I'm Lara Croft?

Six months passed, and it was now 1988, with Lara being 19 this year. Since Lara's visit to the cove facility, significant progress had been made on several fronts.

Alyssa Moy had successfully extracted and reverse-engineered the Black Widow serum, creating an improved version that eliminated many of the original's flaws. The process involved human experimentation, but don't worry the guinea pigs were: British criminals—pedophiles and rapists—whose lives Croft Holdings discreetly "purchased" by bribing British authorities.

With that the black widow serum done, Alyssa turned her focus to Isaiah Bradley's blood sample and the Mutant Growth Hormone.

Isaiah Bradley was a legendary figure known as the first Black Captain America. He was one of 300 African-American soldiers subjected to Project Rebirth's experimental attempts to recreate the super-soldier serum. Bradley emerged as the only survivor, taking Captain America mantle. However, his action came with a heavy price: upon returning, he was court-martialed and imprisoned for life by the U.S. government. Only in 1960 was he released, thanks to his wife, Faith, who had written letters to the president every month for three years. But it was to late and the serum's side effects had deteriorated Isaiah's mind to that of a child in 17 years.

Isaiah's heroism was largely unrecognized, with his story becoming a whispered legend within the Black community, shared via the Blackvine. Only black superheroes recognized him when he attended Reed and Sue wedding.

Lara—or more accurately, Croft Holdings—secured Isaiah's blood sample by offering his family a substantial monetary reward. More importantly, they made two critical promises: first, they would work to heal Isaiah's deteriorating condition; and second, they would help his family escape the clutches of the U.S. government if their agreement ever came to light. As an additional gesture, Croft Holdings offered to provide Isaiah's descendants with an improved version of his serum, should they ever choose to accept it.

Lara had an ulterior motive for this act of generosity: she knew Isaiah's grandson, Eli Bradley, was destined to become the superhero Patriot and a founding member of the Young Avengers. Having Eli and his family indebted to her could prove invaluable in the future.

And the Mutant Growth Hormone (MGH) is a naturally occurring biochemical found within Homo superior, Mutants, and other genetically enhanced beings. It can be extracted and isolated to amplify strength, speed, and other abilities temporarily. Croft Holdings acquired samples of MGH from the black market.

It was summer, and Tony, who had been pursuing his doctorate at Cambridge for a year in England, had completed his master's degree in physics and engineering at MIT in 1986. With some free time during the summer, he decided to hang out with Lara.

While walking through Croft Manor at Lara's outdoor gym, Tony noticed a large man with a muscular, broad frame and a bit of a gut. The man had dark hair and eyes, tanned skin, and tribal Maori tattoos on his right arm and left leg, suggesting Polynesian heritage. He was bench pressing what appeared to be 500 kg, with Lara spotting him. The man began to struggle, so Lara took the bar from him and easily placed it on the rack.

The man got up just in time to high-five Tony, who remarked, "So how do you still have Jonah as the personal bodyguard of a woman who can easily carry your best lift?"

Jonah, feeling a bit embarrassed, replied, "You could say I'm a bit safe. If something beats me, then Lara will save me."

After Jonah slapped Tony on the back, he added, "And don't be so smug because I know Lara beats you when you're being a perv."

Tony looked at Jonah as he rubbed his back feeling a bit of pain and said, "Let's be real, Lara is not human. She must be a mutant or something. There's no shame in getting beaten by a monster of a woman."

Lara threw a 20 kg disk right towards Tony, who dodged it just in time while pointing at her and saying, "Look, can a human woman throw 20 kg like it's nothing?"

Jonah responded to Tony, "Shut up, bro, or you're gonna get yourself killed."

As Lara added weights to the bar, bringing it up to around 1500 kilograms, she said, "I'm not a mutant, Tony. I did some tests—no X-gene, just some DNA that is not human. The technology right now can't identify it, other than confirming it's not human."

Tony, looking like he hit the jackpot, replied, "Ha, I was right. You couldn't possibly be pure human. I wasn't beaten the shit out of by a human woman, but by some alien-human hybrid."

Jonah face-palmed himself, thinking, 'Tony is just asking himself to get killed.'

Regarding Lara's situation, since her return, she hadn't felt much change—or anything at all—but as she started training, her training speed skyrocketed, and her limits increased. Currently, she is around low class 5 in strength.

Class 5 is capable of lifting most cars, SUVs, vans, pickup trucks, and light to medium-duty trucks. It's between 1000 and 5000 kilograms.

After conducting DNA tests with Alyssa on Lara DNA before and after she went to Siberia, they discovered that her DNA is now 98 percent human and 2 percent something unknown. Alyssa explained that the DNA is so complex she couldn't decipher it—the human DNA was like a primitive computer, and the other part was akin to a quantum computer.

Further tests on her DNA before going to Siberia had revealed the unknown DNA in meager amounts that wouldn't even be noticeable. It was only after dozens of tests with the best technology that they detected it. It appeared that the new DNA sample had acquired nutrients and started growing, like a seed. Alyssa speculates that Lara's new fast training speed, increased upper limits, and enhanced body functions are due to this DNA. And Lara speculated that the cosmic energy was the "nutrients" for the "seed".

Regarding Jonah, Lara found him five months ago right after he left the New Zealand army with an honorable discharge. He was about to work at his sister's restaurant to help her when he received an offer from Croft Holdings to be Lara's bodyguard—more like an accessory bodyguard and a sidekick.

As for Samantha, Lara looked her up and learned she was just in high school, so Yamatai had to wait. Lara wanted to use Samantha to bait Himiko out and either finish her off or trap her in the mirror. However, she believed she could find a way to kill Himiko's soul in this Marvel world.

Now, Lara is waiting for Dominguez, whose real name is Amaru, to obtain the dagger and go to Paititi. When she kills Amaru, Natasha, who is currently infiltrated within the Cardinal forces, will assassinate the Cardinal. With the two highest leaders of the fanatics dead, Lara's forces will start the take over.