Marvel and Beyond

The two of them lay on the cold floor, catching their breath. The adrenaline had worn off, leaving only exhaustion and hunger.

Max debated whether to pull out supplies from the space backpack he'd brought from Marvel, but Rebecca was quicker. 

She retrieved two packs of compressed biscuits and a bottle of water from her medical bag.

As the team's designated medical officer and the newest member she had been tasked not only with treating injuries but also with ensuring logistics. 

Naturally, her kit included both medicine and emergency rations.

It wasn't much, but enough to satisfy their immediate needs. Neither could eat much, though; their bodies weren't ready to handle a full meal after such intense exertion.

After a short rest, Max felt his strength returning, both mentally and physically. A glance at his watch told him it was already past midnight.

"Let's go," he said, pushing himself up. "We still need to find the exit."

He helped Rebecca to her feet, then noticed something gleaming nearby the faint outline of a key on the ground, near the spot where the centipede had emerged. His eyes narrowed.

"Of course, that's how games are designed," he muttered with a tired smile.

Using the key, Max opened a nearby door. Beyond it was a dimly lit study, old books stacked along the walls, furniture covered in dust. He immediately guessed it was Marcus's office.

Among the clutter, they found a weathered leather-bound diary. Max flipped through it, scanning the pages. 

The entries, written in a precise but increasingly unhinged hand, chronicled Dr. Marcus's descent into obsession with the T-virus—and his growing bond with the leeches.

"The leeches respond to my thoughts now... I no longer need words to command them. They obey instinctively. I am no longer a man of science. I am evolution."

Max read excerpts aloud, explaining what he could to Rebecca, adding insight where his memories from the game filled in the blanks. 

While he kept some knowledge to himself, he shared anything that wouldn't raise too many questions.

The centipede incident had drawn them closer. There was a growing sense of trust between their battle-forged camaraderie.

Once they'd searched the study, they found a hidden staircase leading down into a dark dungeon.

The path forward wasn't hard to find but what lay ahead certainly wasn't easy to face.

The walls were crawling.

Dozens of massive, mutated spiders skittered along the surfaces, their glossy eyes reflecting the dim light like pinpricks of evil.

Rebecca's face went pale.

"I can handle zombies," she whispered. "But this..."

Max swallowed. "Yeah. I hate bugs too."

He sighed and raised his weapon. "What a mess."

Truthfully, the spiders made his skin crawl. Their sheer size and unnatural movements repulsed him, though he was reluctant to admit it out loud. 

But this was the path he had chosen. These horrors were part of the deal.

And so, just like with the undead, he followed the golden rule: shoot, and keep shooting.

His experience now made a difference. Max aimed efficiently, targeting the joints and faces, and clearing the spiders with practised precision. 

Rebecca backed him up, and the two made quick work of the swarm.

They pressed forward and arrived at another room—one that chilled them to the bone.

Torture instruments lay scattered across the floor, most rusted, all stained dark with dried blood. Hooks, chains, surgical tools... some looked like they'd never belonged in any medical setting.

Max and Rebecca instinctively stepped back.

They didn't speak. They didn't have to. The silence of the room screamed louder than words.

Unbeknownst to them, they had already been discovered. Surveillance cameras relayed their presence directly to none other than Dr Marcus or rather, what Marcus had become, fused with the Queen Leech.

Watching them from afar, Marcus made his next move.

A nearby containment cell released with a hiss, and from the darkness emerged hulking, mutated primates—Eliminators, B.O.W.s crafted through T-virus experimentation on apes.

Back in the dungeon, Rebecca's communicator buzzed.

"Rebecca," came Captain Enrico's voice, static crackling, "have you located Billy Coen yet?"

In the original timeline, Rebecca had lied. She'd covered for Billy, having grown to trust him after surviving hell together. But this time, Max was her partner.

There was no Billy.

She answered quietly, "Billy was shot dead. His body should still be on the train."

Before Enrico could reply, the signal cut out—interference or sabotage, they didn't know.

With no time to dwell on it, they pushed onward, deeper into the dungeon where the first of the Eliminators awaited.

Even as the weakest variant of its kind, the creature was nightmarish: an ape twisted by viral mutation, with feral eyes and freakish strength.

Max's stomach turned. "Another one?"

"It just keeps getting worse," Rebecca muttered.

They didn't hesitate. Using the last of their explosive rounds and several Molotov cocktails, the two overwhelmed the creature, burning it down before it could close the distance.

After the fight, they entered a new chamber and were stunned.

The room was lined wall-to-wall with weapons: submachine guns, assault rifles, an MP5, AKs, and even a gleaming RPG on display like a museum piece.

Max couldn't help it. He actually drooled a little. "Okay... this I like."

But his excitement dimmed when he noticed the rocket launcher only had one shell.

"One rocket," Rebecca muttered beside him. "Which means..."

"Something's coming," Max finished grimly.

Something big.

…

Elsewhere in the training facility, William Birkin and Albert Wesker were deep in conversation. They had deduced the true identity of the mysterious man they'd spotted earlier.

It really might've been Dr. Marcus.

The same Marcus they'd assassinated.

How he had returned, looking young and controlling leeches was a mystery. But one thing was clear: if he had truly resurrected, the entire Umbrella Corporation was in danger.

Wesker, ever the pragmatist, spoke first. "It might be time to abandon the company."

William hesitated. "Not yet. I still need their resources. The G-virus isn't ready."

Their paths were beginning to diverge.

As they prepared to part ways, Wesker casually mentioned, "Alpha Team will be deployed into the mansion soon. Umbrella wants live combat data. Consider it your chance to gather more research."

William nodded, considering it a temporary win.

Neither of them could have known that in less than a decade, they'd be related by marriage. The two colleagues, competitors, rivals, and mad scientists would one day become in-laws.

But neither man would live long enough to witness that strange future.

….

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