Adam returned quickly, streaking across the sky as living lightning.
Even without using this method of rapid travel, he had a Xenomorph that had burst from an Eternal and possessed super speed.
This was also why, during the battle in New Mexico, he had ignored the more violently aesthetic and super-strong Gilgamesh and focused entirely on capturing Makkari.
Super speed was an incredibly useful ability no matter the circumstances.
Adam walked through a cordon of over a hundred Xenomorphs and approached the corner, looking down at the pathetic figure huddled there.
"You're back? Look at the state of him." Mr. Blue let out a strange laugh.
The next second, Adam pressed down on his oversized head and applied gradual force, pushing the man straight into the ground until only his head remained visible.
"My patience is limited. Also, there's no need for you to use such childish methods to express your attitude. I can sense everything about you through the Xenomorph inside your body."
Adam stared at this brilliant man who had been itching with impatience, desperate to study the Xenomorphs yet forced to restrain himself again and again, nearly driving himself insane.
Mr. Blue wasn't a fool. He knew Adam could monitor him at all times. Knowing it was one thing; going mad with the desire to do something while being heavily restricted was another.
"Take my advice. You should use that intellect for your areas of expertise instead of expressing your demands to me with near-childish frustration."
"The same words transmitted through the Xenomorph embryo into my brain carry a different meaning. That wasn't advice... it was an order. So I can take it that you agree?"
Mr. Blue didn't feel humiliated in the slightest. He had always possessed flexible morals and was far more willing to follow his obsessive research drive, pursuing the ultimate path in biology.
Perhaps once that desire was satisfied, he would develop more ambitions. Until then, he could behave himself.
Adam looked away. He understood Mr. Blue's thoughts perfectly and was fully aware of the man's repeated, greedy attempts to experiment on adult Xenomorphs and even the embryos inside them.
Loosening the leash a little now should keep him in line for a while.
"Mystique has run off. No idea where," Erica said, walking up beside Adam and subtly stirring trouble.
"She went back to Magneto. That was inevitable. Whether Magneto will accept her is another matter. Professor X probably will, and he might even set up mental traps to seal off the embryo in her chest." Adam wasn't surprised.
Mystique had only half-heartedly stayed with him, mainly as Magneto's planted agent. Now that her task was complete, it was time for her to contribute to the new mutant cause.
"So this is our first meeting, Robert Reynolds."
Surrounded by terrifying Xenomorphs, Adam's figure appeared utterly monstrous... at least in Reynolds's eyes.
Reynolds trembled violently. His already weakened body, subjected to this unimaginable shock, was on the verge of collapse.
"You... who are you? What do you want?! I don't have any money... monsters!!" Reynolds muttered the same words over and over, his mind in a daze.
For a petty thief with some mental issues like Reynolds, what he was experiencing was simply too horrifying.
Who would have thought that falling asleep in an alley would result in him being kidnapped by aliens the moment he opened his eyes?
No one could handle that. Reynolds was just an ordinary man. His already fragile mental state was sliding rapidly toward something even worse.
"I don't want your money. I want your perfectly good body and your loyalty."
Adam opened his hand. With a swift motion, a super-speed Xenomorph brought over a large egg.
The four petals bloomed, and a facehugger crawled out.
Reynolds seemed to sense what was coming. His bloodshot eyes widened as he let out a strange, wailing cry. Drool spilled from the corner of his mouth before his eyes rolled back and his breathing grew rapid.
"Hah. You're wasting a facehugger on trash like this? Just hand him over to me. I'll make him... "
Adam kicked him with a resounding boom, driving Mr. Blue completely into the ground. He then calmly watched as the facehugger implanted Reynolds.
Honestly, Mr. Blue's furious reaction was understandable. If Adam hadn't known Reynolds's special nature in advance, he would have considered wasting a facehugger on such a specimen an absolute crime.
Mr. Blue was practically going insane with jealousy. Through the embryo, Adam could sense the man's wildly fluctuating mental state. He knew the genius was losing his mind: You'd rather waste a precious facehugger than give me one to dissect and experiment on!
Not just Mr. Blue... absolutely no one in the world could understand Adam's actions.
Adam waited patiently.
After a long while, Reynolds slowly regained consciousness. The deep sleep induced by the facehugger's anesthetic had given his brain much-needed rest, allowing him to adapt somewhat to the nightmarish new reality.
"I… I don't understand. You're the master of those monsters that have been all over the internet, right? Why did you choose me?"
Reynolds looked fearfully at the surrounding Xenomorphs, still unaware of what had happened to his body. "Everyone says these creatures that are born wearing exoskeletal armor aren't native to Earth."
"Robert Reynolds, you possess extraordinary potential. I have chosen you." Adam's single sentence left Reynolds deeply confused.
He pointed at his own nose, his expression making his thoughts crystal clear: Trash like me? A guy scraping by in dark alleys that even low-level vampires wouldn't bother feeding on? You chose me?
"This is probably the most sci-fi story of the year. Are you planning to turn me into food for these monsters?"
"Stand up. You'll understand soon."
Reynolds hesitated, then shakily rose to his feet. He was stunned to discover that his once frail, ruined body was now filled with power!
Though he still looked thin and wiry, every muscle had undergone a qualitative change. Endless strength surged within him, leaving him entranced.
"Is… is this me?" He pressed against the wall, gritted his teeth, and pulled hard... ripping away a chunk of concrete!
The power left Reynolds completely stunned. He looked at his hands, then at the wall, before falling into a mix of immense joy and terror. He turned helplessly toward Adam.
"This... I don't understand. You chose me, gave me a strong body. What do you need me to do?"
"I told you... loyalty, and your life. I have given you a new beginning, freeing you from your previous rotten and miserable fate. In return, you will give me everything and serve me well." Adam said.
Reynolds felt his mind had cleared considerably. He thought chaotically: Adam gave me power, so I should use this power to serve him…
"You could do so much more with this power instead of someone like me... " Reynolds instinctively clenched his fists and held them to his chest in a defensive posture. He was reluctant to lose this sudden strength and new body, while also feeling a mix of worship and fear toward Adam for granting it.
"I say you're worthy, so you are. I don't like repeating myself a third time. Reynolds, from this moment on, you are one of mine. You will fight for me until death." Adam said.
Reynolds had never been the type with supreme intellect or crystal-clear thinking. Even the Earth-616 Sentry... with power at the pinnacle of a single universe, who had defeated Molecule Man's counterpart... had been tricked by the Green Goblin into joining the Dark Avengers, only to be killed by the symbiote god Knull. His strongest dark persona, the Void, had also been devoured.
Reynolds looked cautiously at Adam, then at the numerous, increasingly monstrous Xenomorphs around him.
For some unknown reason, he actually sensed a feeling of closeness from these creatures... until he noticed the discarded facehugger husk on the ground.
Adam stepped in front of him and pointed at his chest. Reynolds immediately felt a sharp pain. To his horror, he sensed something living moving inside his chest!
"This is my power. Don't worry... it's gentle and won't harm you. You two have become one. It is you, and you are it. All your current strength comes from the genes it has gifted you." Adam said.
It took Reynolds a long time to adapt to his new state: the explosive power, sharper senses, and a profound inner clarity.
The embryo in his chest had purged all toxins from his blood, allowing him to live in the healthiest and strongest condition possible.
This gave Reynolds a feeling of soul-level elevation. He realized Adam was right... he had been given a new life and would forever leave behind his previous dark and hopeless existence.
What Adam had given, he could also take away.
"I'm not good with words, but… I'm willing to be your most loyal guardian. I'm willing to give everything for you! As long as you let me keep this power…"
"Of course. I have always been generous with my subordinates. As long as you strictly carry out my orders, this is only the beginning. I have high hopes for you, Reynolds. Don't disappoint me." Adam used carefully guiding language.
Mr. Blue, of course, immediately heard the subtext. Adam had never been generous before... he hadn't even been willing to give him a single Xenomorph!
But things should be different from now on. Mr. Blue thought he would definitely crack the secrets of the Xenomorphs completely, then establish his own private Xenomorph gene bank and push the species' power to its absolute limit.
"Hehehe. Only I, Samuel Sterns, am the true master of these Xenomorphs." Mr. Blue, still buried in the ground, didn't seem angry at all. He let out a laugh that made the now hyper-sensitive Reynolds's skin crawl.
Perhaps besides Adam and the Xenomorphs, there were many abnormal individuals here. At least that big green head was definitely off. Reynolds thought.
"Then, my most loyal servant Reynolds, let's set out."
"Where to?"
"To find a key." Adam glanced at him.
With Adam present, the possibility of the Void taking over Reynolds's body would be eliminated.
The strongest version of the Earth-616 Sentry was the unified trinity of the human persona Bob, the heroic persona Reynolds, and the dark persona Void... resulting in the red-garbed Sentry with unbreakable will and no neurotic tendencies, standing at the pinnacle of a single universe.
But the Void was highly uncontrollable, a ticking time bomb buried inside Reynolds.
"First, let's take a look at that so-called hundred-thousand-times super-soldier serum. Ordinary people who touch it die. Only Reynolds has a one-in-a-hundred-million chance of success... but that was for pure human Reynolds. Now this Xenomorph Reynolds…"
Adam took out the communication device he had obtained at the summit and contacted Stryker.
Soon, someone arrived with a thin file and an address.
As usual, after completing the task, the man immediately blew his own brains out.
Dealing with Stryker was mentally exhausting.
"Stryker, you set the exchange location at a half-abandoned military base twenty kilometers away. I never imagined you still had a foothold there." Adam flipped through the file, his expression unchanged.
"I have a lot of money. Whenever I mention dealing with the mutant threat, I always receive substantial funding. Including how you were able to successfully establish that meaningless company of yours... that was because I approved it."
"So you swallowed the funds that should have gone to me?" Adam said with sudden understanding.
"This was the deal we made from the very beginning, wasn't it? To get something, you must lose something of equal value. That's fair." Stryker's voice carried deeply hidden malice.
Adam frowned slightly. "I hope this isn't a trap. The price of fooling me will have to be paid with your life."
"Why would you think that? That bottle of serum has no value to me. The Xenomorphs do. In exchange, I need you to give me a Xenomorph egg... preferably a fertile queen."
"You will get one, but I want the serum first." Adam repeated.
Stryker responded with a long silence, clearly weighing the pros and cons... or perhaps just putting on an act.
Ten minutes later, Stryker called back.
"I've arranged for someone to deliver the serum to you. As long as we cooperate well, I will give you the real classified data on the serum, including the entire production process and all academic reports and experimental footage. That way you won't have to research it blindly. This will be a good start." Stryker said in a deep voice.
Without that information, Adam would have no way to learn anything meaningful from the serum. Stryker was certain of that.
"So?"
"So, I hope you will join my forces in attacking Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters! Think about it... you'll get countless mutants, which means countless powerful Xenomorph warriors! You can freely send those Xenomorphs to alien battlefields!" Stryker's voice was thick with malice.
Adam's expression turned strange. He finally understood Stryker's plan. The man wanted to launch a preemptive all-out assault on the mutants. Today's summit hadn't been in vain... it had pushed someone like Stryker past his limit.
"You don't seriously think we would have no reaction to the declaration those two made at the summit, do you? People like me exist, and we wield great power, precisely to deal with situations like this."
A spark of interest flashed in Adam's eyes. So the original plan to lure him to that military base was meant to blind Professor X and Magneto?
"Looks like you're very confident in your strength."
"I wouldn't act without a mature battle plan."
Soon, another soldier arrived carrying a briefcase.
Adam opened it and picked up what looked like an ordinary test tube of serum. He gently shook it. In the last rays of dusk, the liquid inside shimmered with a magnificent glow.
"This is the super-soldier serum... the most terrifying poison in the world. No one can analyze the power it contains with their body. Adam, if you join me, you can skip more than half a century of detours and gain all the research成果!" Stryker's voice suddenly rose several decibels, trying to lure Adam in.
No matter how one looked at it, Adam was a radical warmonger. He had dared to move against S.H.I.E.L.D. and send troops to alien worlds. It made perfect logical sense for him to join the military in capturing mutants to obtain powerful Xenomorph warriors.
Of course, Adam had connections with Professor X and Magneto, or perhaps feared their strength and would refuse? That was why Stryker was sweetening the deal with detailed mutant data and the serum research.
Stryker simply wanted to tie Adam to his war chariot. "While we've been talking, my men have already begun moving. With my careful preparations, they have no chance to resist. Just imagine... you could even have Xenomorphs with mind-control abilities and… wait, what are you doing?"
Adam wasn't listening to Stryker's nonsense. He simply pulled over the dumbfounded Reynolds... who had just watched two soldiers blow their own brains out... pinched open his mouth, and forcibly poured the mysterious liquid from the test tube down his throat.
"Reynolds, didn't you say you wanted to be my most loyal guardian and serve me? Now is the time for you to prove your loyalty."
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