[New York, Queens]
In the top-floor duplex of a luxury apartment, Arnold, president of Olga Company, woke up on the large bed in his bedroom.
Having returned from the polar region, he seemed even thinner. Holding his face, he staggered to a mirror.
Looking into it, he almost didn't recognize himself.
The man in the mirror was so thin his bones were visible, his eyes bloodshot, like someone terminally ill.
Arnold opened a cabinet nearby, took out a bottle of medicine, poured out two pills, and swallowed them.
Then he walked to the wardrobe, pulled it open, and reached in to take out a suit.
At that moment, his skin began to writhe, as if countless worms were crawling beneath it.
Then a patch of skin on his shoulder bulged, stretched, and turned into a tentacle.
At the tip of the tentacle, an eyeball rolled out, staring straight at Arnold.
Startled, Arnold screamed and fell to the ground. Then he heard a voice.
"What, did you forget me?"
On the left side of his abdomen, a mouth formed on his skin, speaking in Arnold's own voice.
Panting, Arnold said, "Sorry, I forgot for a moment."
Images flashed through his mind.
Back then, on the "Ark" in the polar region, he saw "Number Zero" in another room open its eyes.
After that, he lost consciousness. When he woke up, he was sitting among a pile of corpses.
His bodyguards, the staff on the Ark, even Dr. Audrey from the base.
Everyone was dead.
By reviewing the base's recordings, he found out—
He had killed them.
Number Zero had used some unknown method to make him enter the ship's control room. Then it attached itself to him, turning into his clothes, his skin.
Under Number Zero's control, Arnold killed everyone.
Arnold shook his head violently, "You promised."
"You promised to teach me your technology and knowledge. You also promised to help me rule this country, even this planet!"
The mouth on his abdomen said flatly, "I haven't forgotten."
"And you don't need to doubt it. Our kind has already conquered one planet after another."
"This young planet will be no exception. It's only a matter of time."
On Arnold's back, many small points appeared on his skin. Then hair-thin fibers extended out, split in two, and burrowed into his temples.
Arnold screamed and collapsed, sweating all over.
At the same time, he saw many images.
He saw a spaceship in the vast emptiness of space dock at something like a space station. Strange-looking lifeforms entered it to explore.
They discovered some armor. Thinking it was just ordinary gear, they approached, then the armor silently extended countless fiber threads.
The armor captured the explorers, attached to them, and controlled them as they left.
These biological armors fed by extracting blood, nutrients, and genetic material from their hosts, and multiplied like cells.
Soon, a planet fell.
Countless biological armors controlled hosts, piloting ships and spreading across the universe.
They spread like cancer cells, devouring life-bearing planets.
Their numbers grew, and some of them evolved.
Arnold also saw a ship full of these biological armors arrive on Earth, enslaving some natives while clashing with others.
In a fleeting image, he saw a beautiful woman dressed in Egyptian-style clothing, holding a scepter.
She commanded a black army, resisting the parasitic host army controlled by the biological armors.
After countless brutal battles, the parasite army was defeated. The few remaining biological armors retreated into the Ark, attempting to escape Earth.
But they were attacked by the black army. In the end, the ship crashed in the polar region and was frozen in ice.
Until Olga Company's research team arrived.
The images ended there.
Sweating profusely, Arnold said weakly, "You lied to me. You'll drain my blood and leave me a dried corpse."
The mouth on his abdomen replied without emotion, "If I wanted that, do you think you could have left the polar region?"
"However…"
"Although I've carefully controlled how much I feed, you're too weak. Even if I don't want to kill you, you won't last much longer."
"Go. Find me a new host."
"Then I will fulfill my promise."
At that moment, a red tentacle rose from Arnold's skin, its tip sharpening as it pierced into his artery.
As the tentacle's color faded, color returned to Arnold's face. He suddenly jumped up, staring at himself in shock.
"I injected you with something good. It will keep you energized. You can last at least a week."
"Within that week, you'd better find me a healthy host."
"Otherwise, you'll die."
Arnold laughed, "No need for a week. I can find one right now."
He put on his clothes and picked up the phone in the room, "Send Rob in."
After hanging up, Arnold explained, "Rob is my bodyguard. The best."
Soon, a tall Black man walked in, "Sir, you called for me?"
Arnold nodded, then said, "You can go over there now."
The man looked confused. Then Arnold's clothes suddenly broke apart into countless biological fibers, spreading toward him like a kaleidoscope.
"What is this?", The man stepped back.
Arnold smiled, "Relax, Mr. Rob."
"I promise, there won't be any pain."
In the next moment, the biological fibers had already attached to Rob's black suit, burrowing inside and replacing the fabric.
In an instant, the suit on Rob's body became a living organism.
At the chest, Number Zero's eyeball emerged. Then the Black man was controlled, and a voice came out, "This human is not bad. Quite strong. Enough for me to use for at least a year."
"Next, I will fulfill my promise. But before that…"
"Tell me, who is the strongest person on this planet right now?"
"I need the most ideal body, so I can use my full power and kill that woman."
"Kill the 'Queen of the Night,' Lily!"
"You want the strongest person?"
Arnold smiled, then turned on the TV. After a moment, he found a news segment.
On the screen, it was reporting on Homelander.
Arnold pointed at Alex on the TV, "Then you definitely can't miss him."
"He is?", Number Zero asked.
Arnold's smile widened, "Homelander!"
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