Chapter 138: The Dawn of Sun (6)

Timeline: November 12, 1995

After Hours has passed

In the hidden base where Doctor Doom and Chameleon were strategizing, the atmosphere was tense.

Dr. Doom paced angrily. "What happened?" he demanded.

Chameleon, standing nearby, pointed towards a confined figure. "Sir, it looks like the ElectroGenesis was absorbed by this man," he explained, indicating Maxwell Dillon, who was trapped in a high-tech prison designed to contain his electrical powers.

Dr. Doom's eyes narrowed as he stared at Dillon's confinement. "Tsk!!!" he hissed in frustration. He turned sharply towards Chameleon. "Make that man our puppet. Manipulate him. Do whatever it takes to bring him to our side."

Chameleon nodded obediently. "Yes, sir."

Dr. Doom's expression softened slightly. "Good. We need that man's electricity to power up the Orbit Sun."

Chameleon acknowledged with a nod. "I'm on it, sir."

With a final nod, Dr. Doom left the room, leaving Chameleon behind with the confined Maxwell Dillon. Dillon's body was enveloped in crackling electricity, restrained by the advanced confinement system that functioned like a straitjacket, immobilizing him completely.

Inside his electrified prison, Maxwell Dillon could hear only the faintest sounds—a perfect condition for Chameleon to begin his psychological manipulation. Chameleon smirked, knowing that isolating Dillon from all senses but sound would make him more susceptible to his influence. This was the first step in turning Dillon into their obedient pawn.

.....

[Chris side]

Meanwhile, reporters swarmed the Hilton Company headquarters, eager for details about the catastrophic failure of the ElectroGenesis project that resulted in the deaths of numerous scientists. Chris Hilton, the company's owner faced the daunting task of addressing the public and the press.

As Chris stood before the crowd, he could feel the weight of their anger and grief. The company's stock had plummeted, and the atmosphere was charged with hostility. Determined to take responsibility, Chris knelt in front of the reporters and the families of the deceased.

"It won't happen again, and I am deeply sorry to disappoint you all," Chris said, his voice filled with remorse.

The crowd was relentless, their anger palpable.

"Fuck you, Chris!"

"Bring them back!"

"You are trash!"

"Because of you, my son died!"

"Because of you, my wife died!"

"Because of you, my husband died!"

"Because of you, my daughter died!"

Objects flew at Chris as he knelt, the crowd's rage manifesting in physical and verbal assaults. Chris stayed down, absorbing the fury directed at him. Amidst this chaos, his mind raced with thoughts of avenging the fallen scientists and finding Maxwell Dillon, who had mysteriously vanished during the catastrophe. 

Suddenly, his eldest daughter, Samantha, stepped forward, trying to divert the blame. "It's not CEO Chris's fault. It's Maxwell Dillon, who disappeared back then, who is at fault!"

Chris looked at Samantha in disbelief. "What are you doing, Samantha?" he demanded.

She approached him, her voice low enough for only him to hear. "Dad, if you want our company to be saved from backlash, then we need to blame it on Maxwell."

Chris's eyes widened in shock. He couldn't believe his daughter would suggest such a thing. "No, I won't. I will take the blame. Even you can't stop me."

Samantha's face hardened with determination. "I figured you would say that, Dad." With a swift motion, she retrieved the sedative from her pocket and injected Chris instead. "I'm sorry, Dad."

 (Samantha blocked everyone's view, so no one else could see her injecting her father)

Chris groaned, "No, Samantha, no," before succumbing to unconsciousness after the injection.

Samantha whispered to her unconscious father, "Dad, I can't let you and Lucas suffer. This choice is to protect our family and our future." She looked at him, whose face much younger than his 66 years, thanks to the young serum.

Samantha, Her determination was evident—she would do whatever it took to secure their legacy, even if it meant sacrificing the truth.

Then Samantha's quick thinking and decisive actions began to shift the tide. As her father lay unconscious on the ground, she cried out, "Help! My dad is unconscious due to the pressure that Maxwell has caused!"

The crowd gasped in shock and confusion.

"Maxwell? Who's Maxwell?"

"I heard about him. My son said he was the leader of the project."

Murmurs of curiosity and concern rippled through the crowd. Samantha turned to the security guards and commanded, "Take my father to the hospital."

The security guards nodded, quickly moving to follow her orders. "Yes, ma'am," one of them responded as they carefully lifted Chris Hilton and carried him away.

Samantha took a deep breath and addressed the crowd, her voice filled with emotion. "I know all of you are confused by what I said," she began, her eyes scanning the worried faces before her. "It was Maxwell Dillon who killed your family and friends."

The crowd erupted in a mixture of disbelief and outrage.

"How do you know that?"

"Bullshit!"

"Are you just blaming someone else?"

Then Samantha held up her hands, trying to calm the storm. "Listen, everyone!" she called out, her voice steady despite the chaos. "It's because Maxwell vanished from the company. He is the only one who disappeared while everyone else in that lab died."

The crowd quieted slightly, their attention focused on her.

Samantha continued, her voice gaining strength, "Think about it. Maxwell Dillon was the leader of the ElectroGenesis project. On the day of the incident, everyone else in the lab was killed, but Maxwell... he just vanished. There's no trace of him anywhere."

She paused, letting the gravity of her words settle over the crowd. The murmurs grew louder as people processed this new information.

"Disappeared?" someone in the crowd repeated, confusion evident in their tone.

Samantha nodded emphatically. "Yes, disappeared! While our loved ones were dying, he managed to escape without a scratch. Doesn't that seem suspicious to you?"

The crowd began to murmur among themselves, the anger previously directed at Chris Hilton now shifting towards Maxwell Dillon.

"Is that true?"

"It makes sense. Why else would he vanish?"

"That bastard needs to pay for what he did!"

The collective anger grew, fueled by Samantha's revelation. She watched as the crowd's focus shifted, knowing she had successfully redirected their rage. But in her heart, she felt a pang of guilt for condemning Maxwell without knowing the full truth. Still, she believed it was necessary to protect her family and the company.

Unbeknownst to them, Maxwell Dillon was completely unaware of the chaos unfolding. He remained confined in the villain's base, captured and manipulated, he had no idea that he was now being blamed for the tragedy and that he was now a wanted man.

 ...

[Meanwhile Michael side]

As we sat in my living room, watching the news, a sense of dread settled over me. Chris, My friend, was caught up in a terrible tragedy at his company. The news reports were grim, and I couldn't shake the feeling of heaviness in my chest. It was hard to believe that someone I knew could be involved in something like this. 

The news anchor's voice filled the room, carrying the weight of the recent tragedy. "Today, November 12, 1995, a horrifying incident unfolded within the confines of the Hilton Company laboratory," he announced, his tone tinged with disbelief and sorrow.

The screen displayed a stark image of the Hilton Company lab, now a scene of chaos and devastation. Emergency personnel swarmed the area, their faces grim as they worked tirelessly amidst the wreckage. Debris littered the floor, and the air was thick with the acrid smell of smoke.

"As you can see," the anchor continued, his voice trembling slightly, "the aftermath of the incident has left the lab in tragedy." The camera panned across the room, capturing the extent of the destruction. Equipment lay scattered and broken, test tubes shattered, and computer monitors flickered ominously.

The anchor's words hung heavy in the air, underscoring the magnitude of the tragedy that had unfolded within those walls. The loss of life was palpable, and the sense of shock and disbelief was evident in the faces of those gathered around the lab.

Reporters clamored for information, their voices echoing through the chaos as they sought to make sense of the unfolding tragedy. Eyewitness accounts painted a grim picture of the events that had transpired, each detail more harrowing than the last.

As the broadcast continued, the full scope of the devastation became painfully clear. Every person who had participated in the ElectroGenesis project had perished, their lives tragically cut short by the catastrophic events that had unfolded within the lab.

The camera shifted to Lucas Hilton, Chris's son, who stood amidst the chaos, his expression a mix of shock and grief. The reporter's question hung heavy in the air, demanding answers in the wake of the devastating tragedy that had unfolded.

Lucas, visibly overwhelmed by the weight of the situation, struggled to find the right words. "I have no comment on this," he finally managed, his voice strained with emotion. "And I apologize to the families who lost their loved ones in this tragedy."

But before the moment could settle, a voice from the crowd pierced through the chaos, drawing everyone's attention. "Hey," the voice called out, filled with accusation and disbelief, "it seems like Maxwell Dillon caused this tragedy!"

The reporters, sensing a potential breakthrough in the story, quickly redirected their focus, their cameras zooming in on Lucas in anticipation of his response. "What?" he echoed, his voice echoing the collective shock and confusion of those gathered around him. The revelation sent shockwaves through the crowd, leaving them grappling with the sudden twist in the unfolding narrative.

Confused and desperate for answers, I reached for the remote and switched to another news channel. My heart raced with anticipation as I listened intently to the unfolding events. "Let see in the other channel," I urged, my voice strained with tension. "It seems Samantha Hilton is saying something live." The need to understand what had transpired in the Hilton Company's tragedy gnawed at me, driving me to seek out any information that could shed light on the situation.

The TV screen shifted to the live broadcast, revealing Samantha Hilton standing before a microphone, her expression a blend of determination and sorrow.

"Maxwell Dillon is responsible for the deaths," Samantha declared, her voice unwavering yet tinged with emotion. "He disappeared from the scene, leaving everyone else to die."

The news about Maxwell Dillon caught me off guard. I mean, Maxwell wasn't someone you'd expect to cause harm. Before he became Electro in the comics, he was just an ordinary scientist living a normal life. So, why was Samantha accusing him? Was it to save the company's reputation? It seemed like a hasty move, but there had to be more to this story. I needed to dig deeper to understand what was really going on.

...

[Meanwhile S.H.I.E.L.D side]

[In the aftermath of the Centipede Group's rampage]

Agents Phil Coulson and Al MacKenzie faced a scene of utter devastation. Chaos reigned, with bodies scattered across the area and ambulances rushing to tend to the injured. The aftermath of the battle was clear to see, with fallen agents, terrorists, and innocent bystanders alike strewn across the ground.

Reporters swarmed the area, hungry for information on what had occurred, but the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. swiftly blocked their access, refusing to divulge details to the press.

Agent MacKenzie's frustration boiled over as he confronted John Garrett, the former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent turned traitor and leader of the Centipede Group. "Who ordered you?!" he demanded, his voice filled with anger and betrayal.

John Garrett's response was a chilling laugh, his smirk mocking their attempts to unravel the truth. "You don't need to know," he taunted, reveling in the chaos he had wrought.

Unable to contain his rage, Agent MacKenzie lashed out, landing blow after blow on Garrett, fueled by his fury at the devastation caused by the terrorist group.

Agent Coulson intervened, his voice calm but firm. "Stop it, Al. It's not worth it," he urged, recognizing the futility of further violence in the face of their mission.

Despite his boiling anger, Agent MacKenzie reluctantly yielded, recognizing that their immediate focus had to be on capturing Garrett and bringing him to S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. "Fine, fine," he grumbled, acknowledging Coulson's advice with a begrudging nod. "But this son of a bitch," he continued, his voice heavy with frustration, "he's responsible for this mess. People died because of his damn group."

Garrett didn't seem bothered by their confrontation, still wearing his smirk as if nothing fazed him.

Coulson stepped in, his voice firm but calm. "Even though he caused chaos, our main goal is simple: we'll make sure Garrett and his group ends up in a S.H.I.E.L.D. jail, and report this incident to Director Loe," he said, bringing their attention back to the task at hand.

Agent MacKenzie nodded, his frustration evident, and muttered, "Fine." He then turned his gaze to Garrett and grumbled, "You lucky bastard."

 ...

As tensions rise and the sun dips below the horizon, a huge showdown is about to unfold. It's a test of heroism like never before, pushing our two Spider-Men to their limits and forcing them to make sacrifices they never imagined. Can they save the city and stop the chaos before the dawn of sun?

Stay tuned for the next chapter, where the dawn of sun marks the start of a fierce battle! Our two Spider-Men are up against their toughest challenge yet as chaos grips the city. Will they win, or will darkness win out? Stick around to find out if hope triumphs or despair takes over in this thrilling showdown at the dawn of sun!

To be continued