Marvel : Please Kill Me

Chapter 28: The Retreat and the Reckoning

[SYSTEM MESSAGE: MISSION: "OPERATION: GOLDEN HARVEST" – PROGRESS: 75%. RETREAT PROTOCOL ACTIVE. CAUTION: AETHER CORP. WILL RESPOND WITH EXTREME FORCE. EVASION IS PARAMOUNT.]

"Extreme force? System, I practically turned their bio-weapon into a giant, angry houseplant. I'm pretty sure 'extreme force' is an understatement," I muttered, scrambling through the collapsing corridors of the Aether Corporation facility. Behind us, the biodome was a maelstrom of uncontrolled plant growth, green tendrils bursting through reinforced concrete, releasing clouds of spores. The alarms were deafening, and the screams of the remaining security guards were chilling.

Yelena had secured the data, a small, encrypted drive now tucked into her tactical vest. I had the Chrono-Bloom sample, secured in a specialized, alien-tech-lined container. Antonia was a silent, deadly rear guard, her shield deflecting falling debris and stray energy blasts.

"Okay, Adam, time to put that 'Basic Escape Artistry' to the test. And maybe my 'Basic Parkour' for some dramatic leaping. This is going to be a very green, very explosive exit. And hopefully, no more deaths. At least, not for me. My two lives against 'Green Beam' Gregory are too precious."*

The facility was in lockdown, but the chaos I'd unleashed was working in our favor. Security protocols were failing, doors were jamming, and the guards were more concerned with the rampaging plant than with us.

"This way!" Yelena yelled, her voice tight with urgency, leading us through a maze of service tunnels. Her "Advanced Tactical Awareness" was guiding us through the most direct, yet least guarded, escape routes.

We encountered pockets of resistance – desperate security guards trying to contain the Chrono-Bloom, or trying to intercept us. Antonia dealt with them with brutal efficiency, her mimicked moves making her an unstoppable force. I, meanwhile, continued my role as chaotic distraction. My "Basic Energy Field Manipulation" allowed me to short-circuit security doors, or to briefly overload the power to certain sections, plunging them into darkness.

"Sorry, guys!" I yelled, as a section of the corridor suddenly went dark, sending guards stumbling. "Just a little power fluctuation! Nothing to see here! Except for the giant, angry plant that's about to eat your faces!"

We reached a high-security exit, a reinforced blast door. It was sealed.

"It's locked down," Yelena stated, pulling out a set of lock-picking tools. "It'll take time."

"Time we don't have!" I yelled, hearing the ominous creaking of the biodome behind us, indicating its imminent collapse. "Stand back!"

I focused my "Basic Energy Field Manipulation" on the door's locking mechanism. It was a complex system of interlocking energy fields. I pushed my will into it, disrupting the flow, forcing the fields to destabilize. The door shuddered, then, with a loud groan, the heavy steel began to buckle, its locking mechanisms sparking and failing.

"Get ready to run!" I yelled, pushing with all my might. The door slowly, painfully, began to grind open, revealing a snowy mountain pass outside.

As we burst out into the cold, crisp air, the entire Aether Corp. facility shuddered. A massive explosion ripped through the mountain, sending a shower of snow, rock, and green plant matter into the sky. The biodome had finally exploded, unleashing its destructive cargo across the landscape.

"Well, that was dramatic," I coughed, brushing snow from my suit. "I think we just caused a very expensive ecological disaster. But hey, at least we got the sample! And the data! So, you know, mission accomplished!"

Yelena and Antonia were already moving, sprinting through the snow, heading towards a pre-arranged extraction point. We had a limited window before the full force of Aether Corp. and potentially even SHIELD would be on our tails.

We reached a secluded mountain cabin, another of Antonia's safe houses, high in the Alps. It was rustic, but secure, and had a surprisingly well-stocked pantry. We were exhausted, but exhilarated.

"The data is clean," Yelena announced, after plugging the drive into a secure laptop. "All their research on Chrono-Bloom is wiped. And the primary sample is secured."

"Two hundred million dollars, baby!" I cheered, doing a little victory dance. "And 750 XP! This is what I call a productive day! We saved the world from a killer houseplant, and we got rich doing it!"

Antonia, removing her helmet, gave me a rare, almost unreadable look. "You... you reversed the field. You made it explode."

"Yep!" I beamed. "My new skill! 'Basic Energy Field Manipulation'! Turns out, I'm pretty good at making things go boom! Or, you know, making them grow uncontrollably. Depends on the mood."

Yelena, however, was more somber. She looked out the window at the distant plume of green smoke rising from the Aether Corp. facility. "The Chrono-Bloom... it's out now. In the wild."

"Don't worry," I assured her. "My future knowledge says it's contained. It'll cause a localized ecological mess, but it won't spread globally. Aether Corp. will be too busy trying to cover up their blunder to militarize it further. And the sample we have... we can use it to create a counter-agent. Or, you know, a really aggressive fertilizer. Still working on the specifics."

She looked at me, a long, assessing gaze. "You risked your life. Again. For us. For the mission."

"It's what I do, Yelena," I said, shrugging. "Besides, I had a life left against 'Green Beam' Gregory. It was a calculated risk. And it paid off! Now, about that two hundred million dollars... I think I'm going to buy a very, very large yacht. And name it 'The Unsinkable Sarcasm.'"

Antonia, surprisingly, chuckled. A low, dry sound. "You're insane."

"It's a common theme," I agreed. "But I'm our insane. And now, we have a problem. The Red Room. They're going to be very, very angry. And Aether Corp. is going to be even angrier. We're officially on everyone's 'most wanted' list."

Yelena nodded. "Good. It means we're doing something right." She looked at me, then at Antonia. "We need to disappear. For a while. And then, we figure out our next move."

The mission was a success, but it had consequences. We were now targets of two powerful organizations. But we also had each other. A Black Widow, a Taskmaster, and an immortal, chaotic weirdo. The reckoning was coming, but we were ready. Or, at least, I was. Yelena and Antonia were probably still debating whether to kill me or hug me.

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