Badass in Disguise Chapter 239

Jade's POV:

I shoved the scientist forward, my gun pressed firmly against his spine as we entered the next laboratory. The doors slid open with a pneumatic hiss, and I froze at the sight before me. Twenty oval-shaped cultivation pods were arranged in perfect rows across the sterile white room. Each pod was connected to state-of-the-art biological monitoring equipment, with high-definition screens displaying vital signs and genetic sequences.

The antiseptic smell mixed with something else—something organic and unsettling. My stomach tightened with disgust and rage as I took in the full horror of what they had created here. Memories of my own time as their experimental subject flashed through my mind, intensifying my hatred.

"Open the pods," I commanded, jamming the barrel harder against his back until he winced.

"No! Please!" His voice cracked with panic, eyes bulging behind his glasses. "They need ten more days—ten more days before they can be opened safely! If we open them now, they'll have defects!"

I laughed coldly, the sound echoing off the metallic surfaces. "Do I look like I give a shit about defects? Your little science project ends today."

Turning my face upward, I addressed the sphere hovering above us. "Maxi, cut this thing open."

"Scanning structure," it responded. Its lens glowed red as it analyzed the pod, its small frame rotating slightly to get the optimal angle.

"NO!" the scientist screamed, his face contorting in horror. He lunged forward but I yanked him back roughly. "STOP! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE DOING!"

A precise laser beam shot from the sphere, slicing the cultivation pod clean in half. Blood and amniotic fluid gushed out, splashing onto the pristine floor with a sickening sound. The scientist broke free from my grip and frantically rushed to check the contents of the ruined pod. Inside lay a bisected clone, its life ended before it truly began.

I glanced at the face—a stranger to me.

"Cut them all," I ordered Maxi, stepping back to avoid the fluid splashing onto my boots. One by one, the laser sliced through each pod while the scientist wailed and pleaded, his cries growing more desperate with each destroyed creation. The floor became slick with blood and fluid, the metallic smell filling the air and making my nostrils flare.

At the eleventh pod, I stopped cold. The face inside was unmistakable—Ace of Spades.

King of Hearts, his angular face just as I remembered. Then Queen of Clubs, her beauty preserved even in this artificial state. Jack of Diamonds followed. And finally, in the last pod, the clone of SPECTER himself—the Shadow Organization's enigmatic leader whose real face few had ever seen.

"The royal flush," I muttered with a bitter smile, running my fingers along the cool glass of SPECTER's pod. "Well, isn't that convenient? Ten more days and these would all be operational. I wouldn't have flown out of here even if I was Superman himself. They'd have hunted me down like a lab rat."

The scientist had collapsed to his knees, sobbing among the carnage of his creations. Strands of his gray hair stuck to his forehead, wet with sweat and clone fluid. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small incendiary device, activating it with a flick of my thumb. The small red light began to blink rapidly.

"What are you doing?" he gasped, eyes widening as he recognized the device. "No—that's highly volatile material in here! The entire lab will—"

"Just doing some housekeeping," I replied, tossing the device into the corner where chemicals were stored. The flames erupted instantly, racing across the surfaces and climbing the walls with hungry orange tongues. The heat hit my face in waves as alarms began to wail throughout the facility.

As black smoke began to fill the room, the door burst open. Queen of Clubs stood there, flanked by armed guards, her face a mask of controlled fury as she took in the blazing lab and ruined pods. Her perfectly tailored suit contrasted sharply with the chaos around her.

"You..." she hissed, her eyes moving from the destruction to me, calculating the losses. Millions in research, years of work, all gone in minutes.

I grabbed the scientist by his collar, yanking him to his feet and pressing my gun to his temple. "Smart people are often misled by their own intelligence, aren't they?" I taunted, enjoying the rage contorting her features. "You thought you were so clever, letting me come here. Saved me a lot of trouble finding this place."

QC's eyes flashed with murderous intent, but she visibly restrained herself. The scientist was her last hope—the one who mastered the cloning technology. Without him, they would have to start from scratch.

"Let him go," QC said, her voice unnaturally calm. "I'll let you leave safely."

"How generous," I replied, backing toward the exit. "Tell your dogs to drop their weapons."

QC nodded stiffly to her men, who reluctantly lowered their guns, their fingers still hovering near triggers.

"Clear a path," she ordered, her voice tight with suppressed fury.

With the scientist as my shield and Maxi leading the way, I moved toward the exit. QC followed at a distance, her hand gripping her whip at her side, looking for an opening.

As we approached the surface exit, Maxi issued a warning: "Infrared detection beam ahead. Danger."

I stopped, peering from behind the scientist at QC's grim face.

After a moment of tense silence, she pulled out a remote and deactivated the red security beam across the doorway. The soft hum of electricity died away.

The air in the upper level felt fresher compared to the smoke-filled laboratory below. Still gripping the terrified scientist, I turned to QC. "Where's Milo Murphy?

"He's not with me," she replied coldly. "You should ask SPECTER about that."

"And the Sleepers? Where are they?"

QC hesitated, measuring her options. "Western Arctic Circle waters," she finally said, her eyes flicking to the scientist still in my grip.

"Exact coordinates," I demanded, tightening my hold until the scientist whimpered.

QC's face contorted with barely contained rage, but looking at the purple-faced scientist struggling for breath, she relented and gave me what I wanted.

"Now release him as promised," she said.

I nodded. "Sure thing."

In one swift motion, I twisted the scientist's neck. The crack echoed in the still desert air as his body went limp and fell to the ground with a thud. Queen's face darkened with naked hatred.

I shrugged. "I came here to kill you. Did you really think I needed your permission to leave?"

"I will flay you alive for this," Queen snarled, her composure finally breaking. Her fingers flexed around her whip. "I'll make you pay for your stupid actions."

"Try me," I said, my muscles tensing for the fight I knew was coming. With Selene and QC together, I calculated my chances at sixty percent. In my previous life's body, the odds would have been much higher.

QC's lips curved into a cold smile. "Come out," she called to the empty air. "It's showtime."

A specialized throwing dart whistled through the air toward my face. I barely managed to dodge it, feeling it brush past my cheek as it embedded into the wall behind me. I stared at the familiar weapon, a chill running down my spine. *That dart...it seems familiar.*

I turned toward its source, hesitating as an inexplicable sense of recognition washed over me. When I saw who had thrown it, my blood froze in my veins.

Standing on the second-floor overlook was Dusk. His lean figure was outlined by the harsh corridor lights, his signature dart launcher strapped to his wrist.

Beside me, I heard Selene's sharp intake of breath.