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CHAPTER 44
🕑 Added 2025-06-25 13:44:42 +0000 UTCDr. Isaacs looked upon the assembled group with the sneer of a man who held all the cards. "How touching," he began, his voice dripping with condescending amusement. "The three of you, the prodigal daughter, the dying matriarch, and the boy genius, all united by your misplaced sentiment. This changes nothing. I will always be one step ahead of you. The world is being cleansed, and the Umbrella Corporation will be there to inherit the ashes."
He took a step toward Alicia, his eyes cold. "The only difference now is that when you uploaded that file to the Red Queen, you committed treason against the company. When the other board members awaken from their cryo-sleep, you will be replaced, Alicia. And I," he finished with a triumphant flourish, "will be in complete control."
Alicia Marcus, frail in her bio-suit but with eyes of steel, looked past him, her gaze meeting Ward's for a fraction of a second. It was a silent, shared understanding between two master strategists. Now, her eyes seemed to say.
"You may control Isaacs," Alicia said, her voice ringing with newfound strength, "but I still own fifty percent of this company. And your employment, Mr. Wesker," she said, turning her attention to the man in the sunglasses, "is a luxury this corporation can no longer afford. You're just an employee."
"I am loyal to Dr. Isaacs," Wesker stated flatly, adjusting his sunglasses.
"I know," Alicia replied coolly. "Wesker, you're fired."
Before the words had even finished echoing in the vast control room, the Red Queen acted. A heavy steel blast door shot down from the ceiling with the force of a guillotine, slamming Wesker to the ground and pinning him beneath tons of metal.
In the exact same instant, Ward moved. He became a black blur, lunging not at Isaacs, but to his side, a feint designed to draw his attention.
Isaacs, his combat-prediction abilities already firing, smirked. He had already foreseen this. He bent low, dodging a cobalt-blue arrow that hissed past where his head had been. At the same time, his hand shot to the inner pocket of his coat, reaching for the antivirus vial—his ultimate trump card.
His fingers found nothing but empty air. He looked down in confusion and saw that the pocket of his suit jacket had been silently, perfectly sliced open.
As he stared, the antivirus vial, which had tumbled out, was caught just before it hit the floor by a shimmering net of black micro-robots. The net flowed like liquid, carrying the vial across the room and into Ward’s waiting hand. The form of the battle was reversed in a single, silent, brilliant moment.
"Dr. Isaacs," Ward said, his voice calm as he held up the glowing green vial. "I believe this belongs to me now."
Isaacs stared at him, his mind unable to process how he had been so thoroughly outmaneuvered.
"The armor on my body," Ward explained, letting a few of the micro-robots dance like liquid smoke over his palm, "is made of these. They are very, very small. And very, very sharp."
"Give that to me!" Isaacs roared, finally breaking from his stupor and lunging forward to snatch it back.
He took only a single step before three electromagnetic arrows materialized in the air before him, their plasma tips humming, all aimed directly at his heart. He froze, not daring to move.
"Goodbye, Doctor," Ward said. He waved a hand dismissively. The arrows shot forward, and Isaacs’s reign ended not with a bang, but with three silent, precise points of blue light.
Ward turned and walked to Alice, holding out the antivirus. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Before Alice could answer, Alicia spoke, her voice full of a sad finality. "After the serum is released, it will kill all organisms infected with the T-virus. Alice… do you understand what that means for you?"
"I know," Alice nodded, her expression solemn but resolute.
Claire, standing beside her, wanted to scream, to argue, to find another way, but she saw the unshakeable certainty in Alice's eyes. This was her choice. Her sacrifice.
"Thank you," Alice said, taking the vial. She gave Ward a deep, meaningful look, then turned and left the control room without hesitation, ready to save the world, and in doing so, end her own life.
Ward then turned back to the woman who had trusted him. "Boss," he said softly. "Since you intend to destroy this place, can you leave the Red Queen's core programming to me?"
Alicia looked at the young man, this impossible genius who remained so calm and comfortable at the end of all things. "You are a prodigy, Ward," she smiled. "You remain optimistic and clear-headed at all times. I believe you will be the one to lead mankind into a new era." She wheeled herself to the main console. "And thank you, for letting me walk again, if only for a little while."
She took out a crystalline, pentagonal box. Placing it on a console, she pressed her palm to it, then placed a retinal scanner over her eye. "Red Queen," she commanded, her voice soft. "The Umbrella Corporation is hereby dissolved. As the last executive officer, I transfer your primary control and all core data to Ward Morey." As the data streamed from the Hive's mainframe into the box, her life's memories began to play on the screens around her. She watched the images of her childhood, and with a peaceful sigh, she slowly closed her eyes.
"Permission change has been completed," the Red Queen's mechanical voice echoed in the now-silent control room.
Ward looked at the sleeping form of Alicia Marcus for a long moment, then picked up the memory box. He walked to the Red Queen’s console and placed his own, similar pentagonal box against it. "Start the transmission. Backup all of Dr. Isaacs's technical data as well."
"Acknowledged," the Red Queen replied. Lines of glowing code flowed from the massive server into his small device.
"I'll find a new home for you soon," he smiled.
The transfer completed quickly. At that moment, the Hive lost its mind. The lights began to go out one by one, leaving only the eerie glow of the cryo-pods, like tombstones in the dark. The projection of the Red Queen appeared from the box in his hand. "Transfer complete, Ward."
"Okay, Ruby," he said, giving his new AI her name. "Let's get out of here." He put the box away, and with a pulse from his thrusters, flew upwards into the darkness.
He punched through a collapsing concrete ceiling, outrunning a plume of fire and debris. The ground shook violently as Alice released the antivirus at the surface, and the Hive began its final self-destruct sequence. He dragged a white trail of energy behind him as he burst from the ground like a soul escaping a cage, flying high into the morning sky.
"Wooo! That's cool!" he shouted, his helmet retracting. He opened his arms, as if to embrace the world, greedily absorbing the air… which, he quickly realized, smelled absolutely awful. He grimaced, the helmet flowing back into place as he scanned the barren, ruined landscape below. He sensed two life forms.
He flew towards them, his white contrail a stark line against the rising sun. Alice and Claire stood amidst the ruins, survivors of the apocalypse. He landed softly before them.
"Alice," he said, holding out the crystalline box he had taken from Alicia. "I have something for you."
"What is it?" she asked, taking the box curiously.
"Beautiful memories," he replied.
As she touched it, the box came to life, and holographic images of Alicia Marcus's childhood—laughing, running, living a life that Alice never had but was born from—swirled around her. It was a beautiful, heartbreaking sight: the barren ruins, the rising sun, and Alice, surrounded by the ghosts of her own past.
Suddenly, Ward took out a camera and snapped a photo, capturing the perfect, poignant moment.
"Goodbye," he smiled, waving to them. Before they could respond, he launched himself into the sky and disappeared.
Queens, Tandar Laboratory. Monday, 2:00 AM.
In a quiet, dark room, the sleeping body of a teenager lay inside a sleek, white hibernation chamber. Suddenly, a layer of black, metallic liquid flowed over him, forming a familiar, form-fitting battlesuit. The faceplate was dark, but then, two scarlet fluorescent lights flickered to life. The transfer was complete.
Comments
KingSpy25i .
Thank you for the great chapter 🙏
Book Warm
His bio suit vs venom? Venom might be better overall right? Afterall it created by knull. Although venom and his races have a weakness to fire and sound tho, that might be only advantage MC suit had over venom
