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HYDRA Secret Research BaseAlpha Station
Jiro's eyes snapped open. A blinding white light made him instinctively raise his hand to shield his face—
Only to realize a second later: he couldn't move.
His body was locked inside a cylindrical metal chamber, arms and legs tightly bound by glowing alloy restraints that shimmered with a cold, metallic light.
A heavy metal collar wrapped around his neck, pulsing with red warning lights.
"Where... am I?" Jiro's temples throbbed. Then, like a crashing tide, his memories came flooding back.
He remembered walking home after work... that runaway dump truck… the windshield shattering in slow motion… the unbearable pain as the steering wheel crushed his chest...
"Wait... wasn't I supposed to be dead?"
Outside the chamber, several figures in white hazmat suits were busy at a nearby control panel. A red skull logo on their chests made Jiro's pupils shrink.
HYDRA?!
This is... the Marvel Universe?
Did I transmigrate?
But his body was still his own—he wasn't just a soul in someone else's shell. So what the hell happened?
"Subject X-137 has regained consciousness. Vitals are stable." A cold female voice echoed from the chamber's speaker.
"Preparing for the 73rd gene serum injection test."
Jiro struggled with all his strength, but the restraints didn't budge.
His eyes scanned the lab through the reinforced glass of the chamber. Charts of human anatomy and gene sequences covered the walls. In the corners, several empty metal pods sat abandoned, black stains smeared inside like dried blood.
"Serum is ready," a man's voice said.
"Based on the last seventy-two experiments, we've modified the gene recombination sequence and added a new catalyst this time."
"Let's hope this one survives Phase One," the female scientist replied coldly. "Last month's subject exploded. Took us two full days to clean that mess."
Jiro's throat tightened.
Luckily, he'd studied English for a foreign trade job. Even American clients said he spoke well.
Now, from what he was hearing, it was clear: he was just another lab rat for HYDRA. Worse, he wasn't the first—72 test subjects had already died.
"Injection countdown: 10, 9, 8..."
Jiro thrashed wildly. The metal cuffs bit deep into his skin, blood dripping from his wrists.
No! I can't die here! Not again—and not like this!
"...3, 2, 1. Injection starting."
A mechanical arm extended from the top of the chamber. A gleaming needle slowly pierced into the vein in Jiro's neck.
Cold liquid surged through his bloodstream—and instantly, it felt like his blood was boiling.
"AHHHHHH!!!"
Pain tore through him like fire. Every nerve screamed.
He watched in horror as his skin cracked open, his muscles spasming and swelling unnaturally. His bones groaned and popped like they were grinding against each other.
"Vitals spiking! Heart rate 200! Blood pressure 220 over 150!"
"Brainwaves are off the charts! He's blown past the instrument limit!"
"God—his muscle density just increased by 300%! He's going to blow! Terminate the test!"
Jiro's vision went red. He felt like his cells were being ripped apart and rebuilt at the same time. Something ancient and violent was awakening inside him.
His consciousness started to fade. The only thing he could still hear was the thunder of his own heartbeat.
And then—just as he was about to pass out—a cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind:
[Ding! Host vitals abnormal. Activating Superman Growth System!]
[Host: Jiro][Current World: Marvel Universe - Earth-169278][Detected: Lethal gene mutation threat. Emergency defense protocol initiated.]
[Granting: Full Version Man of Steel Body (Life Codex Variant, same as DC Superman)]
A surge of power erupted from deep within Jiro!
Every cell in his body cheered as if they were waking up from a long slumber.
The mutating serum that had been ripping him apart evaporated like ice under sunlight in the face of this overwhelming power.
Outside the pod, sparks exploded from every monitoring device.
"What's going on?! All instruments just went haywire!"
"The subject's vitals—this can't be right! He's off every chart!"
"Look! The chamber!"
Inside the reinforced glass, Jiro slowly raised his head—his eyes glowing a fierce crimson red.
The restraints—special alloys strong enough to bind a main battle tank—snapped like paper with the slightest twitch.
"No! That's impossible!" the female researcher stumbled back. "That alloy can take 500 tons of force!"
Jiro stood at the center of the shattered chamber, looking down at his hands.
He could feel it—the raw, overwhelming power surging through him. Power enough to move mountains and split seas.
His super-hearing picked up every heartbeat in the entire base. His x-ray vision pierced dozens of steel walls. Every cell in his body brimmed with near-limitless energy.
"So... this is Superman's power?"
[Ding! Host has received a full, upgradeable version of the Man of Steel body. Current abilities include but are not limited to: super strength, bio-field (flight, super speed), heat vision, freeze breath, super hearing, x-ray vision, etc.]
Just as the system message ended, the lab's blast doors burst open. A dozen HYDRA soldiers in full armor stormed in, energy weapons aimed at Jiro.
"Freeze! X-137, on your knees, hands behind your head!"
"OPEN FIRE!"
Jiro slowly raised his head, a faint smile playing on his lips.
To him, the soldiers moved in slow motion—like snails.
He saw every blue energy round flying toward him… and watched them bounce harmlessly off the bio-field surrounding him, as if they'd hit an invisible wall.
Jiro didn't even flinch. (Don't flame me—yes, he has clothes. I added them. No one wants a naked hero flapping around.)
He exhaled softly—freeze breath!
A bone-chilling storm swept across the lab, freezing every soldier in place, their terrified expressions locked behind a thick layer of ice.
Jiro walked to the control console and lightly pressed down—squish. The alloy desk crumpled like clay.
Sirens blared through the base, red lights flashing wildly.
"Warning! Base now in Level One alert mode! All combat units report to Lab B! Repeat, all combat units—"
Jiro used his x-ray vision. Through layers of walls, he saw hundreds of HYDRA soldiers assembling. Farther out, three massive mechs were powering up.
He smiled and began floating into the air.
"Perfect. Let's test what I can really do."
He shot upward like a missile, smashing through the ceiling—crashing through twelve layers of reinforced concrete—and blasted straight into the base's central hall.
The HYDRA soldiers didn't even see what hit them. Shockwaves flung them through the air like rag dolls.
"There he is! FIRE!!"
Hundreds of energy blasts wove a deadly web in the air—but they couldn't even touch Jiro's clothes.
Floating in midair, his eyes lit up red.
Heat vision—unleashed.
HYDRA's heavy armor melted like butter. Support beams turned into molten slag. The base shook violently.
Jiro flew straight at one of the mechs, grabbed its 30-ton body with one hand, and smashed it into the other two like they were toys.
BOOM!
The three mechs exploded in a massive fireball.
The shockwave tore off half the base's roof. Sunlight poured in from above, and Jiro felt his power surge even more.
"A monster! He's a monster!" the surviving HYDRA commander collapsed on the ground, pistol shaking in his hand.
Jiro floated down in front of him, his super-hearing picking up a coded transmission deep in the base:
"Initiate self-destruct! We can't let the subject escape!"
"But sir, our own people are still in there—"
"EXECUTE THE ORDER! 60-second countdown!"
Jiro shook his head and instantly appeared in front of the commander. "You're killing your own men?"
"For HYDRA's glorious cause, sacrifice is necessary!" the commander laughed madly. "You won't escape. Everything within five kilometers will be vaporized! HAIL HYDRA!"
Jiro sighed and launched skyward again, blasting through hundreds of meters of solid rock until he reached the surface.
His eyes locked onto the base's core reactor far underground. He inhaled deeply.
Freeze breath—full power.
A stream of absolute-zero cold shot into the depths, instantly freezing the reactor solid.
The self-destruct protocol halted the moment it began. The entire base became a frozen sculpture.
"....."