studiobondurri Ch: 45 [Target: All For One]
Ch: 45 [Target: All For One]
AN: 1 bonus chapter. Enjoy. Leave some ratings.??
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[Aron's first person POV]
It's been three days since we caught Bakuto and destroyed a major faction of The Hand. As promised, I gave Bakuto to Emma and she gave me the information I wanted to know. She gave me the location of Shaw's lab where my original body was kept. She never interfered with the experiments personally, but has spies everywhere.
According to those spies, Shaw and Dr. Nathaniel Essex found something while digging into an ancient city buried under the icy North Pole. There they found a stasis pod with a human without a face, no eyes or nose, just skin covering his face. The only thing was his mouth. It was closed with a weird mask. So, those two began experimenting on that being and eventually managed to extract his DNA and create multiple clones, but all failed. So, they went back to the site and dug more. After months of digging and
I slinked into the shadows, focusing on one of them, implanting a command to "head to storage and wait." As he moved away, the other looked puzzled but shrugged, turning back to his work. I teleported from corner to corner, keeping myself away from the cameras and security checkpoints. Finally, that guy entered the storage room. And just like before, I knocked him out and took his form and clothes. This one is one of the assistant doctors who has access to the main room. Mr. Sinister and All For One are in the main area.
Bingo! After reading his memories, I buried him there like the first guard and walked out.
Now all I gotta do is get into the main area.
I took a steady breath, adjusting my posture and sliding into the assistant doctor's persona as naturally as slipping on a glove. With his memories in my mind, I knew his gait, his subtle mannerisms, even the way he liked to adjust his glasses when he thought no one was looking. Every detail mattered. The deeper I went, the more cautious I had to be. I couldn't afford a single slip-up here, especially with All For One and Mr. Sinister waiting in the main lab.
The hallways twisted and turned, leading to a series of checkpoints before the main area. Each station was more complex and secure than the last. I approached the first checkpoint, a retina scanner set into the wall beside an ID verification system. Using the assistant doctor's memories, I guided his eye up to the scanner, focusing on a level of calm that belied the racing heartbeat beneath. The light flickered, scanned, and granted me access with a faint beep.
I pushed the door open, stepping into a corridor where two guards stood on either side, armed and watchful. One of them nodded, glancing at my face. "Dr. Ramsey, forgot your badge again?"
Ah! This guy always forgets the secondary badge. And these guards always try to get along with the higher-ups to get some extra break or food. I forced a chuckle, mirroring the assistant's relaxed body language as best as I could. "Yeah, you know me. I swear it's just nerves from handling the latest batch of 'specimens.' You think I'd get used to it by now."
The guard snorted, nodding in sympathy. "Happens to the best of us. No worries, Doctor." He swiped his own badge across a secondary panel, allowing me through.
"Tell you what, I got a new batch of wine coming in this Sunday and I need two veterans to bring the crate to my office. Maybe if they do a good job, I might give them a bottle or two," I said with a nod.
"Leave it to us," One of the guards said with a smile.
"I'll see you on Sunday."
I passed through and kept my pace steady, walking past rows of doors labeled with cryptic symbols and codes that even my borrowed memories couldn't fully decipher. The second checkpoint was just ahead, a checkpoint guarded by a more advanced scanner that would require a voice confirmation.
One of the techs ahead of me was having trouble with his code, stammering as the guard looked on, impatient. I forced myself to watch, absorbing the guard's irritation and noting the way the tech had faltered under pressure. One wrong vocal tone, and they were immediately suspicious. So, I leaned into the memories I'd gleaned from Dr. Ramsey, finding the exact vocal cadence and passphrase he used. When it was my turn, I stepped up confidently.
"Assistant Doctor Ramsey, Level 3 access clearance, requesting admittance to the lower lab," I said, hitting the notes of authority and familiarity I knew Ramsey would have in this situation.
The guard scanned my face, his expression impassive, then nodded curtly and waved me through.
I moved on, but my nerves hummed as I drew closer to the lab's heart. The main area, as Ramsey's memories called it, was hidden behind one last, intricate security measure—a full-body scanner that was rumored to detect anything from DNA mismatches to synthetic biological traces. It was installed to prevent intruders from using shape-shifting or holographic disguises.
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