Chapter 20 End of Battle *Edited*

Holding the burned part of his chest Subject 187 got back on his feet ready for a second round but what he saw wasn't optimal. His fellow test subjects were being cornered and as things were going it wasn't going to take long for them to lose. Their target was also about to incapacitate the one thing holding him back but he wasn't worried.

He was a Hydra super soldier trained not to fold under pressure. If they couldn't use the original plan then there was always the second or third plan. With that in mind, he ran back not even bothering to help Leech. To him that was a lost cause at most he should serve as the distraction.

Taking hold of the devices that he and his group had placed down earlier. Subject 187 adjusted them and set them at the right frequency before releasing the sound waves right at the target.

SKREE!

Stumbling back Michael Grasped his ears tightly as thin lines of blood streamed down his ears. It hurt… a lot. The pain was like having needles shoved into his ears but this was bearable when compared to the sonic cannons.

Pushing through it Michael looked up at the guy holding the device and shot out two heat rays filled with his anger. He hated that people thought they could keep using sound against him. After this, he was definitely going to find a workaround for that weakness. Whether it was some ear muffs or something biological he didn't know but he was done getting hit with these sorts of weapons.

"Argh" Grunting in response the Hydra agent was able to dodge but not completely. The Heat ray had come too fast and ripped his left arm clean off.

The Hydra agent then tried to lift up another device but soon found that this wasn't going to happen. Michael had reached him at top speed and crushed the device with his bare hands. If that wasn't enough he also used his momentum to kick him square in the chest launching him into another room.

Laying flat on his back the agent struggled to breathe. Something was definitely broken, he knew that for sure but his aching body wasn't even on his mind. Instead it was his own weakness. He had thought he was destined to be one of the best Hydra created, all because he was the strongest in his batch…

What a joke that was. Now he can see why the head scientist always called them failures compared to the original. He was experiencing it first hand but that didn't mean he'd die without giving his everything and then some. Fortunately he had the right item for this and it was clearly time to use it. So with a trembling hand he reached into his jacket and pulled out a glowing blue vial before stabbing it into his thigh.

[FlashBack]

In a high-tech facility, multiple scientists were in the middle of running tests on the Subjects who had survived the compound V trials. In the forefront of all this was Wilfred.

He looked at each survivor not as a success but rather as failures. Yes, their power may but special and Subject 187 in particular had reached Captain America levels of strength but that did nothing to appease him. Not when the escapee was capable of god-like power.

"If only he didn't escape…" If he had the chance to further study his serum and the effects it had on subject 101 then there was a high chance that he could have replicated it. Maybe even push it further into the realm of the unknown.

Sighing, he dismissed those thoughts. As a scientist, he knew it was just a matter of time before he was able to recreate the serum especially since he was the one who made it the first time and these subjects were important for that very goal. Each mission they performed in, every test they ran helped Wilfred further synthesize and correct his mistakes, and as such they were invaluable.

This thought process also led him to realize one thing. If something happened to them he'd have to start all over again and create more which would be a waste of resources.

Pulling out the mystical vile Wilfred looked at the compound V with a look of wonder. There was one thing he'd been thinking about since making this batch and he couldn't risk testing it but if there came a time when his creations would die anyway then it didn't really matter.

What was this test you ask? Well, Wilfred had a theory…these subjects were born from a diluted batch of the original serum but their genetic potential was still very high much like his first subjects. This means that theoretically, they should be able to handle a purer dosage but only lacked because the serum they were given was subpar.

So then if this was the case what would happen if an enhanced retook the serum a second time? And not just that but what if the version they took was a more updated one with a higher purity?

Would the effect boost the subject's abilities? And would this boost be permanent or temporary? What would the cost be? Death or just stamina? He didn't know but these were all questions he wanted answers to.

Walking up to the subject with the most potential. Wilfred gave him a good look and saw no harm in taking the risk.

"Subject 187 take this serum with you but only use it under the most dire of circumstances. You are the strongest of your group and as such this responsibility lies in your hands"

Subject 187 didn't even respond with any questions. It didn't matter if he died or not, his life belonged to Hydra.

"Hail Hydra!"

[Resume]

Michael walked into the next room while lightly cracking his head side to side. He still had some discomfort in his ears due to the sound device but he was healing fast and was nearly recovered. Now he just had to finish things and he could move on… 'Wait a second what's going on with that guy'

Looking across the room Michael spotted the familiar hydra agent but something was extremely off with him. For one he was standing which should've been extremely difficult for him to do at this point. The kick he had given him was aimed straight for his chest and should've definitely taken the fight out of him for a while. Yet here he was standing.

Looking closer there were some other abnormalities like the stump on his left side that should be bleeding profusely except it wasn't. Instead it looked like it had healed somewhat and finally the most jarring thing were the blue veins all over the agent's body. Michael didn't recognize it at first but all it took was one whiff of the air to recognize that unforgettable smell.

Compound V

'I guess that confirms it. They really did manage to recreate that damn serum… this is bad but at least by the looks of it their products have been subpar'

While Michael was mentally mocking Hydra, Subject 187 had already mostly finished recovering. He was still without an arm but he believed he'd be fine without it. He'd never felt so powerful before and estimated that he might really stand a chance now. If before he struggled with 5 tons then it would be a breeze now. 

Taking a running stance Subject 187 darted across the room faster than he had ever thought possible and proceeded to throw attacks at any opening he could find. Michael obviously didn't let this slide and returned each blow with equal force. This further invigorated the agent into believing that he had reached Michaels level of strength but in reality he was nowhere near.

Michael only matched him in strength because he found this change interesting. He had seen this before, back in the world of The Boys. When a supe took Compound V, their abilities surged, often pushing them far beyond their normal limits. So this was a rare opportunity to study its effects whether they were positive or negative and so far it was looking pretty positive.

The hits the agent was throwing at him still didn't hurt but they at least left a tingling sensation now, meaning the amp did do its job.

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John and Sarah faced off against the remaining test subjects, who had been sent to eliminate them. The room was a chaotic mess of flying debris and desperate combat.

John used his water to grapple with the test subject. The man tried to resist him but by pressurizing the water he managed to cut through the skin and aimed right for the heart, instantly killing the man. John could hardly believe that he won that fight. He'd thought about the ability to pressurize water before but never actually attempted and wasn't even sure if he could do that. Luckily it seemed like his gamble worked.

Turning to Sarah he saw her moving all around her opponent stabbing in every spot she could. The agent tried to resist but it failed every time under the onslaught of bone blades. In the end, Sarah stood victorious as well.

Beside them the only one who seemed to be missing was Jack but he was hidden in the distance using his telepathic powers to keep the two young mutants down. Connecting with their minds he saw that they were truly good kids and wanted to keep them out of this.

"Sarah, are you alright?" John asked as he ran over. She had cuts here and there along with bone spikes appearing from multiple parts of her body ready for use.

"Yeah I'm fine but I think we need to get there quick" Pointing further ahead John looked back and saw that Michael's fight had carried off into a different room leaving only rubble behind. Just watching made it hard to believe that this level of strength existed especially when it came to Michael. This left them feeling quite helpless wondering if they'd even be any help.

"Don't be a wuss Michael is stronger but anything can happen so let's go just in case."

"Fine but if I die I'm taking you with me" John joked half seriously.

In response, she just smiled and took two bone swords in hand before making her way to the fight. Not wanting to get left behind John chased as well leaving Jack to care for the children and explain everything when they woke up.

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"Hahaha, do you see this! This is exactly what I want for this facility's true power." Watching the battles taking place through the cameras made Ajax thrilled. Clearly, they were proof that their work wasn't impossible.

The other guards and scientists present also watched in awe. They may hate mutants for one reason or another but they also envy their strength and here they had two individuals who weren't mutants reaching such levels of strength. Yes… humanity definitely wouldn't be left behind because they too could progress.

"Christina I want you to go down and assist our helpers. Once done we can gather up any remaining samples-" However before Ajax could finish giving orders a loud and annoying voice echoed in the room.

"FRANCIS! Daddy's back with the Milk"

Turning around the group saw a man strapped up with all sorts of weapons along with many other test subjects he had freed. Every single one of them looked at the group with anger but most of all in anticipation. Finally, they would get vengeance.

"Listen here pipsqueaks you can kill everyone you want except for that guy. He's mine" Pulling out two knives Wade charged for Francis along with everyone he brought with him.

Francis watched this with pure agitation. He had clearly set up this buffoon for extermination but for one reason or another, he was still alive and was going to ruin everything! Clearly, his subordinates were lacking. "Fine I'll handle this myself"

Cracking his neck he too charged at Wade and not long after the room was filled with all sorts of sounds like energy blasts, shocks, and bullets. But one thing was sure soon this room would have a ton of bodies lying around.

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"Surrender your life belongs to Hydra, your future belongs to Hydra!" Subject 187 said this with a fanatical look as he launched another blow.

"Hydra…" Saying that organization name Michael remained quiet for a moment before laughing. "I think you got something wrong friend we may both be products from Hydra but I'm different from you"

Subject 187 made a light scowl at this. "And how's that? Can't you see I'm matching you in power. It's only a matter of time before I overpower you and if not me then a different subject"

"And that's exactly where you're wrong. You see you're not matching me. I'm matching you. This whole fight could have been ended a lot earlier but I let it last this long simply because I was interested in seeing the effects of doping on V. But I've already seen enough. It's clearly not a good method and you don't even realize it."

The agent stood frozen for a moment in hesitation wondering if this was true but he didn't want to believe it. "Don't think your lies will make me slip up. I'm trained to be above that"

Michael sighed seeing he wasn't getting through so simply pointed it out. "You don't even realize it but you're already slower than you were before we even started the fight. Yeah the amp was impressive for a while but by this point you're already weaker then how you started. Most likely a side effect"

"Weaker?" Looking down at himself the agent clenched his fist and had his eyes widen in surprise. He was weaker… and he didn't even notice. Was he on some sort of high because of the compound? He wondered. Wilfred had told him that it was experimental and that they were sure what may happen but for it to have been something like this.

"Still doesn't change anything. Like I side it may not be me who beats you but hydra will produce better"

Michael just smiled and walked past the agent with something in his hand. "Wrong again. I'm smarter, I'm stronger, I am better and there's nothing Hydra can produce to match me" Tilting his hand over he let a red object fall to the ground as it slowly beat its last.

The hydra agent didn't even know his heart had been removed and died in confusion. In that moment Michael truly showed some of the speed he was capable of. Yeah he may not have been a speedster but that didn't mean he couldn't do some crazy stuff.

Turning away from the dead guy Michael looked over to the two arrivals who had watched some of his fight.

"That was… I don't even know what to say" John said honestly. He'd seen something's in his time here but never something like that.

Sarah on the other hand didn't look disturbed in the slightest if anything she looked excited and proud of her choice to follow. Who wouldn't want a strong leader?

"Now come on I'm sure that the security room has to be nearby-" While saying this the intercoms all throughout the facility soon came to life with a static pay noise before someone began speaking into it.

"Ahem ahem, attention this is your local Walmart employee speaking. Clean up on aisle five needed also can- Hey I'm trying to talk here" Wade said before a light struggle could be heard.

"Stop it you buffoon let me handle this" Taking the Mic Killebrew adjusted himself before speaking "All my fellow scientists and mutants you are now free. The command of this facility has been taken care of and its forces dismantled. For your help Michael I'd like to thank you as well and request that you come to the security room"

'That voice sounded a little to familiar just now' Michael wasn't sure what it was but he felt like it belonged to someone extremely troublesome.

"We're really free" John said absently before jumping up in joy. Finally, after four years here he was going to be free.

Entering the room Jack heard and saw everything with the two young mutants and also made a large smile before the kids began running around. They could go back with the Morlocks and play with their friends.

"We'll you all heard him from now on, you're free" Saying this Michael turned to face the group. As he did so he saw the pure joy and gratitude in the group and felt strange for some reason.

Is this what it feels like to help people and receive their gratitude? If this was so then he could sort of understand why old Jim wanted him to help people. It wasn't a bad feeling.

Taking a single step forward Michael noticed a cracking sounds as he stepped on something. Looking down he saw that he had accidentally crushed the head of subject 187.

"…"

'Well I'm definitely no hero, if I was I would have done a much better job'

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Read some of the comments and found some points were fair in their criticism. So I went back and rewrote this fight scene as Michael really is just better then anything Hydra has at the moment.