered...
"...Adrian."
Steve looked toward the screen.
"He stayed behind?"
KB nodded.
"He believed humanity deserved a cure more than he deserved safety."
Tony clenched his jaw.
"...Dammit."
Benjamin looked at KB.
"...Could you have stopped it?"
Every eye turned toward him.
KB remained silent.
Finally...
He answered.
"...Perhaps."
The room grew even quieter.
KB looked through the window toward the distant Spanish mountains.
"There are futures I can choose to witness."
"There are countless possibilities I can observe."
"But every future I intentionally seek..."
"...becomes a future I begin influencing."
His voice remained calm.
"If I search every life..."
"Every decision..."
"Every tragedy..."
"I stop trusting humanity."
"I stop allowing people the freedom to become who they are."
He smiled sadly.
"Lord Krishna guided people."
"He never lived their lives for them."
"I promised myself long ago..."
"I would never use my gifts to control destiny simply because I could."
Benjamin lowered his eyes.
"But losing people still hurts."
KB laughed softly.
"I hope it always does."
"The day another person's death no longer weighs upon my heart..."
"...is the day I no longer deserve the responsibility I was given."
Silence spread across both conference rooms.
No one spoke.
Not Tony.
Not Steve.
Not even Fury.
For a moment...
They no longer saw the man capable of miracles.
They saw a man who carried every life he could not save.
Alexa suddenly projected a global map.
Ten crimson signatures appeared simultaneously across the world.
Warning. Multiple hostile signatures detected.
Tony frowned.
"...There are ten of them?"
KB slowly shook his head.
"No."
"There is still only one Alejandro."
"He has simply learned to stand in ten places at once."
The atmosphere instantly grew heavier.
KB looked toward every Avenger through the holographic screen.
"The attack on Yakutia was never about destroying one laboratory."
"It was about crippling humanity's ability to fight back."
He looked at Adrian's archived profile one last time.
"Today..."
"We lost one of Hope Organisation's finest scientists."
His eyes filled not with anger...
But with resolve.
"And tomorrow..."
"We make sure his sacrifice wasn't in vain."
Far away...
Across the frozen wilderness of Yakutia...
Alejandro walked into the endless snow.
Beside him followed Dr. Adrian Volkov.
Behind them...
Nine clones disappeared in different directions.
For the first time...
Hope Organisation was no longer merely defending humanity.
It had become the prey.
.....
The underground laboratory echoed only with the hum of machinery.
Alejandro stood before the incomplete Project Chimera, watching emerald liquid swirl inside its containment chamber.
Beside him, Dr. Adrian Volkov adjusted another sequence within the virus.
Numbers raced across holographic screens.
Project Chimera Progress: 42%.
Alejandro smiled.
"Too slow."
Adrian didn't look away from his work.
"Then buy me time."
Alejandro's crimson eyes glowed.
"I already have."
Thousands of kilometers away...
Inside the Hope Organisation Headquarters in the mountains of northern Spain...
A secure holographic meeting connected KB, Benjamin, Natasha, and Clint with Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Rhodey, Sam Wilson, Pepper Potts, and Nick Fury inside Avengers Tower.
Alexa suddenly interrupted.
"Priority Alert."
A crimson warning illuminated the world map.
Hope Organisation Africa Branch under attack.
Tony stood immediately.
"So that's where he is."
Steve reached for his shield.
"We leave now."
KB studied the map.
"...Go."
No one questioned him.
Within minutes...
The Avengers were moving.
Hours later...
The African branch burned.
Iron Legion armors crashed into the sand one after another.
Alejandro's clone tore through Stark's machines with terrifying efficiency.
Explosions lit the desert.
Watching remotely...
Alejandro smiled.
"They're exactly where I wanted them."
Deep underground...
Adrian continued refining Project Chimera.
Progress: 49%.
"Another hour."
Alejandro nodded.
"They'll never realize."
Meanwhile...
Alexa reported another emergency.
Hope Organisation Scandinavian Branch under attack.
Steve frowned.
"Another one?"
Sam spread his wings.
"Looks like he's splitting us apart."
KB remained silent.
He simply watched.
"...Respond."
Steve and Sam departed.
By sunset...
Another Hope branch had fallen.
Then another emergency.
South America.
Then Eastern Europe.
The attacks never stopped.
Every report made Alejandro's smile wider.
One clone.
Another clone.
Another diversion.
The Avengers continued responding.
Hope Organisation remained on the defensive.
Project Chimera reached...
56%.
Alejandro laughed.
"They're chasing shadows."
Late that evening...
Benjamin entered KB's laboratory.
The room was strangely quiet.
KB calmly stirred a pale sapphire solution inside a containment vessel.
Benjamin frowned.
"...You're not worried?"
KB smiled faintly.
"I am."
"You've barely spoken all day."
KB didn't answer.
Across the world...
Natasha and Clint pursued another clone through abandoned industrial ruins.
The clone escaped once again.
Clint cursed.
"They're always one step ahead."
Project Chimera.
61%.
Adrian finally stepped away from the console.
"We've done it."
Alejandro smiled.
"Excellent."
He turned toward the global map.
"Tomorrow..."
"We destroy Hope Organisation."