Centipede's Attack (chapter 41)

prevously in chapter 40

Raina's face grew serious. "That would be unfortunate. We don't want to be your enemies, Henry. We could use someone with your talents, but if you're not with us… well, you know how these things go."

Henry felt a surge of anger but kept his voice calm. "You come to me with an offer, then threaten me when I don't jump at it? That's not how I operate, Raina."

Raina sighed again, looking genuinely regretful. "I didn't want it to come to this. I had hoped you'd see the potential, the profit and the benefits of working together. But I see now that you're not interested."

"I am all about profits, trust me, but I'm not interested in being a dog," Henry said firmly. "I've seen what happens when people like you get their hands on power. It's never enough, i know it wont be enough for me if i was in your position. There are always more demands, more restrictions. I won't be a part of that."

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Chapter 41

Raina nodded slowly, her eyes sad. "I'm sorry to hear that, Henry. I really am. But understand this: Centipede will move forward with or without you. I just hoped you'd be on our side and."

Henry turned to leave, but paused, looking back at her. "Consider this a warning, Raina. Dont fuck with me, i might be alone but i am enough."

Raina's smile returned, though it was tinged with sadness. "And consider this a warning to you, Henry. Centipede doesn't take no for an answer."

With that, Henry turned and walked away, disappearing into the night. The encounter had left him unsettled.

Henry's mind raced as he made his way back to his second hideout, hidden deep within the underground subway system. The encounter with Raina had left him unsettled, but also energized with a torrent of new ideas. He needed to get his affairs in order and relocate his operations to his primary hideout. The narrow, dimly lit tunnels echoed with the sound of his hurried footsteps as he descended deeper into the underground labyrinth.

Inside his hideout, Henry had transferred everything in his second hideout to his first hideout and was just about to collect some small thing when suddenly, he heard a loud crush. The steel door, his primary defense against intruders, buckled and gave way as three men burst into the room. They wore green military uniforms and moved with a fluidity that belied their superhuman strength. 

Before Henry could react, the men spread out, cutting off any possible escape routes. Their eyes, glowing with an unnatural light, locked onto him with predatory intensity. Henry's heart raced as he bit down on the Extremis pill hidden in his mouth, feeling the serum flood his system and ignite his cells with enhanced strength and agility.

"Raina sends her regards i guess," henry smiled. Henry didn't waste any time. He hurled a Sunburst Bomb at the closest assailant. The bomb exploded in a blinding flash of light and heat, searing the man's skin and momentarily blinding him. Taking advantage of the distraction, Henry grabbed a Lightning Bolt Bomb and threw it at the second man. The bomb discharged with a crackling burst of electricity, arcs of lightning chaining between the attackers and sending them convulsing to the ground.

The third man lunged at Henry, who quickly threw a Magnetic Pulse Bomb. The bomb emitted a powerful magnetic pulse, which from the jerk of the mens head, it seemed to have deactivated some sort of cybernetic implants in the attackers' heads and disrupting their enhanced vision. The men staggered, momentarily disoriented as the glow in their eyes dimmed.

Despite his enhanced abilities, Henry realized he was still outmatched. The men recovered quickly, their superhuman physiology allowing them to shrug off the effects of his bombs faster than he anticipated. They closed in on him, their movements coordinated and relentless.

"This isnt going to do it"Henry gritted his teeth and activated the Fragment of the Reality Stone embedded in his ring. The gem pulsed with a dark red light, and he felt its immense power course through him. He decided to use all five abilities at once, not wasting time.

First, he transformed the concrete floor beneath the men into a sticky, viscous liquid, causing them to sink and struggle to move. The men fought to free themselves, their enhanced strength making slow progress.

Next, Henry created an illusion, making it appear as though the entire hideout was collapsing. The ceiling cracked and crumbled, sending debris raining down. The men instinctively shielded themselves, giving Henry a precious few moments to prepare his next move.

He warped space, creating a portal that transported him behind the men. He then redirected the ambient electrical energy from the damaged lights into a concentrated blast, sending it towards his attackers. The energy struck them with explosive force, further incapacitating them.

Finally, Henry manipulated time, slightly slowing the flow around the men. Their movements became sluggish, as if they were wading through molasses. With them temporarily incapacitated, he laughed. "You really thought you could kill me that easily?" he taunted, like a villain. As the men struggled against the temporal distortion, he asked himself, "Well, what am I going to do with you?" Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. "Right, let's see what this Centipede is all about, eh," he said as he started to examine the men who had centipede-like implants on their bodies with red liquid contained inside, which he, of course, removed after he teleported back to his first hideout.

This made him realize something. "I need to dig deeper, somewhere far away and harder to get to," he mused. Since he could teleport, he only needed to be there once and he could teleport in and out. 

"However, where should I go? Where should I start?" he asked himself as he started to dissect the implant from the Centipede soldiers. Much to his surprise, there was actually gamma infusion. "Well, this is a surprise, but a welcome one as well," he mused to himself. The technology itself was advanced, but he found a problem. "There's a hole where the serum is distributed, which I can use to my advantage and add my own poison to actually dilute their serum," he liked that idea very much.

-scene change-

Inside his first hideout, which was more secure, with new walls as well as new equipment, generators, secure networks, and his whole second hideout sorted neatly, there was also his entire farm, especially focused on Project Hercules. Henry could now be seen combining two things, a clover leaf that was turned into paste and a horseshoe that was turned into essence. With his mana, which had been activated for a hot minute, Henry was quickly able to combine these materials into a potion. Yes, a potion, made from a 5-leafed clover and a horseshoe. What would the effect be?

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A/N: Yeah, what do you guys think the effect would be? Anyways, sorry for the late upload, something came up, i know i said he wont misuse the reality gem, but someone, don't you want to see the effect, also this is just rudimentary use of the gem, not its full potential, of course, henry wont forgive centipede for this disrespect, in fact, his get back is quite satisfying.

PS: What do you think Henry's reaction would be when he meets or finds out what Killgrave did?

A: Righteous anger

B: Mild amusement

C: Just anger

D: Happy

E: Plain anger at the sheer stupidity and misuse of his powers

F: Capture him and drain his psionic energy continuously as a material using his essence extraction

ps: most if y'all chose f, diabolical, guess that is to be expected if you are reading a villain fanfic