Marvel Multiverse Gacha

"Any updates?" Fury asked without looking up from his files.

Maria didn't hesitate. "Someone's been buying up Stark's shares. No clear ID yet."

That made him pause. He looked up, eyes narrowing. "So someone out there thinks Stark Industries is still worth something."

"Looks that way."

Fury leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping on the desk. "Find out who. And what they know that we don't."

"Anything else?" he asked, flipping back to his files.

Maria slid her tablet across the desk. "That flaming skull showed up again."

Fury's eye locked onto the screen. The footage was short, not even thirty seconds, but the impact was undeniable. A figure wreathed in fire, a skull where a face should be.

He exhaled through his nose, leaning in slightly. "Mutant?" he muttered, mind running through the countless transformations mutants were capable of.

Maria crossed her arms. "Doesn't match any known mutant profiles."

Fury was still glued to the screen when Maria suddenly tapped her earpiece.

"Yeah? …When? …Alright, keep an eye on it."

She cut the call and turned to Fury. "Azi just got hit."

Fury finally looked up. "The hell you mean, 'hit'?"

Maria pulled up a live feed. "Azi Pharmaceuticals HQ is on fire. Their factories too same time, different locations. But get this no one's dead."

Fury raised a brow. "No one?"

"Not a single body. Employees say they got some emergency announcement telling them to evacuate. They step outside, everything looks fine. Then, boom, fire starts outta nowhere."

Fury leaned back, crossing his arms. "Somebody wanted 'em out before they burned the place down."

"What about Adam?" he asked, already knowing who the real target should be.

Maria skimmed through her tablet. "Didn't show up today."

Fury exhaled sharply. "Figures." He glanced at the screen again, watching the flames eat through the building.

"Find him," he ordered, though he already had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy.

Fury was right Adam was nowhere to be found.

"Please, let me go!" Adam's voice cracked as he struggled against his restraints.

John sat comfortably in a chair, one leg crossed over the other, staring down at him with an unreadable expression. There was no rush, no anger just patience.

Taking down AZI had been the easy part. But wiping it out completely? That took a little more effort. After making sure all the workers got out, John had picked through the facility, salvaging anything useful before reducing the rest to ashes.

This had been in the works for two days. And in that time, he had squeezed every bit of intel he could from the staff. Now, it was Adam's turn.

John twirled the empty vial of Veritaserum between his fingers before pocketing it. "You actually think I'd just let you walk after all that?" His tone was almost lazy, but his eyes weren't.

He already knew the story. Adam did it all for his daughter, just a desperate father trying to keep her alive.

Didn't change a damn thing.

"You know, I always thought about what I'd do when I finally found you," John said, leaning back in his chair. "But now that you're here… I don't feel much of anything."

He tilted his head, almost amused at the flicker of hope in Adam's eyes. "Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm not letting you go. It's just... the rage isn't there like I expected."

But the memories? Those were still fresh.

The restraints. The needles. The endless experiments.

The electricity that fried his nerves. The fire that seared his skin.

John exhaled slowly, cracking his knuckles. "Yeah… I remember all of it."

His gaze drifted for a moment before settling back on Adam. "But who would've guessed HYDRA had your back?" He muttered, recalling the slogan used by Adam's secret benefactors.

Sure, there was a slim chance it was someone else, but he doubted it.

Always lurking beneath the surface, pulling strings while the world stayed blind.

The door creaked open, and Roberta strolled in.

"Done?" John asked, not even looking up. He already knew the answer.

"Yeah," she said, glancing at Adam on the floor.

While John dealt with Adam, he'd sent Roberta after his brother-in-law, Brian, to make sure he found his sister.

Roberta, though curious about John's reasons, kept her mouth shut. She figured it was too personal to ask.

She spoke up, breaking the silence. "I left the girl where you asked me to. But if she stays there too long... she'll be dead."

"She will be, if nobody reaches her," John replied, standing up and pulling a chainsaw from his storage, causing Adam's eyes to widen in terror.

"No, no!" Adam screamed, his voice trembling as the chainsaw revved to life, the harsh sound vibrating through the room.

As John walked closer, Adam's mind raced. He could already see the grim outcome. "Please, let my daughter go!" he begged, desperation in his voice. "She didn't do anything! I was the one... save her, please."

John paused, his cold eyes locking onto Adam's. "It depends on her luck," he said, his tone emotionless. "And on others' choices."

With that, John kept walking, the chainsaw creeping closer to Adam's leg.

"NO!" Adam screamed, the words barely escaping his lips before the blade connected with flesh.

"Ahhhh!" Adam howled as the saw tore through his leg, blood splattering across the floor, the severed limb falling away in a gruesome display. The pain was excruciating, but it was the least of his worries now.

...

Author's pov

John suit/costume ideas