POV Rio
At the start of October, I got an interesting Template. It was a modified All For One from My Hero Academia. For starters, I didn't get any Quirks with it other than the All For One Quirk. But even that wasn't accurate, as I can tell it wasn't a Quirk anymore. All For One only works on Quirks, but the system modified it so it can work on any unusual abilities. The keyword being unusual, so I can't absorb the abilities of, say, a Skrull, as their shapeshifting abilities are a natural ability of their species. But I can take the shapeshifting ability of Mystique.
I was pretty happy with the changes. Sure, maybe I don't start with any Quirks, but I will gladly take the ability to take superpowers from others rather than a particularly strong template that has no growth potential. It did, however, come with another downside. Progress was increasing at a snail's pace, and I knew why. I needed to take abilities, as that is what All For One would do. The issue is that there are not a lot of options to choose from.
I had just killed off most of the supervillains on Earth, which left the heroes, but I wasn't about to ruin my reputation and the alliances I had made for a few decent abilities. But I had a nice pathway out of this predicament. Not all people want powers. Some would be happy to return to a normal life again. As such, I approached several people and made it clear what I offered them. Several were clearly interested, but they wanted to wait before deciding. I can't say I blame them, as I am basically offering to take their powers away. No matter how much they may dislike their powers, they are still attached to them.
The other factor was peer pressure. Such as in the case of Ben Grimm, also called The Thing. He clearly wanted to give up his powers, but Susan and Johnny Storm were against it. Well, really, it was Johnny and Hope who had put a lot of pressure on Susan and Ben. Honestly, their relationship was a bit of a mess, and I was in no rush to deal with that.
Hope van Dyne was the fourth member of the Fantastic Four. She, like the rest of the team, had developed powers due to the Cosmic Rays. In her case, she developed the ability to shrink and enlarge herself at will without any help from technology. She could also control Wasps and Ants, but oddly only those two kinds of insects. She, alongside the other three, had formed the Fantastic Four mostly because Johnny couldn't keep his mouth shut. This, in turn, put more pressure on them to keep their powers.
Honestly, they did fine as a Superhero team, and if they wanted to keep their abilities, I wouldn't be upset, as without Reed, they are far less likely to destroy the universe by accident. The only problem I have with them is the fact that their DNA was taken by Trask and infused into the Prototype Sentinel Robot. Thankfully, only two prototypes exist, and they haven't managed to make much progress thanks to lacking a shapeshifter's DNA. What annoys me the most, however, is the failed attempt on Trask's life.
One of the brainwashed thugs had been triggered prematurely and ended up killing the second-to-last Diclonis instead of Trask. Which means I will have to deal with that myself.
'Whatever, not like it will be that hard. Huh... Now that I think about it, can I take the abilities of the Sentinels?'
I wanted to say no, but technically speaking, the robots' replicated abilities were based on DNA, and those abilities weren't technically their own, so it was theoretically possible I could do so.
'Well, I guess it's time to finish the fight.'
POV Shift Bolivar Trask
"Why don't you just turn over that agent?" I ask with a smile.
"We're still investigating why he attempted to kill you," Agent Coulson responds calmly.
"And yet you have nothing to show for all your work. I'm beginning to suspect you might be behind all of this chaos," I accuse.
"We had nothing to do with the numbers broadcast nor the chaos that occurred afterwards. Nor did we order your assassination," Agent Coulson refuses resolutely.
I frown slightly.
"I assure you that where you might have failed, I can succeed. As a sign of good faith, surely you should turn over this agent," I push.
"No, until the Security Council says otherwise, he shall remain in our custody. Should we find out anything more, we shall share it with you with haste," Agent Coulson says stubbornly.
"The same council that has gone dark for the past several weeks?" I ask with narrowed eyes.
"They are currently busy with other matters and cannot be contacted at this time. Once they are ready, they will contact you," Agent Coulson responds calmly.
The call ends shortly thereafter, as it was clear they wouldn't give me what I wanted. Something was wrong; I just knew it, but I had no proof. And as much as I would like to investigate or cause issues for the MRA, my research was already on thin ice as it stood, and the legality of this was questionable at best. So I would have to bide my time and wait for a response from the Council. Though a small part of me worried that the Council may have suffered an untimely demise at the hands of those brainwashed people.
'Nonsense, the Council Members are some of the most protected people in the world; there's no way they could have been wiped out. They're probably just in hiding after the attacks.'
As I was thinking this, the light went out and then came back on a few moments later.
'Sigh. Incompetent fools.'
I called the engineering department.
"What's going on down there?" I ask.
I wait but get no response, so I try again but still get no response.
"Bravo Team, check the engineering department; they aren't answering the intercomm," I order.
"Yes, sir," they respond, which puts me more at ease.
I flip open the security feed I had installed in my office and look over the cameras.
'Even the cameras are down?'
I would have panicked at this point if it weren't for the fact that the power was still working and Bravo Team would soon resolve the communication issues.
'Hmm, just in case, I should head to the lab.'
The Prototypes may not be as effective as I wanted, but they were still highly lethal.
'If only we could figure out the switching issue.'
The Sentinels could successfully swap between powers, but it took far too long to be useful in combat. Battery life was another issue. No matter how much I offered or what I promised, I couldn't get my hands on either an Arc Reactor or a Fusion Reactor. Instead, I had to rely on Geothermal Energy to power the facility and charge the Sentinels.
'I need to find some energy nerds who can help with this issue.'
I mentally add that to my to-do list but pause as I enter the lab.
"What the hell is happening in here?" I ask.
"Ah, Trask, you didn't hear? Someone has breached the facility and is wiping out anyone who resists," Dr Kavita Rao says while collecting all her research.
"What?" I say with alarm, check my portable tablet, and look at the security feeds.
It seems some cameras were back online, and on those feeds, I see a man or machine; it was hard to tell, systematically clearing out all resistance. That alone was alarming, but what really interested me was the strange glow surrounding the giant.
'A Shield? Is this one of those suits made by Wayne Enterprises?'
"So he's cleaning house," I say with a dark expression.
"Who?" Dr Kavita Rao asks.
"The MRA; they are the only people who both know where this facility is and use the Power Armor made by Wayne Enterprises. Not to mention, look at the tactics; they are acting like a professional soldier," I comment while pointing out how the giant clears each room methodically.
"B-But the Council..." Dr Kavita Rao says with growing fear.
"Likely already dead. Even if the Security Council wanted to end funding, they wouldn't be massacring everyone here. Sure, we might have needed to liquidate most of the staff to keep the secret of the things we did here, but they wouldn't kill us. We are too valuable for that," I say with false confidence.
The truth was, I felt it was very possible they did send this new super soldier to wipe us all out. I wasn't gonna deny that the stuff we did under the orders and money of the Security Council would get us executed in most countries. And dead men tell no tales.
But none of that mattered now; we needed to get out of here.
"Is the Mother Mold ready for transit?" I ask.
"Yes, but the Prototypes aren't fully ready to be moved," Dr Kavita Rao responds.
"That's fine, as long as we have the Mother Mold, we can always make more Sentinels. Let those prototypes fight this giant," I order.
Dr Kavita Rao seems a bit hesitant but nods anyway.
'I might need to cut her loose if she becomes any more indecisive.'
POV Shift Rio
I drop the last soldier that was protecting this facility and move to head to the lab.
"The Sentinels have been activated and are appraoching you positon," Cortana comments.
She wasn't the original, but I still made her in the original's likeness.
"Begin shutting them down," I order.
"Got it, Chief," Cortana responds.
SMASH
The first Sentinel bursts through the doors and ignites itself with Johnny Storm's abilities. The flames were very impressive. But they didn't distract me from the second Sentinel's attack. I back out of the range of the Vectors from the second Sentinel and then stow away my assault rifle.
I don't stay and quickly run towards them, which seems to confuse their programming, or it might be due to the cyber attack they were currently trying to deal with; in either case, I got close enough to touch them and try my ability. Only for it to fail and for me to have to store my armor before getting annihilated.
"Tsk, of course it wouldn't work," I complain as my magic clone is killed.
I drop the comatose and drooling body of Trask to the ground in my annoyance. I had gotten all I wanted from his mind, or what I could get with so little time. I didn't really care about much. I didn't need the research on the Sentinels; no, what I wanted was any info he had on Lucy. And it wasn't much. He didn't even know her name. Let alone her parents' names.
"Whatever, you can still be a decent present for Lucy," I mutter.
"Please don't kill me," Dr Kavita Rao begs.
"Don't worry, I won't kill you," I respond with a calm smile.
"Oh, thank you," Dr Kavita Rao says with a relaxed smile.
"Can't say the same for them, though," I say while pointing at the mutilated corpses of those they experimented on here.
There weren't that many, and most were loans from the MRA, so I had little sympathy for these terrorists and murderers, but that wasn't my problem anymore.
"No wait! WAIT!" Dr Kavita Rao screams in terror as she tries to get away.
I didn't bother sticking around to see what happened next, as it was going to be gruesome. Revenants are like that. That, and the fire had already started. No need to stick around this facility as it burns to the ground. As for the Mother Mold, well, I stored it away and might mess around with it a bit before eventually destroying it.