"Shit! What the fuck is happening? "
Yuri crouched down and turned over a prison guard. The unnamed guard had clearly stopped breathing, with dilated pupils, swollen throat, and black blood flowing from his mouth.
He checked another guard, and the situation was identical.
"Warden!"
At that moment, a prison guard, clutching his throat, rushed down from upstairs in a panicked state.
"Emergency! All... cough! Colleagues... they're all... ugh!"
Before he could finish his sentence, he followed the fate of the other guards, his breath stopping abruptly, and he lost consciousness, tumbling down the stairs.
"Is this some kind of mass poisoning?"
Yuri hurried upstairs, and to his surprise, every visible guard was lying on the ground, their lives hanging by a thread.
"Weeewoooweeewooo..."
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Suddenly, the alarm inside Penitentiary sounded without warning, followed by a series of explosions.
This meant that the prison's automatic lockdown system had been activated, sealing off all entrances and key passageways and sending warning signals to Central City and Keystone City.
Before Yuri could make sense of the situation, he suddenly felt a burning pain in "his" lungs, which rapidly spread to the throat. The intense agony made it impossible for Yuri to breathe normally.
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Yuri quickly released his possession of Wolfe and emerged from his body. The unbearable burning sensation in his lungs finally disappeared.
"It doesn't feel like symptoms of poisoning. It's more like some kind of contagious disease. Acute pneumonia? Virus leakage? Could it be a biochemical crisis?"
Yuri's mind raced, wondering what dangerous viruses might be sealed inside Iron Heights.
The Ectonurite people's physiology made them immune to almost all viruses, and coupled with the protection provided by the omnitrix, Yuri wasn't too worried about getting infected.
It was still unclear whether the symptoms experienced by the prison guards could be transmitted through the air. If so, it would be difficult for any of the guards or inmates in Iron Heights to escape death.
"Fuck! Pied Piper!"
Yuri instantly dove down through the floor, but an unexpected scene unfolded before him.
In the entire corridor, none of the inmates locked in their cells displayed symptoms similar to the prison guards.
They had no idea what was happening in the prison and paid no attention to the alarm sounding.
"Could it be that this contagious disease only affects ordinary people, while metahumans are immune? But that doesn't make sense either, Wolf got infected too..."
Yuri started feeling that something was off.
Given Penitentiary's level of security, it was highly unlikely that the virus leaked from within. The more plausible explanation was that someone had attacked Iron Heights Penitentiary!
"Who would do such a thing? What could be gained by slaughtering the prison guards in here?"
Yuri could only think of one possibility.
To release the inmates!
—-—
In Central City, a grand conspiracy was being planned, and there was only one organization that had a need for super-villains.
The Network.
On the other side, Keystone City Police Department, Central City Police Department, FBI branches... all received an urgent alarm.
FBI Director James immediately gathered his agents and prepared to rush to Iron Heights Penitentiary.
The two police departments did the same, mobilizing all available personnel.
Kid Flash received the news a little later because it needed to be relayed through Hunter Zolomon.
However, in the next second after learning the news, he arrived at Keystone City Police Department and found Morillo and Chyre.
"What happened at the Penitentiary?"
Wally was the first to ask.
"We don't have the specifics either, but not long ago, the penitentiary activated its automatic lockdown system. However, the alert message received from it indicates an outbreak of an unknown lethal virus!"
Chyre said with a serious expression.
"And it has the highest level of contagiousness! Fortunately, Iron Heights is completely sealed off at the moment, so there is no immediate risk of spreading."
"Get me a gas mask. I need to go inside Penitentiary and assess the situation."
Wally spoke up without much hesitation.
"What? That's too dangerous!"
Chyre wanted to advise the Flash against acting impulsively.
"I trust you, Flash. This is the best gas mask we have."
However, Morillo handed the mask directly to Wally.
"Thank you."
Wally expressed his gratitude as he received the mask and quickly put it on. But then he turned his head and looked at the scar on Morillo's chin, surprised as he asked,
"Morillo, was the scar on your chin always on the left side?"
"What are you talking about? It has always been there," Morillo replied, puzzled, as he touched his head.
"Sorry, I must have remembered wrong."
Wally didn't dwell on the topic and quickly turned to leave.
—-—
Some time ago, at Iron Heights Penitentiary...
Even before arriving at Iron Heights, Yuri was worried about the possibility of an accidental jailbreak by super-villains. And now, the very thing he was most concerned about had happened. Although this matter didn't directly involve Yuri, it was similar to the day the Pied Piper was arrested—he happened to witness it from the sidelines.
But this is too damn coincidental!
Iron Heights has been attacked several times, but that was all in the distant past, about four years ago. Back then, the warden was not Wolfe, and the prison's policies were not as extreme as they are now.
When Wolf took over four years ago, Iron Heights underwent a massive reconstruction, and since then, there have been no reports of super-villain jailbreak incidents.
For a whole four years, nothing happened, and yet, on Yuri's first visit to Iron Heights, a virus was unleashed here?
"Could it be that there is really some terrifying presence watching over me, just like how they often write about in web novels from my past life?"
As soon as Yuri had this thought, he couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. How could that be possible?
Coincidence, it's just a coincidence.
*Boom!*
Just then, a loud noise erupted from a cell next to Yuri.
A massive figure forcefully broke through the prison cell door and rushed out.
"My body is rusting! I need electricity or magnetism!"
Yuri focused his gaze and saw that this person was towering at two meters four, with a massive and muscular physique that didn't resemble a human. His appearance was also far from human-like.
This guy's entire body was made of steel, but it seemed to undergo oxidation, with visible rust marks.
As he moved, even some severely rusted parts fell to the ground.
Yuri had already seen all the prisoners on this level, so he didn't need to read the nameplate to know who he was.
Prisoner number 371, Girder, real name Tony Woodward, was sentenced to forty-five years for murder and robbery.
Girder was in a state of frenzy, randomly smashing and thrashing about without purpose.
The unyielding alloy floor was covered in fist marks and dents from his strikes, and the immense force shook the entire prison.
The level of destruction was astonishing.
"Fuck! Stop rusting already!"
Girder roared in anger, ceasing his blind pounding on the floor and instead rampaging through the corridors.
In the next moment, he smashed a large hole in the cell door across from him, which happened to be the Pied Piper's cell.
After the collision, Girder turned and charged toward another cell.
Witnessing this, Yuri couldn't just stand idly by.
If Steelbeam continued his rampage, he would eventually release all the super-villains.
No, it wouldn't stop at just the super-villains; the virus might also leak into the city.
That was definitely not the sight Yuri hoped to see.
In his enraged state, Girder couldn't be possessed by Ghostfreak, and the abilities of the Ectonurite, Yuri's alien form, were not particularly effective against this type of berserker.
"It looks like I have to change tactics."
Yuri extended his hand and grasped the omnitrix dial on his left chest, then turned it gently.
"We need a swift and decisive victory. It's up to you, Four Arms."
*****
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