Marvel 1919 : Rise of an Empire

George and the Task Force boarded the train beneath the Villa, an emergency Umbrella access route that would take them straight into the Hive, the heart of everything.

The tunnel was dimly lit and sterile, lined with rusted steel walls and the faint scent of oil and something acrid in the air. It was quiet, too quiet, broken only by the occasional hum of old machinery still active somewhere far below.

"The power's out," Kaplan called after checking the cockpit, frowning.

"Fix it!" James snapped.

"On it now," Kaplan muttered, already working.

Rain, ever alert, had already stepped into the carriage and spotted an exposed floor panel. Without hesitation, she dropped down and began repairs with practiced efficiency.

George stood still, arms crossed, observing. He didn't say much, but he was taking it all in.

Within minutes, the repair was complete. The floor panel sealed with a final click, and Rain climbed back up as Kaplan's voice rang out again. "Power restored."

The train hummed to life. One by one, the team stepped inside.

Just as Kaplan reached for the throttle, George tilted his head slightly and said, "Someone's out there. Left side, crouched. He's trying not to make a sound. Let him in."

Rain turned sharply. "How do you even know that?"

George just smiled without answering.

Rain approached the door and tried the mechanism twice, but it didn't budge. Another male soldier stepped up and gave it a go once, twice before it finally hissed open.

A man stumbled in, gasping for breath, crashing into the soldier's chest. Instinctively, the soldier flinched and reached for his sidearm before realizing the man wasn't infected.

He was just terrified.

As the train rumbled to life and began its descent, the lights inside flickered briefly. A low mechanical hum filled the cabin, accompanied by the occasional metallic clunk echoing from the tracks below.

The medic moved forward to examine the unconscious man.

"If you knew what he did, you wouldn't want to save him. Oh, by the way, Alice. He's the husband you 'fake married.' Spence," George said with a smirk, sitting casually on a supply crate. His tone carried a smug amusement, like he was enjoying the unfolding drama.

James noticed George's clear disdain for Spence and remained silent, but Alice frowned and asked, "Sir, what did he do?"

"Nothing too trivial. Just caused the virus leak that brought all this down," George replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

The atmosphere shifted instantly. Several team members tensed, glancing warily at Spence. The one who had opened the door stepped forward and wordlessly cuffed him, the gesture swift and decisive.

"Rain, do you see the breach?" George asked, pointing ahead.

"Yes, sir," Rain replied, peering forward. "What caused that?"

"An experimental subject escaped. Now tell me, what do you think the Umbrella Corporation does when one of its prized monsters breaks containment?" George asked with a knowing look.

James answered, his tone grim, "Emergency protocol dictates full lockdown around the Villa. No one in or out."

George gave a mocking clap. "Right on cue. Too late for regrets, folks. Once you're outside, you'll be under control. Congratulations. You're now officially the first batch of test subjects."

"Test subjects for what exactly?" James asked, tension rising in his voice.

"Weapons. Biological weapons," George stated simply.

The weight of those words settled heavily on the group. Images of viruses, nerve agents, and other horrors came unbidden to their minds. Faces paled.

Into the Hive

The silence became thick as the train screeched to a halt. Task Force members retrieved their gear, readying to breach the Hive.

As George stepped off, he glanced up at a nearby surveillance camera. "Red Queen, open the door. You know you can't stop them. Might as well save us the time."

A red hologram flickered into view, materializing as a young girl in a crimson dress. Her voice was robotic yet chillingly childlike. "Don't go in. You're all going to die down here."

"Open the door," Kaplan ordered firmly.

The Red Queen hesitated. "You will surely die," she said again, before vanishing.

A heavy silence followed.

"Proceed as planned," James instructed, gesturing forward.

Rain activated the electric cutter. Sparks flew as the metal gave way, the sound loud in the stillness. A few tense minutes later, the massive gate unlocked with a hydraulic hiss.

"Gentlemen, welcome to the Hive," Rain announced dryly.

Beyond the gate stretched a pitch black corridor. The Task Force members, undeterred, activated their night vision goggles and formed up, pushing forward.

George followed at the rear, hands in his pockets, a faint smirk still on his face. This was entertainment to him, a mere vacation.

The Flooded Offices

As they descended deeper, the corridor led to a submerged office sector. Kaplan located the power control panel and restored the lights. Fluorescent bulbs buzzed to life, illuminating a haunting scene.

The corridor was deathly quiet. Through glass partitions, they saw that the office spaces were completely flooded. Inside, bodies floated weightlessly in eerie silence.

George stopped, his gaze fixed on the morbid sight.

The others halted behind him.

"What is it? You saw something?" Rain asked, approaching cautiously.

George tilted his head slightly, a look of vague amusement on his face as he studied the murky water behind the glass.

"Corpses," Matt muttered, stunned. "What happened here?"

"Five hours ago, Red Queen went on a rampage, sealed the Hive, and killed everyone. My team was dispatched to shut her down," James explained.

"God… they sealed the Hive with people still inside?" Alice muttered in disbelief.

"Is this because the virus leaked? What kind of virus justifies killing so many?"

She glanced at George, who was now watching the two people clinging to the glass with a mischievous grin.

Just then, a long haired female corpse floated toward the glass, its closed eyes suddenly snapping open.

"Oh, shit!"

"That's not human anymore," Rain muttered as they raised their weapons, but James held up a hand to stop them. The reanimated corpse thrashed violently in the water, its jerky movements adding to the dread.

"You knew all along?" Alice asked George.

"Mm. This is the Umbrella Corporation's research product: the T-Virus. As you can see, everyone killed inside the Hive has turned into these highly aggressive monsters," George explained with a mischievous grin.

"Now think about it. If you shut off the power and remove Red Queen, what would be the consequences? All the monsters would escape. That's when things would get... entertaining."

"Why aren't you worried?" Spence asked.

"Because, unlike the rest of you, I'm not betting my life on luck or company protocols," George chuckled.

Only then did the Task Force understand why George had called them the Suicide Squad. If these unknown monsters attacked them…

Everyone gathered in a dimly lit hall lined with rusting iron storage units, their surfaces stamped with Umbrella's logo, each sealed tight and humming faintly.

"Kaplan," James called out.

"The map indicates there's a restaurant in Building B," Kaplan replied.

"You might be mistaken!" James said as he joined Kaplan to examine the map more closely.

"With Umbrella, maps are as much fiction as fact. You never know what's real until you're neck deep in it," Matt muttered.

"Uncuff him. Rain and J.D., guard the exit," James ordered again.

The machine room lay ahead, and James, along with Kaplan and a few others, prepared to move in that direction. At that moment, George approached Rain and noticed Kaplan passing by.

He remarked, "If you come across a location that needs scouting, let Spence go first. After all, he's the one who caused all of this."

Given that Spence had intentionally leaked the virus and the sight of infected individuals in the office area, it was understandable that no one had a good impression of him.

Rain and J.D. were about to pry open the elevator when George quickly intervened. "That's not a good way out."

"Then where do we go?" Rain asked.

"Do you think the Umbrella Corporation would allow you to leave safely?" George replied, tone light but chilling. "They don't build exits. They build traps."

Meanwhile, James and the others reached the control room. Kaplan, using a code provided by the Umbrella Corporation, hacked into the Red Queen's backend data to open the passage.

Just as everyone, except Kaplan, including Alice, was about to enter, James recalled George's warning. "Wait a moment. Don't go in yet. I'll take Spence to scout ahead."

"Captain, why don't we let Spence scout by himself?" Kaplan suggested.

"It's fine. The main unit is just ahead, and I'm worried Spence might damage the motherboard," James replied.

Though George possessed terrifying abilities, James and his team weren't without skill. They were confident in their weapons and training, perhaps too confident. Despite George's warnings, they moved forward, clinging to their mission.

After checking their gear, they pushed Spence into what George had ominously called the Death Passage.

George watched, a faint trace of amusement in his eyes, but not out of malice. His attitude was lighter than expected, not cold or detached like some aloof mastermind, but more like a man for whom the boundary of life and death had blurred.

"We should head back. It won't be safe here soon," he said calmly.

As James entered the passage, the doors hissed closed behind him. Predictably, both James and Spence met their end.

At that moment, George activated Soul Absorption. Two faint souls shimmered into the chaos pearl's Soul Space. They hovered for just a moment, silent, disoriented.

George, uninterested in keeping them, guided the souls into the world's natural cycle of death and rebirth. The space responded, growing imperceptibly, like a breath taken in deep silence.

Back in the control room, the surviving Task Force members stood frozen, eyes glued to the closed passage.

"What happened?" Rain asked, frowning.

One member stepped forward, trembling with rage. George's presence seemed to fuel it.

"You knew all along, didn't you?!" he shouted, surging forward, only to be restrained by the medic.

George offered a calm, unreadable glance, neither cold nor cruel, just a quiet acknowledgment that words would serve no purpose.

Kaplan, after a moment's pause, stepped up, still eyeing the remains of the Captain. "Alright, let's continue."

"Continue what?" the medic asked quietly.

"The mission," Kaplan said, jaw set. "It doesn't end here."

The Task Force exchanged looks, then picked up the Captain's fragmented gear and returned to the main machine room.

"I'd recommend talking to the Red Queen before choosing your next move," George offered.

"Choose what? To stand by and watch people die like you?" one of them snapped.

The group shared the sentiment, judging by their grim faces.

George didn't argue. A faint smile tugged at his lips. "What's the point of speaking about those beyond hearing?"

"Let's go!" Kaplan ordered, cutting the tension.

He and two others hauled the circuit breaker into the core room, working quickly to reassemble it.

The Red Queen's hologram blinked to life. "Get out! You can't be here!"

"Ignore her. She'll say anything to stop us from shutting her down," Kaplan said.

"Please… I beg you. You're all going to die down here," the Red Queen warned again, her voice eerily calm.

George said nothing. He just watched, a man on vacation amid chaos, knowing exactly how all of this would unfold.

After the assembly was complete, Kaplan pressed the circuit breaker switch amidst the Red Queen's final warning.

The entire underground base was swallowed in darkness. Seconds later, flickering emergency lights bathed the corridors in an eerie red glow. Somewhere deep in the facility, heavy locks disengaged with ominous clicks, releasing the creatures sealed within.

Two minutes earlier, Rain, Alice, and the medic had waited in the control room while Kaplan carried out the task.

Alice stepped quietly beside George and asked, "Sir, if you don't want them to remove the motherboard, why not stop them? That should be easy for you."

George offered a calm, unreadable glance, neither cold nor cruel, just a quiet acknowledgment that words would serve no purpose. "Stopping them would be trivial... but it's not my place. Everyone makes their own choices. I've already warned them; whether they listen or not is on them."

Rain joined them, arms crossed. "What happens if they remove it?"

"Shut her down, and the power fails. Every locked door opens. What do you think happens when monsters are no longer caged?"

"Then why didn't you say so earlier?" she snapped. Without waiting for a reply, she spun on her heel and rushed out, apparently forgetting her earlier skepticism.

She barely reached the corridor before the power died. Moments later, backup lights buzzed to life. The metal security doors creaked open.

"Kaplan, stop now!" Rain yelled.

"What's wrong?" he called back.

"That guy warned us. Shutting down the system releases everything, zombies included."

Kaplan remained calm. "Even if the monsters are loose, we can escape before they surround us. We'll be fine."

Ignoring her plea, he removed the computer motherboard.

"Let's move," Kaplan said, slinging on his backpack.

As they passed their captain, Kaplan added, "With this drive, we either expose the truth or sell it for profit. Either way, it pays. You'll get your share, Captain."

The team exchanged uneasy glances in the control room.

Kaplan gestured ahead. "Move!"

He took point, leading them back the way they came. Alice lingered, glancing toward George, who hadn't moved.

She was about to speak when Rain called, "Alice, keep up!"

Alice followed, vanishing down the corridor.

George remained in the lone chair, unfazed. He pulled a cigar from his coat and lit it with deliberate calm.

He could sense it. The undead had already cut off the exit. But more concerning was the absence of something else. No souls had appeared since he entered the base. Had they all been consumed? Or worse, replaced?

Curious, George activated Black Eye, a power that tinted his vision a smoky gray, revealing the spiritual essence of the living and the dead.

The name was simple, but the ability was anything but.

Through this vision, George watched the team reach the B section cafeteria. The stench of rot clung to the air. Dozens of zombies swayed between shattered tables and broken trays.

Gunfire erupted, echoing down the halls. But their wild aim betrayed their inexperience. Bullets tore through limbs, not brains.

The horde thickened.

Two fell, nameless members of the team, torn down by sheer numbers. Rain, Kaplan, J.D., and the medic barely escaped, fleeing back toward the control room, their breaths ragged, their weapons nearly empty.

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