Looking at himself in a mirror Michael observed his appearance from top to bottom making sure that there wasn't a drop of blood. While doing so he looked at his new face and had to admit that he understood what the scientists meant by superior genetics.
He wasn't only capable of handling and enduring procedures better than others but was also pretty darn handsome. He had blonde hair like wheat and piercing red eyes that matched his youthful appearance.
"Speaking of youth, just how old is this body?" He wasn't sure because not even his previous self knew but if he was to make an estimated guess then he'd place it around 19. Not that it mattered since he didn't even have an ID and technically didn't exist in any country.
"That's something I'm going to have to fix later on but first let's get out of here" Grabbing some glasses that were on the counter he put them on and made his way out.
Walking through the halls he saw more or less what he expected. The halls were all the same color and were bare making the place feel repetitive. The staff of the facility didn't bother giving him a second look as he walked by and so far everything was looking good.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The sounds of alarms filled the air as the halls turned into a red color alerting them to an emergency. Not long after this, the intercoms begin announcing that a subject had escaped and had killed a scientist on the lower wing.
'Great now I really gotta get out of here fast'
Picking up the pace Michael fast walked through the halls. He didn't have a clear destination but his ears picked up a large number of people in a certain direction.
Now if he was in charge of this facility he'd place a good amount of his men near the exit to guarantee capture. 'That must be the way out… I guess I'm going to have a confrontation whether I like it or not'
Mentally Michael prepared himself for the inevitable but stopped when he noticed the name on top of one of the labs.
"Wilfred Nagel"
The name of the man responsible for giving him his powers and also for the death of many children. Clenching his fists Michael loved the idea of killing this guy but what interested him more was the serum itself.
If he had Homelanders powers then there was a high chance that the serum he made was actually Compound V. While it may not be useful to him now since he's not exactly a scientist, the same can't be said for the future.
It was basically a superpower generator that gave regular humans powers similar to how the X-gene gave the mutants their powers. It was essentially a valuable resource that could make more supers, and possibly with enough research it may even increase his own powers.
Not wasting a second hesitating Michael went straight for that room and found it locked like most of the facility but that wasn't a problem for his current strength. Reeling his arm back Michael punched forward and pierced through the door's lock as it released its hold.
With nothing stopping him Michael entered the room and found a messy lab with journals all lying about. "Great how am I going to go through this" However while saying this his ears heard something thumping in a corner hidden from view… a heartbeat and it was beginning to beat faster.
Realizing something was up Michael in a burst of speed reached the hidden person in a moment and caught their hand right as they reached for their gun. "I don't think so"
Yanking it out of their hand Michael lifted them off the ground by the throat and looked straight at them before his eyes lowered down to their badge.
'Holly'
Seeing her face and reading the name Michael was vaguely able to remember her following Wilfred around. Meaning she was an assistant of sorts which would explain why she was here.
"Your Wilfred assistant aren't you? So you must know where he keeps his research. Show me where it is and I'll let you live." Michael said while allowing his eyes to burn bright in intimidation.
Holly slightly shook at seeing the unnatural glow of his eyes but her programming was too deep to give up just because of a threat. "Hail Hydra!"
Saying this Michael saw her jaw shift to bite but his enhanced vision was able to catch it in time and knew what she was going for. He'd seen it plenty of times in Captain America's films and there was no way he was going to let that happen. Reaching quickly he placed his hand in her mouth and ripped out the tooth that contained poison. "Ahhh!"
"I'll ask you again where is his research? And don't bother lying cause I'll know"
"Cough screw yourself- Aghhh!" However, before she could retort Holly suddenly found her finger broken in Michael's hands.
Torture was something he'd never done before and was one thing he'd previously never pictured himself doing. But it was something he now understood from experience and if this is what it took to get what he wanted then he'd do it. "Now let's do this again…"
.
.
.
Several fingers and toes later Michael had begun to realize that getting an answer out of someone from Hydra may just be impossible at least for him. He had no experience and was just causing pain but someone like Natasha might have been able to get answers. Unfortunately, he didn't have a super spy with him. So instead he chose to take a risk.
"Very well then if I can't have a look then I'll erase everything here. Down to the last minute detail." Holly didn't believe him taking it as a bluff as she spat on the ground but this didn't last long once Michael's eyes glowed red.
Looking over to the research Michael started releasing his heat vision which quickly ignited.
"Nooo!" Getting up she tried to jump in front of the beam but luckily for her Michael had turned it off right on time. But this also showed him something important. To this scientist, this research had greater value than even her life.
"Look if you show me the research then I'll leave it unharmed. Otherwise, you'll know what will happen to not just the journals but this entire lab"
Holly gritted her teeth but she recognized that she had few options and eventually gave in and walked over to the main workspace on her own. Following behind Michael kept his full attention on her while making sure that she didn't try anything funny.
However, that seemed unnecessary as she went through one of the cabinets. It took her some time with her fingers being broken but eventually, she was able to pull out a USB drive. "Here take it this drive has everything on the new serum that we developed. You can check it on the computers if you'd like but after that leave and don't destroy anything"
Holding the drive in his hand Michael gave it a good look before putting it in his pocket. He didn't need to check to know that it was the real thing. The sound of her heartbeat was enough to know that she was telling the truth and if it wasn't then that was fine as well. It's not like Marvel didn't have a dozen other serums out there.
"Thank you and I'm sorry" With that said his eyes glowed once more causing her face to change to one of anger but it didn't last long as the familiar red beam passed through her throat killing her instantly.
Glancing back at the work Michael continued what he started earlier and began destroying everything. From every journal to computer, he didn't leave a single trace behind until the whole room was up in flames.
Hydra was too dangerous to leave Compound V with. If they were able to get a better understanding of it and increase the survival rate then things would spin way out of control. At least like this now he will be the only one with the information.
Walking toward the door of the room Michael's ears picked up on the commotion of the base and from the sound of things they had already figured out where he was. Every corridor had been blocked by squads of Hydra Agents while they all slowly moved in on his location. Give it a couple more minutes and he'd be completely locked in.
'I need to move fast. I haven't taken a bullet yet but I don't want to learn if I have that power yet.' Running out of the room Michael kept moving through the halls until he reached a point where he needed to turn the corner. On the same side there was also a full squad waiting for him but encountering them was inevitable.
Allowing his eyesight and reflexes to guide him Michael moved at superhuman speed, Zigzagging before they could react. In response they began to release a hail of bullets but when you can move as fast as Michael could such things become easy to avoid.
"Damn it, hit him!" One guard shouted but it was already too late. In an instant, Michael arrived in front of them and grabbed said guard by the arm before he started thrashing them all about Hulk style.
Moments later only the sound of groaning and crashing could be heard until silence. While Michael stood above the dead agents without so much of a sweat. "This is incredible… I knew I was strong but to this extent"
Previously he hesitated on going out with laser eyes blazing because he was worried about how he'd handle it but this changed things. Clearly, he had overestimated his enemy and had underestimated himself. There was nothing stopping him from escaping; he was sure of this.
With a new set of confidence, Michael began to run faster through the halls toward his destination. Any group he came across was decimated without mercy. In one of those fights a guard had managed to shoot him but that bullet fell to the ground leaving not even a scratch. Realizing that his durability was also up to par increased Michael's lethality as he reached his destination without stopping.
The exit was blocked by a large door made of pure metal. It looked like the type that came out of the ground and had no hinges making it difficult to pass without a key card but Michael didn't slow down at seeing this he wasn't even fazed.
Instead of slowing down or looking for a card he did the opposite. He sped up and rammed against it at full force.
BOOM!
His blow shook all the walls and left a deep incline on the door. Backing up once more Michael redid the same maneuver and blasted right through!
"I'm out… I actually did it!" Looking up, Michael was finally able to see the sun and could hear the sound of birds chirping from all around. No longer was he locked up in that prison he was free.
While he enjoyed the fresh air his ears also caught the sound of more guards coming from inside but he didn't want to stick around for them.
"Come on I already used heat vision, super strength, and speed so I should also fly" However knowing you can do something and actually doing it are completely different things. He tried willing himself to do so multiple times but failed over and over again as the sound of boots drew closer.
"Maybe I just need a leap of faith" Squatting down Michael placed all his strength into his legs and jumped with all his strength. Within moments he cleared all the trees as he went higher and higher but his ascent naturally slowed as he began falling back down to the forest.
Michael seeing the forest getting closer suddenly realized that it may not have been a good idea. In response, he covered his main organs and braced himself for impact except said impact never came.
Opening his eyes Michael looked around and realized he was flying. "Oh yeah, I can get used to this." Getting a feel for it Michael began flying away. His destination? He had know idea but anywhere was fine at this point.