Chapter 1
Year: 1989
Location: HYDRA Base – Unknown Location
The underground laboratory smelled of metal and antiseptic, its concrete walls as cold as the expressions of the scientists filling the room. In the center, ten incubators were aligned, each containing a newborn baby, their fragile bodies connected to machines that monitored vital signs.
Dr. Kraus, a man with austere features and neatly cut gray hair, let his gaze slide over each of the small forms inside the glass capsules. His expression was clinical, devoid of any trace of empathy.
“How are they?” His voice was firm but carried an undertone of frustration.
Dr. Mayer, a woman with sharp features and a pristine lab coat, quickly typed on the terminal before responding:
“The same pattern as the previous batches. Seven are already showing signs of metabolic failure and won’t survive more than a few hours. Two seem stable, but not for long.”
She hesitated for a second before adding, with indifference:
“Only one appears… resilient.”
Kraus frowned and approached the last incubator in the row. Inside, a tiny baby stirred, her fragile lungs releasing small, irregular sounds. But unlike the others, she was still breathing without artificial support.
“Strange,” Kraus murmured, studying the monitor’s data.
The baby had survived all the initial stages without severe genetic defects. Her vital signs were weak but stable.
“This doesn’t make sense,” Mayer said, leaning in beside him. “Male physiology should have been more compatible with the donor’s genes, and yet, she’s the only one who survived.”
Kraus remained silent for a few seconds, simply observing the small being inside the incubator. Then, he stepped back and looked at the other containers, where the failed babies were already being disconnected from the machines.
“Dispose of the bodies and record the data. She will be the only one kept alive.”
Mayer merely nodded. Science didn’t concern itself with small numbers.
If a single survivor was all they had, then she was the one they would bet on.