Chapter 131
An argument broke out after Betty finished her explanation about the manual shutdown of the Reactor. We went into troubleshooting mode immediately. Everybody made a case for them to remain except the Chameleon Lady, who looked like she couldn't get out of the room fast enough.
The teleporter was convinced he had to be the last one out, so the slot was already filled. Betty and my assistant, surprisingly, argued that they were the second. Captain America even offered himself up, but I overruled them all.
"I'm the second," I said in a tired but final voice.
"What!" Betty turned to me, face twisted in confusion, then outrage. "No! Don't you dare."
"It has to be me," I said. "We can't ask our assistant to sacrifice himself, and I'm sure as hell not letting you die hours after your father did."
"You're not sacrificing yourself." Betty said.
"I'm dying, Babe. I'm the most disposable. The agents are modern-day superheroes and the best the government got. If these demons are as dangerous as they say, we're going to need every last superspy."
"The world needs you more," Natasha argued.
"We can always train more agents. But only you can make another Captain America. He can make a real difference, and he has."
"Doc, please. Listen to her," The Captain said. "Imagine how much of a difference another Supersoldier would've made during the war. How many lives he could've saved. You've seen firsthand what we're up against. One of me doesn't cut it anymore. Let me stand in your stead."
I shook my head.
"The world needs you here to lead the next generation," I said. "You're the only man I can trust to oversee the future program." Slowly, I reached into my pocket, fetching one of the two vials of chemicals in my pocket. Belatedly, I realized that the second had cracked and the glass cut into my flesh. I wagered some of the Serum had even made it into my bloodstream.
I handed the vial over to Becky. "Watch over her," I said to the Captain. "She knows the formula by heart. All of the notes are in a flashdrive beneath the bottom panel of my stove."
I'd stuck my backup there for obvious reasons. I was ready to cook it, just in case.
"With this you have everything you need..."
"Don't do this to me, Bruce," Betty begged, tears streaming down her cheek. "You can't even stand. Listen to the Captain."
It broke my heart, but I stayed my ground.
"I'll find the strength when the time comes," I said. "I have a few minutes left if I am lucky. I am dead anyways."
The Captain set his shield down and gripped me by the shoulder.
"I promise. I won't let her out of my sight."
"No!" Betty protested, turning to Kurt.
"Don't listen. Save him. I won't help you if you don't."
The kid's face twisted in confusion and discomfort, but ultimately shook his head. "I'm sorry."
Betty shoved him back, tears streaming down her face.
"Betty," The Captain spoke with a softer voice. "Bruce has made his decision. It's no easy thing, sacrificing your life for the ones you love. Honor him."
Betty stood there for a long moment, sweaty from the heat, eyes red from the tears. She held me close and kissed me.
"I love you, Bruce."
The grief nearly rendered me mute, but I told her I loved her.
She reluctantly untangled me, and the plan was set in motion. One by one, they vanished out of the room, teleported to safety by Kurt until I was eventually alone.
As if their departure had been some type of sign, a strange strength flooded me, and suddenly, I was stronger and healthier than I'd ever felt. I rose to my feet unburdened by the pain of my wound, and when I lifted my bloody shirt and checked on it. I found that it had clotted.
I laughed at the absurd turn of events. The supersoldier serum was working. The change was considerably slower than I calculated, but it was still all together—
The pain returned with a vengeance, and I hacked up a mouthful of blood. My knees grew wobbly, and I immediately knew what was wrong.
I didn't have enough formula, and the transformation was failing despite the overabundance of gamma radiation in the room.
More.
I needed more.
I hobbled over to a shattered case formerly packed with uncompleted formulas and a scant few successes, tripping over a metal stool and spilling into a shallow puddle of unrecognizable chemical sludge. To my utter surprise, one of my successful Serum had survived the devastation of the demon.
Retrieving it and extracting it into a syringe was utterly agonizing as my strength fled me. The syringe eventually went into my arm just as the kid flashed back into the room.
My strength returned to me as suddenly as it fled.
"You're standing?" The kid asked with a startled voice as I pulled myself up, using the wall.
"Let's get to work while I still have fight left in me."
Together, the kids released the metal cooling system and watched it drain into the active Reactor. It flowed from chamber to chamber until it passed by the fractured area of the containment unit.
We waited with bated breath and nervously peered at the last monitor attached to the Reactor. The heat was steadily dropping despite the coolant leaking.
"Will it be enough?" Kurt asked.
"Maybe. If the temperature keeps dropping at its current pace. However, if the coolant runs out before then…half of the campus will evaporate in a green mushroom cloud."
The kid gulped.
"We'll have to figure something out before then."
"Unless you can—"
The values on the monitor suddenly spiked, clearing temperature scales faster than ever, and I realized we had seconds before the Reactor would go critical.
"You need to Teleport it," I said, nervous sweat pouring down my face. "If you can dump it in the middle of the ocean then maybe we can avoid casualties."
"I can't!" the kid said with gritted teeth. The temperature was getting to him, too. "I haven't been in the ocean before."
I blinked. What did Kurt mean he hadn't been in the ocean? He was a Teleporter! It was then I remembered he was blue. I didn't imagine it would've gone over well for him.
"What about a large forest, the Arctic, anywhere devoid of human life?" I asked, but his growing look of dread told me the kid was not as well-traveled as I hoped.
"Get your boss on the phone then," I said, wracking my brain. "He has to have a site, an idea, something--."
"I can help," a voice came from the room's entrance, causing me and the kid to swivel around.
It was a girl with flowing red hair draped in a long red coat. I recognized the voice, finally putting a face to the name.
"Jean?" Kurt announced. "We thought…"
"I'm fine," she said, a little too hastily, "and all caught up. I have an idea, but I'll need to run it by the Dr. first."
I blinked. "Sure…"
"Is it safe to rip the Reactor up from its current location and toss it into a desert in the Artic?"
"Yes!" I practically screamed. "Positively yes. The entire system was designed to be transported. We already decoupled it from most essential
systems. Go crazy!"
She nodded, pushed her hands forward, and twisted in a circular motion. A shimmering circle of golden materialized above the Reactor.
Frigid winds poured out, providing us instant relief from the sweltering heat.
Without much fanfare, she extended a sole hand toward the Reactor and pulled. I heard large groans as the chunk of metal hefted from the floor. She tenderly raised it, bringing it closer and closer to the Reactor.
The monstrosity was halfway through the portal when I heard another crack.
Shit.
The fracture that started this mess enlarged faster than I could blink, and a cloud of gamma radiation poured out. Jean instantly raised a barrier as she tossed the Reactor through and pulled me backward. Kurt teleported, putting distance between himself and the Reactor, when he heard the second crack.
Adept as Jean was, however, Jean couldn't contain the cloud of radiation. A line seeped out and touched my skin, generating a sudden reaction. Green veins sprouted across my body as my heart sped up, and I was overcome with indescribable strength and rage. With a roar, I ripped through the Telekinetic restraint she'd placed on me when she'd saved me and charged through the shield she'd raised, separating us from the incoming gamma waves.
My skin drank it all in, filling me with even more strength and rage. My muscles and skin started to ripple, and my bones creaked and grew.
The pain was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. And it didn't take me long to conclude that these were the unwanted consequences of abusing the Serum as I had.
I just wanted the pain to stop.
My eyes grew heavy, yet I felt fully awake, and as the last of the gamma fog cleared, my attention turned to Jean, who seemed to be observing with a mix of surprise and fascination. Not fear, though.
A primal part of me seemed to roar in challenge at that.
I WAS THE STRONGEST. HOW DARE THIS PUNY HUMAN!
With an earth-shaking roar, I charged her and swung. My fist impacted snow instead of her face. She'd sent me through a portal faster than I could react.
The temperature drop was so immediate that I grew unsteady despite my newfound strength. In the distance, I noticed the Reactor, still rapidly leaking gamma.
On instinct, I bounded toward it. The containment finally gave out, and a wave of verdant green slammed into me. Everything faded to white.