[Aron's first person POV]

It's been three days since we caught Bakuto and destroyed a major faction of The Hand. As promised, I gave Bakuto to Emma and she gave me the information I wanted to know. She gave me the location of Shaw's lab where my original body was kept. She never interfered with the experiments personally, but has spies everywhere.

According to those spies, Shaw and Dr. Nathaniel Essex found something while digging into an ancient city buried under the icy North Pole. There they found a stasis pod with a human without a face, no eyes or nose, just skin covering his face. The only thing was his mouth. It was closed with a weird mask. So, those two began experimenting on that being and eventually managed to extract his DNA and create multiple clones, but all failed. So, they went back to the site and dug more. After months of digging and searching, they found another sealed pod.

That's all the spies could find.

Fuck! A guy without a face... That's All For One. I'm gonna kill that fucker before he regains his power.

Oh, as for what happened to Chat. Well, the Professor managed to clear her clouded mind and bring her back. But there was a catch. Chat doesn't remember anything that happened after she was kidnapped. To her, it was like yesterday when they took her.

That's a good thing, right? She won't have to deal with the dark memories and those tortures. This way, she could live a normal life again. And she could now properly learn to master her power of conversing with the animals.

As for Natasha, she promised to swing by after dealing with the remnants of Bakuto's faction. Although we took down almost all of their outposts and bases, the Shield discovered a few more bases in New York. So, she'll be busy for a couple of days.

What am I doing right now you may ask? I'm standing before that base. No point wasting any more time. I'm gonna kill that freak of nature and Mr. Sinister today if they are here. Yup! Despite promising Jean and Kitty to not take any high risk, I still came alone. I couldn't possibly put them in danger. I mean, forget Mr. Sinister, there's All For One, in there... There was no fucking way I was gonna put my girls in danger.

[Artic base]

I stood on the icy cliffside overlooking the base. The cold didn't bother me; not anymore, not with the ice power. This was it. The endgame. Just one more push and I'd have my peace back, at least for a few months. I teleported inside the outer walls and hid behind a stack of crates. Machines whirred and hissed from within, and a hum of voices echoed down sterile corridors, but I kept silent, moving carefully.

I extended my telepathic reach, probing for any guards stationed nearby. As my senses spread through the facility, I picked up on a lone guard's thoughts, mere steps away, grumbling about the frigid air as he patrolled down the hall.

'Perfect.' I focused on his mind, implanting a subtle suggestion: Go check the storage room.

Almost immediately, I felt his mind yield, and he turned toward the storage room.

I slipped in behind him, moving soundlessly as he stepped in, scanning the dim space. Before he could react, I struck, a quick blow to the back of his neck. He crumpled silently onto the floor. Using Azazel's power, I took on his appearance, feeling the change ripple through my skin as I adjusted my features, skin, and stance to perfectly mirror the guard's. Then I changed into his clothes. With that done, I used my phasing power to bury that guy in the ground.

I left the storage room and blended into the flow of workers and guards navigating the base. This place was huge—multiple corridors lined with thick, metallic doors and high ceilings, dotted with cameras. Rows of machinery whirred non-stop, and each worker was too focused on their task to notice the new face among them.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

As I moved, I noticed occasional markers on doors and walls—scientific symbols, hazard signs, and strangely coded identification numbers. The lab must be nearby.

I rounded a corner and came to a large reinforced door marked with a biohazard warning. My instincts told me I was getting close. Stretching out my telepathy, I caught snippets of conversation from behind the door. Scientists discussing "Project Genesis" and "Specimen Zero" in hushed, fearful tones. According to their memories, Specimen Zero is the faceless guy.

Checking the corridor for any wandering guards, I phased through the door. Inside, the air was thick with chemicals, and the room reeked of sterile antiseptic. Vials, charts, and strange equipment lined the walls. But more importantly, the monitors showed a view of the lower levels, the heart of the lab. In the corner, two scientists conversed, their voices low.

I'm gonna need a new face if I were to go any further.

I slinked into the shadows, focusing on one of them, implanting a command to "head to storage and wait." As he moved away, the other looked puzzled but shrugged, turning back to his work. I teleported from corner to corner, keeping myself away from the cameras and security checkpoints. Finally, that guy entered the storage room. And just like before, I knocked him out and took his form and clothes. This one is one of the assistant doctors who has access to the main room. Mr. Sinister and All For One are in the main area.

Bingo! After reading his memories, I buried him there like the first guard and walked out.

Now all I gotta do is get into the main area.

I took a steady breath, adjusting my posture and sliding into the assistant doctor's persona as naturally as slipping on a glove. With his memories in my mind, I knew his gait, his subtle mannerisms, even the way he liked to adjust his glasses when he thought no one was looking. Every detail mattered. The deeper I went, the more cautious I had to be. I couldn't afford a single slip-up here, especially with All For One and Mr. Sinister waiting in the main lab.

The hallways twisted and turned, leading to a series of checkpoints before the main area. Each station was more complex and secure than the last. I approached the first checkpoint, a retina scanner set into the wall beside an ID verification system. Using the assistant doctor's memories, I guided his eye up to the scanner, focusing on a level of calm that belied the racing heartbeat beneath. The light flickered, scanned, and granted me access with a faint beep.

I pushed the door open, stepping into a corridor where two guards stood on either side, armed and watchful. One of them nodded, glancing at my face. "Dr. Ramsey, forgot your badge again?"

Ah! This guy always forgets the secondary badge. And these guards always try to get along with the higher-ups to get some extra break or food. I forced a chuckle, mirroring the assistant's relaxed body language as best as I could. "Yeah, you know me. I swear it's just nerves from handling the latest batch of 'specimens.' You think I'd get used to it by now."

The guard snorted, nodding in sympathy. "Happens to the best of us. No worries, Doctor." He swiped his own badge across a secondary panel, allowing me through.

"Tell you what, I got a new batch of wine coming in this Sunday and I need two veterans to bring the crate to my office. Maybe if they do a good job, I might give them a bottle or two," I said with a nod.

"Leave it to us," One of the guards said with a smile.

"I'll see you on Sunday."

I passed through and kept my pace steady, walking past rows of doors labeled with cryptic symbols and codes that even my borrowed memories couldn't fully decipher. The second checkpoint was just ahead, a checkpoint guarded by a more advanced scanner that would require a voice confirmation.

One of the techs ahead of me was having trouble with his code, stammering as the guard looked on, impatient. I forced myself to watch, absorbing the guard's irritation and noting the way the tech had faltered under pressure. One wrong vocal tone, and they were immediately suspicious. So, I leaned into the memories I'd gleaned from Dr. Ramsey, finding the exact vocal cadence and passphrase he used. When it was my turn, I stepped up confidently.

"Assistant Doctor Ramsey, Level 3 access clearance, requesting admittance to the lower lab," I said, hitting the notes of authority and familiarity I knew Ramsey would have in this situation.

The guard scanned my face, his expression impassive, then nodded curtly and waved me through.

I moved on, but my nerves hummed as I drew closer to the lab's heart. The main area, as Ramsey's memories called it, was hidden behind one last, intricate security measure—a full-body scanner that was rumored to detect anything from DNA mismatches to synthetic biological traces. It was installed to prevent intruders from using shape-shifting or holographic disguises.