Before our heroes received their powers and began living their new lives…
one hour after Steve escaped the laboratory.
Someone arrived to inspect the facility.
He looked around twenty years old.
Yet the scientists were clearly terrified of him — especially after the escape.
The head scientist spoke with a trembling voice:
Head Scientist: "S-Si… Sir… the experiment was suc… successful… but the subject escaped."
The young man's expression did not change. No anger, no surprise.
Vincent: "So… do you have anything that can compensate for the mistake you made?"
Head Scientist: "Yes, sir! We still have one syringe of his blood in perfect condition. With it, we can perform the experiment again — and the success rate will be higher than before."
He smiled slightly.
Vincent: "Is that so… Then begin preparations immediately."
Head Scientist: "But sir… what if the experiment fails?"
Without hesitation—
Vincent: "Then everyone involved in this project will die."
Silence.
Shock and fear spread across the laboratory.
Suddenly, a voice echoed inside his mind:
Voice: "Vince… aren't you making them too afraid?"
He responded internally.
Vincent: "I know what I'm doing. And don't treat me like a child. Call me by my proper name… Vincent."
The voice said nothing more.
Vincent looked at the scientists again.
Vincent: "Why are you still standing there? Begin preparations — unless you wish to die now."
The room instantly came alive with movement.
After some time—
Head Scientist: "Sir… we cannot begin the experiment without a subject."
Vincent: "Do not worry. Your subject will be ready when preparations are complete."
Two days later.
The facility was ready.
Head Scientist (announcing): "The laboratory is prepared for the experiment."
Vincent: "The time has come."
The voice returned.
Voice: "Do you truly intend to do this?"
Vincent: "Yes… Master. This experiment began for me. It is only right that I enter it myself."
He changed his clothes and walked toward the chamber.
Head Scientist: "Sir… wait. Are you going to be the subject?"
Vincent: "Do you have a problem with that?"
Head Scientist: "No, sir… but will the boss approve?"
Vincent struck the metal wall with his fist — leaving a dent.
Vincent: "This experiment exists for me. I will decide when I obtain my power.
Is that clear?"
Head Scientist: "…Yes, sir."
The head scientist hurried to the control panel.
A nearby researcher whispered:
Scientist: "Sir… when he punched the wall, his hand glowed. But he doesn't have powers yet… how?"
Head Scientist: "That was not power.
And you do not need to know what it was."
Vincent entered the chamber and lay inside the tube.
Head Scientist: "Begin the experiment."
Steve's blood was injected into his body.
Then a green liquid filled the chamber, and the tube sealed shut.
An oxygen mask formed over Vincent's face.
Radiation began flooding the chamber.
This experiment differed from the previous one —
this time, the power was being replicated, not created.
Vincent's body convulsed violently.
He screamed, but no sound escaped the radiation field.
His movements destabilized the mutation process.
Head Scientist: "He won't survive this… We may have to stop the experiment—"
Suddenly—
A black portal opened beside him.
A dark hand emerged, releasing red glowing light into the chamber.
When the particles reached Vincent, his body slowly calmed.
From the portal, a voice spoke:
Voice: "You do not need to stop the experiment."
Everyone froze.
For the first time…
they were witnessing the presence of the organization's true leader.
Head Scientist (shaken): "S-Sir… how did you stop his pain…?"
Null: "Don't you already know the answer?"
Head Scientist: "Yes, sir… it was my mistake to ask."
Null: "This replication process causes pain and suffering… just like the original, correct?"
Head Scientist: "Yes, sir."
Null fell silent for a moment.
Null (thinking): So that means the one who possessed this power originally endured the pain without assistance… stayed conscious… and remained mentally stable afterward.
He is different. Even among special cases.
Head Scientist: "Sir, the replication has reached 50%. It will complete in five minutes."
Null: "Good."
Despite the stable readings, doubt lingered in the head scientist's mind.
Null sensed it instantly.
Null: "You are uncertain."
Head Scientist: "N-No sir… it's just… we are using only half the quantity compared to the experiment performed on the escaped subject. But please don't worry — the results appear identical so far."
Null: "Are you sure?"
Head Scientist: "Yes, sir."
His voice trembled.
The facility looked calm — but no one dared move unnecessarily.
A suffocating pressure filled the room.
Only persons essential to the experiment continued working.
Five minutes later—
Head Scientist: "Stop the radiation! Mutation rate: 100% complete!"
The radiation shut down.
He prepared to drain the liquid, but Null's black hand rose toward the chamber.
Without touching it, the tube opened.
Vincent's body slowly floated out.
Red lights surrounded him, cleansing the remaining liquid from his skin — the same energy used before. The red particles flowed across his body like threads. The lab suit he wore dissolved into ash, reshaping within the crimson light. When the glow finally faded, a long black coat rested on his shoulders — its fabric dark and seamless — paired with a black shirt and trousers beneath it.
Null: "Wake up… my boy."
Vincent's eyes opened.
He gently descended to the ground.
Null: "How do you feel?"
Vincent: "Although my body looks the same, I can feel that something has changed."
He touched the ground and closed his eyes.
The floor began to shift. It fractured into black cubes with glowing red edges. The transformation spread outward in all directions from where his hand touched, forming perfectly aligned 10-centimeter cubes within a three-meter radius.
Then he opened his eyes and stood up.
Vincent: "So… I just turned things into cubes. Is this all this power can do?"
The head scientist's voice echoed through the speakers.
Head Scientist: "Sir, you can manipulate those cubes however you want."
Null: "Try something with it."
Vincent selected one cube and levitated it toward himself.
Vincent: "Oh… I see now what I can do with this."
He began manipulating more cubes, merging them together into a larger cube. With a flick of his hand, he hurled it at the wall.
It went straight through, shattering the concrete effortlessly.
He then floated the large cube back inside and touched it again. The cube fragmented into dozens of tiny cubes, which began orbiting around Vincent.
He experimented further — reshaping the tiny cubes into the form of a giant hand. Using it, he lifted a heavy metal tube from the ground.
Then he recombined the cubes and carefully returned them to their original positions in the floor.
The ground restored itself to normal.
Vincent: "So I can change things back to normal… but only if I place the exact cubes in their original positions. This power can be terrifying in the right person's hands."
Suddenly, Null stiffened.
A shock passed through him.
The black hand vanished instantly.
Vincent and the others looked around, confused. Then a scream came from the laboratory entrance.
Vincent and the head scientist rushed there.
They saw Null's black hand suspended in the air, gripping something. A lab scientist lay on the floor, trembling in fear.
Null (in a heavy, stunned tone): "Where did you find this blood from?"
Vincent: "What happened? What is special about that blood?"
Null: "What's special? This blood is not ordinary. It belongs to the Weaver who controls lightning."
Both Vincent and the head scientist froze in shock.
Null: "It seems fate is on our side. Now we can discover the identity of this Weaver — and we know he lives in this city."
Head Scientist: "Sir, what are you planning to do with his blood? You told me before that we cannot extract or copy a Weaver's powers using their blood."
Null: "Yes. That was true. And it still is. But this blood is unstable."
Head Scientist: "Unstable?"
Null: "It contains both the blood of a Weaver and a mutant."
Head Scientist: "Two people's blood in one body?"
Null: "No. He is both a Weaver and a mutant. His two powers are rejecting each other. Because of that, his body — and his blood — are unstable. In this condition, there is a very small chance we can transfer this power to someone else."
He paused.
Null: "It's fortunate it didn't arrive any later. Otherwise, the blood would have destroyed itself. I've stabilized it for now."
Vincent: "So… there's going to be another experiment."
Null: "Vinc, you will find the identity of the Lightning Weaver. Begin your mission."
Vincent: "Yes, Master… but please call me Vincent."
The black hand vanished again.
Vincent grabbed the frightened scientist by his collar.
Vincent: "Who gave you that blood?"
Scientist: "I—I don't know. The experiment required powerful mutant blood. The collector told us this one came from a strong mutant. I knew the subject from a previous experiment had escaped, but I thought this blood might still be useful."
Vincent: "Anything else?"
Scientist: "No… nothing."
Head Scientist: "Sir, what do we do now?"
Vincent: "Pack everything important. Relocate immediately. This place is compromised. We cannot hide from those worthless heroes for long."
Suddenly, Vincent felt a surge of energy.
He recognized it instantly.
A Weaver.
At that exact moment, Barry released a lightning strike at the smugglers' base.
Vincent: "It seems that Weaver wants to reveal himself. If I were free, I would go after him now… but I will find your identity. And once I do, I will find you anytime I wish."
He left and went to the house of the hackers they had hired to collect mutant blood.
When he arrived, he knocked.
The door opened slightly.
Vincent pushed it — and the door flew off its hinges.
He paused, slightly surprised.
He hadn't even used much force.
Hacker: "Who are you? Why are you forcing your way in?"
Vincent: "Quiet. I'm the one asking questions."
He transformed the broken section of the door into cubes and restored it back into place.
Vincent: "Now tell me — who gave you the last blood sample?"
Hacker: "How do I know you won't expose my client?"
Vincent: "I am the one who ordered your client to collect it."
Hacker: "Prove it."
Vincent's expression darkened.
Vincent: "Do not waste my time."
He converted the wall into cubes, wrapped them around the hacker's limbs, and lifted him into the air.
Vincent: "If you value your life, tell me who sold you that blood."
Hacker: "Okay! Okay! Calm down! I'll check my system — let me see if I can find any details about that man."
Vincent: "Then go fast."
He released him.
The hacker quickly rushed to his computer and began searching for any information about that person.
After half an hour—
Vincent: "How much more time are you going to take?"
Hacker: "Almost done. Just wait a little more."
A few minutes later, the hacker spoke.
"I'm done. One of these three people is the one who sold that blood."
Vincent looked at the screen.
"After taking this much time, you're giving me three suspects who may have sold it?"
Hacker: "I can't help that. He was cautious about not getting caught in all this. But I do know he's a doctor at Alca Hospital. These three images are the most probable suspects from that hospital."
Vincent's eyes narrowed.
"Wait. That hospital is not in this city."
Hacker: "Yeah, I know. So what's the problem in that?"
Vincent fell silent.
How did the blood come from another city? We thought he lived here. Whatever it is… it won't matter in the end. I will find his identity. Then we'll know where he lives and everything else.
Hacker waved a hand slightly.
"Hello? Where did you go in your thoughts? I've given you the information you needed. You may leave now."
Vincent: "Yes, I should go."
As he turned slightly, he paused.
Before, I pulled the entire door out without using much force. I should test how much my physical strength has increased. I'm fortunate… I have a testing dummy right here.
He looked back at the hacker.
"I just have a small thing to do."
Hacker: "Small thing? What is it?"
Vincent touched the walls and some of the furniture. They transformed into cubes.
Hacker: "What are you doing?"
Vincent: "I should clear the evidence. You've seen me."
The hacker panicked, trying to run as he screamed—
"Helllppp! Someone help me!"
Vincent: "Don't bother screaming. Your voice won't go outside this flat."
The hacker tried to open the door, but it wouldn't move. He quickly took out his phone and attempted to do something.
Vincent walked toward him, cubes floating behind him.
Hacker: "Don't come any closer, or I'll leak every piece of information about what I've done for your organization!"
Vincent: "Oh. An act of survival. But you're not fortunate enough. That won't work."
Hacker: "Don't come! I'm not joking!"
Vincent: "I know you're not joking. Go ahead. Try to leak the data."
The hacker pressed the button.
A pop-up appeared.
Error.
Vincent: "See? I told you it wouldn't work."
The hacker stared at the screen, terrified.
"How are you doing this?"
Vincent stepped in front of him.
"So, these are your final words?"
He raised his hand, then grabbed the hacker by the neck.
With a slight squeeze—
A crack.
The hacker's body went limp.
Vincent released him.
"It seems my strength has increased drastically."
He looked at the body briefly.
"Now this is done. I just have to go and see that doctor."
Red glowing particles appeared, clearing the blood and remains. The cubes returned to their original places, restoring the walls and furniture as if nothing had happened.
Vincent printed out the images of the three doctors.
Then he headed toward the hospital.