บท 8: One down

Savant was in his private genetics lab which cost him upwards of 100 million to build, fitted with all the latest and some of the not yet seen on the market equipment.

Death by genetic collapse isn't anything new in the world of Marvel. With all the illegal human experiments related to genes, it might instead be a very common death method in this world.

Now the question is how to make a person die by this method, and the answer is simple. Just like those mad scientists, add an unstable factor into the DNA of the target and hope for the best or in this case, hope for the worst.

Using the sample provided by Sage, although Savant couldn't create a clone of Shaw, it wasn't a problem for him to make tissue and organs that match Shaw perfectly.

After getting the tissue samples, Savant just had to program a virus that worked specifically on Sebastian Shaw's body without being affected by the mutant's increased immune functions.

This virus would seamlessly become a part of Shaw's physiology and when it has replicated itself to a certain extent, it will start replacing Shaw's DNA with itself, completely collapsing his genetic chain. By the time Shaw notices it, he would be dead within minutes, and no one would be able to save him.

Well, there is one guy who might be able to save him. Mr. Sinister has been playing with gene editing for centuries so it wouldn't be a stretch for him to save Shaw within a very short time.

Anyway, due to his powers, the whole process of making a virus although tedious, was very smooth. With his information perception, Savant just had to perceive the information about Shaw's tissue samples and the virus and he could already see the multiple cause-and-effects between them.

This was like a watered-down version of Dr. Strange looking into millions of possible futures. Savant just had to pick out the best outcomes he desired from those possible futures of the virus and tissue interactions and once again experiment and find more possibilities until he gets to one single desired outcome.

After repeated experiments with the aid of a mind that could simulate every possible outcome, Savant finally created a virus that would only work on Shaw and kill him within two days.

*******************

Sage sat opposite Sebastian Shaw who was happily drinking the wine she served him while reading the scientific papers that Bolivar Trask had sent him. Of course, he had waited for her to drink the wine first, Shaw had always been smart.

The smile on Shaw's face while reading up on the progress of mutant killing weapons disgusted Sage to the core. But thanks to her impeccable control over every fiber of her muscles, she acted normal. She couldn't wait for tomorrow to arrive.

Sage had started working for Shaw more than two decades ago when she was still a young teenager. Charles Xavier was saved by her at the time and when he saw that Sage was a capable mutant, he sent her to infiltrate the Hellfire Club.

And for two decades, while Professor X created his band of superheroes and school for mutants, she remained a pawn in his hand who had to live as a spy with no freedom. What was even more depressing was that she had to work under corrupted people like Shaw and commit unspeakable crimes.

Sage once again remembered what the boy with the devil's smile had told her, "Just make him ingest the contents of this vial, even if it is just a small drop. It will work in two days so it's better that he doesn't have anyone around to help him that day. I'll be waiting for our date Miss. Sage."

She had planned meticulously so that Shaw will be alone in his manor except for his guards and servants. All she had to do now was to wait.

Although waiting for one full day felt like a whole month to her, Sage could finally see it. In Shaw's body, his DNA was being replaced by other unstable DNA rapidly. It was like a part of running computer code was suddenly deleted and replaced by useless garbage.

As expected the Shut Down notification came right after. Sebastian Shaw felt pain all over his body as his organs started to fail. Muscles, Kidneys, Lungs, Heart, slowly every organ failed as he writhed in pain that he had never felt before.

Due to his superhuman physique, Shaw was fully aware until the last moments of his life before his brain failed. And the last thing he saw before he died was a smiling Sage looking at his dying body while sipping on some wine.

She then sprayed the accelerant that Savant had specially prepared over Shaw's body and set him on fire. After that, she punched herself and threw herself around to mimic bruising and fight traces until the noise attracted the servants.

By the time people arrived in the room, what they saw was a battered Sage lying in a corner while Shaw had turned into burnt coke. Faithful to her acting, Sage kept muttering "Demon… demon!"

With this, she should be able to give a reasonable explanation to the Hellfire Club. Sure, they would be suspicious but they would be more interested in fighting for everything Shaw has worked to build all his life so they wouldn't care too much.

If anything, Shaw's son Shinobi who had been openly trying to take Shaw's place in the club might become a prime suspect.

******************

"So you're saying that a masked sorcerer killed Shaw?" Selene asked with a look of contempt not hidden in her eyes. As the black queen and a powerful sorceress herself, she could tell that there was no magic involved in Shaw's death. It was just a conspiracy.

Sage didn't budge though, she insisted, "Yes, I'm just telling you how things happened. I didn't see any technological gadgets on that person, so I can only assume they are a sorcerer."

"Hmph! Which one of you did this?" Selene asked in annoyance, while the present members of the Hellfire Club looked at each other warily.

Edward Buckman, the White King, was the first to speak, "We all know about Shinobi's ambitions and his attempt to kill Shaw before. So I don't see why this discussion is even necessary?"

Selene looked at him in contempt, "We all know that your attempts to gobble up Shaw's fortunes are being stopped by Shinobi. Don't think you can use the club as your knife. But anyway, we need a new Black King. We will all present our findings on Shaw's case as well as our nominations for the new Black king in the next meeting."

**********************

A rooftop restaurant in a high-rise building in Manhattan, it was evening and the sun had already gone down, the night slowly pulling its blanket over the western hemisphere.

As I sat watching the lights in the city slowly outshining the stars, someone who outshone all the lights appeared through the door. I was stunned as Sage walked in through the door wearing a black dress with hints of green that suited her perfectly.

"The moment you walked in, I seem to have found my pursuit in life, Miss. Sage" I didn't care if I sounded cringe or romantic. I just had to say the words I felt.

Sage smiled and gave a spin as she reached the table I was at. "Do I look that good?"

My eyes lingered on her back just a second more and she caught it. So she moved a little to just give me a sneak while maintaining a sly smile.

"I'll have to learn self-control to not let my eyes wander around when around you Miss. Sage. You look gorgeous as always." I said as I helped her pull the chair and sit down. I could tell she was purposefully leaning slightly toward me, just enough for our cheeks to brush past each other.

"So, should I call you my Boss from now on?" Sage asked with a teasing smile.

"Just Savant is fine. I want you to be my partner not just my assistant."

She looked at me seriously for a moment and then chuckled, "You are so straightforward. Shouldn't we have a romancing period before you ask me to be your partner?"

"Of course, we would do that as well. But for this conversation, I want you to be my business partner. I want you to have a 15% stake in Savant Enterprises."

"You don't want to let me go away at all huh? How romantic of you to tie me down with tangible interests." She said in a slightly mocking tone.

I smiled, "You can hold a 100% stake in Savant Smith. That should make for a romantic tangible interest?"

Sage chuckled, "You're not bad for your age Savant. So tell me, what is your grand plan? I can see it in your eyes that you have something brewing."

I nodded, "First off we will add another member to our team of business partners…"

During the quiet night, I had a lengthy but very pleasant conversation with Sage over dinner. We finalized the immediate plans and talked about the possibilities for the future until we returned to our homes.

*********************

"Are you sure this is the place?" Sage asked while checking the address once again.

"Pretty sure this is the one. This was the home address on his father's personal details. Unless his father has a second family." I grinned while ringing the doorbell.

After a while, a blond boy who seemed to be of similar age to Savant came to the door. "Hello. Are you looking for my dad? He is not at home currently."

"Oh that's fine Doug, we were looking for you, not your father. May we come in to have a chat?"

Doug looked wary of the strangers, "Do I know you?"

"You might, actually. Since he had been quite famous recently with his face all over the news. He is Savant Smith." My trusty assistant Sage introduced me while teasing me.

"You, you're that Savant Smith. That i-pay you made is so convenient and quite secure too." He said the last part in a hushed tone. He probably couldn't stop the urge to hack my site. "But why are you looking for me?" The tone was back to being wary.

"Relax, we just want to talk business with you. Now can we come in?" I asked again.

He was dazed but still led us into the home. It was a beautiful villa. Doug's father must be earning well. We reached the living room where Sage and I sat on one side of the sofa while Doug sat on the other side. He was acting nervous like he was in the principal's office.

"I'll be straightforward with you. I want you to join me. Before you react, I'm not here to offer you a position in some child army like Charles and Emma who I know have already visited you.

I don't want you to fight for me. I want to join my company and make the world a better place by making full use of your powers." I gave the standard speech I had prepared. Although I could see Sage snickering at the side.

Doug listened carefully and then asked after some thought, "What do you want me to do? And what do you mean by making the world a better place?"

"What I want from you is simple, you will be the head of Savant Technologies software division. You will improve upon the software that I make as well as make your own and supervise the subsequent development of the released software." I stopped to drink some water.

"As for your second question, I mean to use advancements in science and technology to make the world a better place. Everything Savant Enterprises produces will be focused on making lives easier for everyone. I envision a time when humans become an interstellar species."

Hearing my impassioned voice, I could see Doug being attracted until the word humans was used. As expected, he asked, "What about the mutants?"

"The mutants are humans too Doug. They have just evolved further than regular humans so they can be classified as a new species of humans. The way I see it, we are all humans."

Doug nodded. "I understand what you're trying to say but I need some time to think about your offer."

"Sure. Just so you are motivated, I'll give you a 5% stake in Savant Tech and for the software you make personally, 80% of the net profit will be yours. This applies to all inventions and patents for all our employees. Oh, and I'll help you develop your powers. They are far stronger than you realize." I gave him another push to join me.

Frankly, both the Brotherhood and the X-men are stupid to mostly ever use their powers to beat each other up. They can do so much more but they choose to be no more than street brawlers.

After duping… er, no… encouraging Cypher to join my company I was now all set to start my ultimate plan.